Active and Passive voice -Rules of changing with examples.

The voice of a verb

The voice of a verb refers to whether the subject of the sentence is performing the action (active voice) or receiving the action (passive voice). It determines the relationship between the subject and the verb in a sentence. The voice of a verb can be either active or passive.

Active Voice: In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb. It is the most common and straightforward form of expressing actions. For example:

• "She wrote a letter." (Subject: She, Verb: wrote)

Passive Voice: In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action expressed by the verb. The focus is on the receiver of the action rather than the doer. Passive voice is formed using the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb. For example:

• "The letter was written by her." (Subject: The letter, Verb: was written)

Now, read these sets of sentenses

• The doctor treated the patient. (active) 
• The patient was treated by the doctor. (passive)
•  R K Narayan wrote The Guide. (active)
• The Guide was written by R K Narayan. (passive)

Here are a few key points to remember about active and passive voice:

1. Active voice is generally more direct, clear, and concise, making it the preferred choice in most cases.
2. Passive voice is used when the focus is on the recipient of the action or when the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant.
3. Passive voice is often used in formal or scientific writing to maintain objectivity and emphasize the action rather than the doer.
4. To convert an active voice sentence to passive voice, you typically reverse the subject and object positions and change the verb form to the past participle (often with the auxiliary verb "to be").
5. Not all sentences can be converted into the passive voice. The possibility of creating a passive voice sentence depends on the transitivity of the verb and the availability of a suitable object.

The Rules of changing a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice

To change a sentence from active to passive voice, you can follow these general rules:

1. Change the object into the subject and the subject into the object. For example, 

• Rohit buys a book. (active) -A book is bought by Rohit. (passive)

2. Change the main verb from its active form to the past participle form. The past participle is often formed by adding "-ed" to regular verbs or using the third form of irregular verbs.

• Rohit buys a book. (active) - A book is bought by Rohit. (passive)
• Rohit bought a book. (active) - A book was bought by Rohit. (passive)

3.  Add the preposition "by" before the doer of the action (optional). The doer of the action can be mentioned in the passive voice sentence, but it's not always necessary or desirable.

• Minu has bought this pen (active) - This pen has been bought by Minu. (passive)

4. When we change a sentence from the active to the passive voice, the subject pronoun change to object pronouns. Similarly the object pronouns take the place of the subject and change to subject pronouns. For example,

• I gave her this pen drive. (active) - This pen drive was given to her by me. (passive)
• They will give him a cricket set on his birthday. (active) - He will be given a cricket set by them on his birthday. (passive)

Change in pronouns when we change a sentence from the active to the passive voice.

 5. When a preposition follows a verb in the active voice, it stays the same in the passive voice. Example, 

• Ravi takes care of his brother. (active) - His brother is taken care of  by Ravi. (passive)

6. A question, when changed to passive voice, retains its form. Only the form of the verb and the pronoun change. For example, 

• When did they invithe you? (active) - When were you invited by them? (passive)
• Is he disturbing you? (active) - Are you being disturbed by him? (passive)

Forms of Active And Passive Voice For All Tenses with examples