Grade 7 English: Active and passive voice poster

1Active voice

In an active sentence, the subject does the action. The focus is on the doer.

2Passive voice

In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action. The verb is a form of be + the past participle. The doer (the agent) can be added with by.

3Active to passive

• Find the object of the active sentence. It becomes the subject.
• Use be in the same tense as the active verb.
• Add the past participle of the main verb.
• Add by + the doer if it is needed.

4Tenses in the passive

• Present: is, are + past participle (The rice is cooked.)
• Past: was, were + past participle (The rice was cooked.)
• Future: will be + past participle (The rice will be cooked.)
• Present perfect: has, have been + past participle (The rice has been cooked.)
• Present continuous: is, are being + past participle (The rice is being cooked.)

5Why use the passive?

Use it when the doer is unknown, not important or obvious, or when the action matters more than the doer. News and science writing use it often.

6Watch out

• Only a sentence with an object can become passive. (The sun rose cannot change.)
• Use the past participle, not the past tense: was written, not was wrote.