Active and Passive Voices – JSS1 English Lesson Note (Third Term)

Voice shows whether the subject of a sentence does the action or receives it. In the active voice, the subject does the action: “Ada cooked the rice.” In the passive voice, the subject receives the action: “The rice was cooked by Ada.” The verb changes form in each voice, and tense is shown in that change.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• explain what active voice and passive voice mean;
• identify active and passive sentences;
• change active sentences to passive sentences in the simple present, simple past and simple future tenses and in some other tenses;
• change passive sentences back to active sentences.

What is tense?

Tense occurs only in verbs. It is usual to talk about the past tense, the present tense and the future tense. Tense refers to the change that takes place in the form of the verb to show time. A verb can be in the active voice or in the passive voice.

What are active and passive voices?

Active voice

In an active sentence, the subject (the doer) performs the action on the object.

Tunde kicked the ball. (Tunde is the subject and the doer. The ball is the object.)

Passive voice

In a passive sentence, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject. The doer is put after “by”, or it may be left out.

The ball was kicked by Tunde.

Sentences in the active voice are usually easier to understand than sentences in the passive voice. To use the active voice, make the doer of the action clear by naming it as the subject.

How do we change active to passive?

1. Find the subject, the verb and the object of the active sentence.
2. Move the object to the front as the new subject.
3. Use the correct form of the verb “to be” (is, are, was, were, will be, has been, and so on) in the same tense as the main verb in the active sentence.
4. Add the past participle of the main verb (for example cooked, kicked, written, eaten).
5. Put “by” and the old subject at the end, if you need to name the doer.

Only verbs that take an object can be changed to the passive. “The baby slept” cannot be made passive because it has no object.

Active and passive forms by tense

In the table, notice that the tense of the verb “to be” in the passive voice is always the same as the tense of the main verb in the active voice.

How do we change passive to active?

Changing passive to active is straightforward, but it needs practice. Take the doer after “by” and make it the subject. Then use the verb in the same tense and make the old subject the object.

The window was broken by the boy. becomes The boy broke the window.

Both verbs are in the past tense.

Evaluation

1. Change to the passive voice: “The cook prepared the soup.”
2. Change to the passive voice: “Bisi sweeps the compound.”
3. Change to the passive voice: “The driver will carry the passengers.”
4. Change to the active voice: “The window was broken by the boy.”
5. Which sentence is in the passive voice? (a) The dog chased the cat. (b) The cat was chased by the dog.

Answer key

1. The soup was prepared by the cook.
2. The compound is swept by Bisi.
3. The passengers will be carried by the driver.
4. The boy broke the window.
5. (b)

Assignment

Change sentences 1 to 3 to the passive voice and sentences 4 and 5 to the active voice.

1. Mr Okoro teaches English.
2. The pupils sang the national anthem.
3. The tailor has sewn the uniform.
4. The letter was written by Amina.
5. The patients will be treated by the nurses.

Answer key

1. English is taught by Mr Okoro.
2. The national anthem was sung by the pupils.
3. The uniform has been sewn by the tailor.
4. Amina wrote the letter.
5. The nurses will treat the patients.