Class 10 English Grammar – Active and Passive Voice Rules with Examples and Practice Questions
Class 10 Active and Passive Voice – Full Guide with Rules & Practice
Understanding Active and Passive Voice be essential for master English grammar , especially in CBSE Class 10 exam . This guide will help you understand the rule , see example , and practice voice transformation step by step .
🌟 What is Voice in Grammar?
Voice show whether the subject of a sentence perform the action ( active ) or receive the action ( passive ) .
- Active Voice: The subject does the action.
- Passive Voice: The subject receives the action.
🎯 Example:
- Active: The chef cooked the meal.
- Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.
📚 Why Learn Active and Passive Voice?
- Common in CBSE exam
- Helps in write formal English
- Useful in letter writing , report , and notice
🧠 Golden Rule:
When change from active to passive , the object become the subject , and we use a form of ‘ be ’ + past participle ( V3 ) .
🔁 Active to Passive Voice Conversion Rules
Let ’ s explore the rule base on tense :
🕐 1. Simple Present Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + V1 + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + is/am/are + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: She writes a letter.
- Passive: A letter is written by her.
🕒 2. Present Continuous Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + is/am/are + V1+ing + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + is/am/are + being + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: He is reading a book.
- Passive: A book is being read by him.
🕘 3. Present Perfect Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + has/have + V3 + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + has/have + been + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: They have completed the project.
- Passive: The project has been completed by them.
🕓 4. Simple Past Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + V2 + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + was/were + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: She painted the wall.
- Passive: The wall was painted by her.
🕔 5. Past Continuous Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + was/were + V1+ing + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + was/were + being + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: The students were writing an essay.
- Passive: An essay was being written by the students.
🕕 6. Past Perfect Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + had + V3 + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + had been + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: He had completed the homework.
- Passive: The homework had been completed by him.
🕖 7. Simple Future Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + will/shall + be + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: She will bake a cake.
- Passive: A cake will be baked by her.
🕗 8. Future Perfect Tense
Structure:
- ✅ Active: Subject + will/shall have + V3 + Object
- 🔄 Passive: Object + will/shall have been + V3 + (by + subject)
Example:
- Active: They will have finished the work.
- Passive: The work will have been finished by them.
🚫 Tenses that Cannot Be Changed:
- Future Continuous
- Present Perfect Continuous
- Past Perfect Continuous
These are rarely used in passive voice because they sound awkward and are not grammatically preferred.
🔄 Voice Change in Imperatives (Commands & Requests)
📌 1. Commands
- Active: Shut the door.
- Passive: Let the door be shut.
📌 2. Requests
- Active: Please help me.
- Passive: You are requested to help me.
📖 Voice Change for Questions
📌 Yes/No Questions:
- Active: Did he complete the task?
- Passive: Was the task completed by him?
📌 Wh-Questions:
- Active: Who wrote this book?
- Passive: By whom was this book written?
📝 Practice Questions – Convert to Passive Voice
- She sings a song.
- He was repairing the car.
- They have won the match.
- Did she finish the painting?
- The chef will cook dinner.
- I am watching a movie.
- Who painted the Mona Lisa?
- Please close the window.
- He had broken the vase.
- They will have announced the result.
✅ Answers:
- A song is sung by her.
- The car was being repaired by him.
- The match has been won by them.
- Was the painting finished by her?
- Dinner will be cooked by the chef.
- A movie is being watched by me.
- By whom was the Mona Lisa painted?
- You are requested to close the window.
- The vase had been broken by him.
- The result will have been announced by them.
📌 Summary Table of Tense Conversions
| Tense | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | V1 | is/am/are + V3 |
| Present Continuous | is/am/are + V1+ing | is/am/are + being + V3 |
| Present Perfect | has/have + V3 | has/have been + V3 |
| Simple Past | V2 | was/were + V3 |
| Past Continuous | was/were + V1+ing | was/were + being + V3 |
| Past Perfect | had + V3 | had been + V3 |
| Simple Future | will/shall + V1 | will/shall + be + V3 |
| Future Perfect | will/shall have + V3 | will/shall have been + V3 |
✍️ Pro Tips for Students
- Always identify the tense first.
- Change the verb to V3 form in passive.
- Use proper ‘be’ form (is/am/are/was/were/been/being).
- Add ‘by + subject’ if needed (omit it when it’s obvious or irrelevant).
- Practice regularly with different sentence types.
📌 Related Grammar Topics
- [Reported Speech Class 10 – Rules and Exercises]
- [Complete Guide to Editing and Omission Practice – Class 10 CBSE]
- [Tense Chart with Examples – CBSE Edition]
- [Letter Writing Format for CBSE Class 10]
