Cohesive Devices - Exercise

The passive voice is a grammatical construction that emphasizes the recipient of the action rather than the doer. While it is often recommended to use the active voice for clarity and directness, understanding and using the passive voice appropriately can enhance your writing by adding variety and nuance. In this article, we will explore how we turn different active tense forms into passive voice


Active Voice:
In active voice, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb.
Example: "The cat catches the mouse." (Subject: The cat; Action: Catches)

Passive Voice:
In passive voice, the subject receives the action, and the agent (the one performing the action) often appears at the end of the sentence or may be omitted.
Example: "The mouse is caught by the cat." (Subject: The mouse; Action: Is caught; Agent: By the cat)

When to Use Active Voice:
Active voice is direct, concise, and generally preferred in most situations. Use it when you want to emphasize the subject and make your writing more dynamic.
Example: "The chef prepared a delicious meal."

When to Use Passive Voice:
Passive voice is appropriate when the focus is on the action or when the agent is unknown or less important. It is also used to create a more formal tone.
Example: "A delicious meal was prepared by the chef."

Subject-Verb-Object vs. Object-Verb-Subject:
Active voice follows a subject-verb-object structure, while passive voice reverses the order to object-verb-subject.
Active Example: "The company (Subject) launched a new product (Object)."
Passive Example: "A new product (Object) was launched by the company (Subject)."

Understanding how to transform each tense form into passive voice allows for greater flexibility in writing. While active voice is generally preferred, passive constructions can be useful in specific contexts, providing variation and highlighting different aspects of the sentence. Remember that the key to effective writing is using both active and passive voices judiciously to convey your message clearly and engagingly.

Sentences in different tense forms can be changed into passive voice as shown below.

Present Simple

In the present simple tense, the passive voice is formed by using the auxiliary verb "am/are/is" + past participle. For example:

Active: The chef cooks the meal.
Passive: The meal is cooked by the chef.

Present Continuous

To convert the present continuous tense into passive voice, use the auxiliary verb "am/are/is being" + past participle. For instance:

Active: The team is planting trees.
Passive: Trees are being planted by the team.

Present Perfect

In the present perfect tense, the passive voice is formed with the auxiliary verb "has/have been" + past participle. For example:

Active: They have completed the project.
Passive: The project has been completed by them.

Present Perfect Continuous

To transform the present perfect continuous, theoretically we may use "has/have been being" + past participle. But normally we don't use Present Perfect Continuous sentences in passive form.

Past Simple

In the past simple tense, the passive voice is constructed with the auxiliary verb "was/were" + past participle. For example:

Active: The company released a new product.
Passive: A new product was released by the company.

Past Continuous

To change the past continuous tense into passive voice, use the auxiliary verb "was/were being" + past participle. For instance:

Active: The workers were fixing the roof.
Passive: The roof was being fixed by the workers.

Past Perfect

In the past perfect tense, the passive voice is formed with "had been" + past participle. For example:

Active: She had completed the assignment.
Passive: The assignment had been completed by her.

Past Perfect Continuous

To convert the past perfect continuous tense into passive voice, theoretically we may use "had been being" + past participle. But normally we don't use this tense in passive form.

Future Simple

In the future simple tense, the passive voice is constructed with the auxiliary verb "will be" + past participle. For example:

Active: The team will finish the project.
Passive: The project will be finished by the team.

Future Continuous

To change the future continuous tense into passive voice, theoretically we may use "will be being" + past participle. But normally we don't use this tense in passive voice.

Future Perfect

In the future perfect tense, the passive voice is formed with "will have been" + past participle. For example:

Active: They will have completed the experiment.
Passive: The experiment will have been completed by them.

Future Perfect Continuous

To convert the future perfect continuous tense into passive voice, theoretically we may use "will have been being" + past participle. But usually we don't use this tense in passive form.