CBSE Class 8 English Grammar Active And Passive Voice

Active And Passive Voice

There are two ways to express an action of a subject in relation to its object

• Active voice

• Passive voice

In “active voice” subject acts upon the object, while in “passive voice” object is acted upon by the subject.  The normal structure of an active voice sentence is subject + verb + object but in passive the normal structure of sentence is reversed according to certain rules and becomes object + verb + subject (as agent). The real meaning of a sentence does not change if the sentence is expressed either in active voice or passive voice.

 The active voice is mostly used in writing because it gives a direct and more concise meaning. Passive voice is used sometimes due to the following reasons.

1. When intentionally hiding the subject of sentence. For example, a student who failed in exam might say, "Some chapters were not studied."

Another example: Women were not treated as equals.

2. When passive voice better explains the thought of a sentence. For example, to say, "Cloth is sold in yards," is more meaningful than to say, "Shop keepers sell cloth in yards."

3. When passive voice better emphasizes the main thought of the sentence. For example, a man who is being teased by another person might say in anger, “You will be beaten by me.”

4.When subject is not exactly known. For example, "His watch was stolen." It is not known  who stole his watch, the subject (thief) is not exactly known, so it is better to use passive voice for such a sentence.

EXERCISE-1

I. Put the following sentences into the Passive Voice: ---

1.         The teacher conducted an exam.

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2.         Raj is eating a pizza.

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3.         A lion was chasing a deer.

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4.         Who damaged the car?

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5.         The sailors are navigating the ship.

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6.         Amay is baking a cake for his mother.

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7.         Did you hear the noise?

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8.         My mother taught Sociology to University students.

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9.         The prince presented a ring to his fiance.

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10.       All the students enjoyed the picnic.

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11.       My father narrated an interesting story.

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12.       Policemen interrogated the suspects.

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13.         Do it at once.

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14.       Where can such a man be found?

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15.       Couldn’t you have informed the police?

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II. Put the following sentences into the Active Voice:--

1.         Puja is being teased by her brother.

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2.         The prizes were given away by the President.

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3.         By whom was this book written?

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4.         Police was informed about the robbery by Karan.

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5.         The man-eater tiger was killed by the forest officers.

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6.         By whom were you taught Japanese?

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7.         An old lady was hit by a speeding car.

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8.         The complaint was registered by them.

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9.         Our flight was delayed by bad weather.

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10.       A sample of soil was taken by the scientists.

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11.       My uncle is being taken to the hospital by the attendants.

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12.       By whom was the award won?

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13.     Let not your time be wasted.

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14. May you be blessed with a glorious success in this venture!

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15. By whom can such a mistake be made?

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EXERCISE-2

Change the Voice in the following sentences :--

1.         Aditi bought a beautiful gown.

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2.         A farewell party was organised by the employees.

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3.         Saranya is driving a new car.

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4.         An entire village was wiped out by a flood.

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5.         Mohit is being transferred to Mumbai by his boss.

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6.         Party members welcomed their leader.

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7.         The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

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8.         We expect good results.

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9.         The target has been achieved by them.

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10.       Save electricity.

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11.       Please maintain silence in the library.

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12.       Let River Yamuna be saved.

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13. You are requested to leave your shoes outside the temple.

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14. Taj Mahal was built by Shahjahan.

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15. My father is repairing the fan.

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16. The loud noise frightened the baby.

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17. Let your teachers be respected by you.

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18. The dance show was choreographed by Sania.

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19. Save the environment.

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20. You are instructed to close the door after you leave.

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