Active and passive voice — Explanation

Practice Active and Passive Voice with B1 exercises, tests, and clear explanations. Improve English grammar skills with interactive practice and examples.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises

In English, there are two ways to make sentences: the active voice and the passive voice. They change the main idea of the sentence, but the meaning stays the same. Knowing the difference between active and passive voice will help you write in English that is more clear and natural.

This is an important topic for B1 students, especially when they need to talk about processes, actions, and situations where the person doing the action isn't known or isn't important.

What does it mean to be in the active voice?

The subject does the action in the active voice.

Structure:
Subject + verb + object

Examples:

• The company produces smartphones.
• She wrote an email.
• They clean the office every day.
• The teacher explains the lesson.

The subject (company, she, they, teacher) does the action in these sentences.

When the person or thing doing the action is important, we use the active voice.

What does the passive voice mean?

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

Structure:
Subject + be + past participle (+ by + person)

Examples:

• Smartphones are produced by the company.
• An email was written by her.
• The office is cleaned every day.
• The lesson is explained by the teacher.

In passive sentences, the action or the result is the main point, not the person who does it.

When Should We Use the Passive Voice?

When the person is not known

We use the passive voice when we don't know who did the action.

Example:
My car was stolen last night.
(We don’t know who stole it.)

When the person isn't important

Sometimes what you do is more important than who you are.

Example:
English is spoken in many countries.

The important thing is that English is spoken, not who speaks it.

When talking about systems and processes

Using the passive voice is common when explaining how things work.

Example:
Coffee is grown, collected, and exported to many countries.

In formal writing

People often use passive voice in business and formal settings.

Example:
The report was prepared yesterday.

How to Form the Passive Voice

To make the passive voice, use:

be + past participle

The verb "be" changes based on the tense.

Present Simple Passive

Structure:
am / is / are + past participle

Active:
They clean the room.

Passive:
The room is cleaned.

Past Simple Passive

Structure:
was / were + past participle

Active:
They built the bridge.

Passive:
The bridge was built.

Present Continuous Passive

Structure:
am / is / are + being + past participle

Active:
They are repairing the road.

Passive:
The road is being repaired.

Present Perfect Passive

Structure:
has / have + been + past participle

Active:
They have finished the project.

Passive:
The project has been finished.

Using "by" in sentences that are not active

We use by to show who does the action if it matters.

Example:
The book was written by George Orwell.

We don't say "by" if the person isn't important.

Example:
The book was written in 1949.

Active vs Passive: Comparison

Active:
The manager approved the plan.

Passive:
The plan was approved (by the manager).

Active is all about the person.
Passive focuses on the action or the end result.