Passive Voice (Active to Passive) in Different Tenses — Grammar, Rules, Examples and Exercises — English 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

What is the Passive Voice?

In English, we have two voices: active and passive.

• Active Voice: The subject performs the action. “The boy reads a book.”
• Passive Voice: The subject receives the action. “A book is read by the boy.”

Formation of the Passive Voice

Subject + to be (conjugated) + Past Participle (V3) + (by + agent)

Passive Voice in Different Tenses

Tense	Active	Passive
Present Simple	He writes a letter.	A letter is written by him.
Past Simple	She cleaned the room.	The room was cleaned by her.
Future Simple (will)	They will build a house.	A house will be built by them.
Present Continuous	He is fixing the car.	The car is being fixed by him.
Present Perfect	She has written the report.	The report has been written by her.

When to Use the Passive Voice

1. When the agent (doer) is unknown or unimportant:
   • “My bike was stolen.” (We don’t know who stole it.)
   • “Arabic is spoken in Algeria.” (The important fact is the language.)
2. When we want to emphasize the action or the receiver of the action:
   • “The president was elected last month.”
3. In formal and scientific writing:
   • “The experiment was conducted in a laboratory.”

Active to Passive — Step by Step

Step 1: Identify the object of the active sentence.

Step 2: Move the object to the subject position.

Step 3: Conjugate the verb “to be” in the same tense as the active verb.

Step 4: Use the past participle (V3) of the main verb.

Step 5: Add “by + agent” if necessary.

Example:

Active: The teacher explains the lesson. (Present Simple)

Object: the lesson → becomes subject

Verb “to be” in Present Simple (is/are) → is

Past Participle of “explain” → explained

Agent: by the teacher

Passive: The lesson is explained by the teacher.

Examples

Affirmative:

• English is spoken all over the world.
• The window was broken by the storm.
• The homework will be checked tomorrow.

Negative:

• The package was not delivered on time.
• This room is not cleaned every day.

Questions:

• Was the letter sent yesterday?
• Will the meeting be postponed?

Practice Exercises

1. Change to passive:
   • The boy reads a story.
   • The chef cooked the meal.
   • The students will finish the project.
2. Change to active:
   • The book was written by Mark Twain.
   • The car is being repaired by the mechanic.
3. Complete with the correct passive form:
   • Arabic ____________ (speak) in many countries.
   • The test ____________ (correct) by the teacher yesterday.
   • New schools ____________ (build) next year.

Summary

The Passive Voice focuses on the action rather than the doer. Form: subject + to be + past participle. Use it when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or to emphasize the action. Practice converting between active and passive in different tenses.