Passive voice involves rearranging the sentence so that the subject of the action becomes the object of the sentence. The sentence structure is typically: object + auxiliary verb (be) + past participle of the main verb + by + subject.
For example, let’s compare active and passive voice:
Active Voice: The cat chased the mouse.
Passive Voice: The mouse was chased by the cat.
In the active voice sentence, “cat” is the subject performing the action “chased,” while “mouse” is the direct object receiving the action. In the passive voice sentence, the roles are reversed, with “mouse” becoming the subject and “cat” becoming the agent mentioned with the preposition “by.”
Here are a few more examples of active to passive voice conversions:
Active Voice: She wrote the book.
Passive Voice: The book was written by her.
Active Voice: The teacher graded the papers.
Passive Voice: The papers were graded by the teacher.
Active Voice: They found the lost keys.
Passive Voice: The lost keys were found by them.
In some cases, the agent responsible for the action may not be specified in the passive voice sentence. In such cases, the phrase “by someone” or a similar construction can be used instead.
Passive Voice: The car was repaired.
Passive Voice (with agent): The car was repaired by a mechanic.
It’s important to note that not all sentences can be converted into passive voice, and using passive voice too frequently can make the writing dull and less engaging. Nonetheless, passive voice can be useful in certain situations, such as when the agent is unknown or the focus is on the object rather than the subject performing the action.
