Active and passive voice chart
In the active voice the doer comes first: Ravi writes a letter. In the passive voice the thing done comes first: A letter is written by Ravi.
Active and Passive Voice Chart
How to change active to passive
- The object of the active sentence becomes the subject.
- Use the right form of be for the tense (see the chart), then the V3 (past participle) of the verb.
- Put by + the old subject at the end (you can leave it out if it is not important).
| Tense | Passive: helping verb + V3 | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | is / am / are + V3 | Ravi writes a letter. | A letter is written by Ravi. |
| Present Continuous | is / am / are + being + V3 | Ravi is writing a letter. | A letter is being written by Ravi. |
| Present Perfect | has / have + been + V3 | Ravi has written a letter. | A letter has been written by Ravi. |
| Simple Past | was / were + V3 | Ravi wrote a letter. | A letter was written by Ravi. |
| Past Continuous | was / were + being + V3 | Ravi was writing a letter. | A letter was being written by Ravi. |
| Past Perfect | had + been + V3 | Ravi had written a letter. | A letter had been written by Ravi. |
| Simple Future | will + be + V3 | Ravi will write a letter. | A letter will be written by Ravi. |
| Future Perfect | will + have + been + V3 | Ravi will have written a letter. | A letter will have been written by Ravi. |
| Modals (can, must, should…) | modal + be + V3 | Ravi can write a letter. | A letter can be written by Ravi. |
Present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future continuous and future perfect continuous are not normally used in the passive voice.
Pronouns change after “by”
| Active subject | Passive (after by) |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| we | us |
| you | you |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| it | it |
| they | them |
Questions, negatives and orders
- Question: Does Ravi write a letter? → Is a letter written by Ravi?
- Wh- question: Who wrote this letter? → By whom was this letter written?
- Negative: Ravi did not write the letter. → The letter was not written by Ravi.
- Order: Open the door. → Let the door be opened.
kheloaurseekho.in
Quiz — pick the correct passive
The chart prints on one A4 page.
Also see: Tenses chart · Pronoun chart · Direct and indirect speech