Passive Voice of Past Indefinite Tense

Hi, there !

Today, I will be discussing here about the past indefinite tense (passive and active voice in details

Passive voice means that a subject is a recipient of a verb’s action. You may have learned that the passive voice is weak and incorrect, but it isn’t that simple. When used correctly and in moderation, the passive voice is fine.In English grammar, verbs have five properties: voice, mood, tense, person, and number; here, we are concerned with voice. The two grammatical voices are active and passive.

Past Indefinite Affirmative-

Object+Was/Were+Verb{3rd form of the verb}+By+Subject.

Examples-

1. He wrote a letter.[Active voice.]

• A letter was written by him.[Passive voice.]

While transferring a sentence into passive voice from active voice –

• We exchange Subject and Object from each other.
• We use Was/Were as a helping verb in the Past Indefinite Tense and third form of the verb.
• We use the preposition By before the Subject.[Subject of Active Voice]

Past Indefinite : Negative Sentence.

Object+Was/Were+Not+Verb{3rd form of the verb}+By+Subject

1. He did not write two letters.[Active voice.]

• Two letters were not written by him.[Passive voice.]

Past Indefinite: Interrogative Sentence.

Was/Were+Object+Not+Verb{3rd form of the verb}+By+Subject

1. Did he write a letter?[Active voice.]

• Was a letter written by him?[Passive voice.]

Past Indefinite: Main Interrogative Sentence.

Question Word+Was/Were+Object+Not+Verb{3rd form of the verb}+By+Subject.

1. Why did he not write a letter?[Active voice.]

• Why was a letter not written by him?[Passive voice.]

• If there is Who as a question word then-

By+Whom+Was/Were+Object+Not+Verb{3rd form of the verb}

1. Who wrote a letter?

• By whom was a letter written?

Transform the following sentences into passive voice.

1. The children played a hockey match in the school.
2. Sanku stole the watch of his boss.
3. Devdatta killed the beautiful swan.
4. The gardener planted some new plants.
5. My father gave me some money yesterday.
6. She did not prepare the food timely.
7. The guests did not eat the food yet.
8. The students did not write an application to the principal.
9. The carpenter did not make my table and chair last week.
10. Rekha did not disappoint her parents.
11. Did the teacher not teach you grammar?
12. Did the children buy many books?
13. Did Rohan not call you?
14. Did the students not complete their homework last night?
15. Did I not know this boy before?
16. Why did you not sell your old car?
17. How did she solve all the questions so soon?
18. Who killed this beautiful swan?
19. Which boy did displease his father?
20. How much milk did the children drink daily at night?

From passive voice to active voice

We can transform a sentence from passive voice to active voice by just applying the below rules-

• We exchange Subject and Object from each other .
• If there is Was/Were as a helping verb we use the verb according to the Past Indefinite Tense.
• We remove preposition By before Subject.

Examples-

Affirmative-

1. The mouse was killed by the cat.[Passive Voice]

• The cat killed the mouse.[Active Voice]

Negative-

1. The mouse was not killed by the cat.[Passive Voice]

• The cat did not kill the mouse.[Active Voice]

Interrogative-

1. Was the mouse not killed by the cat?Passive Voice]

• Did the cat not kill the mouse?[Active Voice]

Main Interrogative-

1. When was the mouse killed by the cat?[Passive Voice]

• When did the cat kill the mouse?[Active Voice]

Transform the following sentences into active voice

1. Her work was done successfully by her.
2. The famous robber was arrested by the police last night.
3. This pen was found by me.
4. That book was given to me by my father.
5. He was known to all the children in my class.
6. Children under five were not admitted by them.
7. The letter was not written by any of us.
8. Urdu was not spoken by my friends.
9. I was not surprised at his answer.
10. Mohan was not beaten by his elder brother.
11. Was football not played by the children yesterday?
12. Was I not taught chemistry by Mr.Khan?
13. Were you not invited by your old friend?
14. Was he not laughed at by all the boys?
15. Were they not astonished at our success?
16. Why was the match not won by our team?
17. How was she helped by him?
18. How many answers were given by that candidate?
19. Which fruit was liked by your mother?
20. Who was not distressed at his defeat?

Content Writer– Mohammad Anas.….. Edited by– Shadab Akhtar.