Punjab State Board PSEB 12th Class English Book Solutions English Grammar Active and Passive Voice Exercise Questions and Answers, Notes.
PSEB 12th Class English Grammar Active and Passive Voice
There are two Voices:
1. Active Voice
2. Passive Voice.
1. Active Voice. The verb is said to be in the active voice when the subject acts; as,
- He sings a song.
- She wrote a story.
- We are telling a story.
- The farmer waters the fields.
2. Passive Voice. The verb is said to be in the passive voice when the object acts; as,
- A song is sung by him.
- A story was written by her.
- A story is being told by us.
- The fields are watered by the farmer.
Rules for changing a verb from the ACTIVE VOICE to the PASSIVE VOICE are:
1. The object of the verb in the Active Voice is made the subject in the Passive Voice.
2. If a transitive verb has two objects, either of them becomes the subject of the Passive Voice and the other remains unchanged.
3. The subject of the verb becomes the object of some preposition; as,
He gave me a book.
A book was given to me by him.
4. The verb is changed according to the following rules:
| Tense | Changed into |
| Present Indefinite | (sings) = is, am, are + third form (sung). |
| Past Indefinite | (sang) = was, were + third form (sung). |
| Future Indefinite | (sing) = shall be, will be + third form (sung). |
| Present Continuous | (singing) = is, am, are + being + third form (sung). |
| Past Continuous | (singing) was, were + being + third form (sung) |
| Present Perfect | (sung) = has been, have been + third form. |
| Past Perfect | (sung) = had been + third form. |
| Future Perfect | (sung) = shall have been, will have been + third form. |
Please Note. Use be + third form after can, could, shall, should, may, might, must, ought to.
5. When the agent is not expressed in the Passive Voice, we must supply it in the Active Voice:
Books were sold.
(Reeta) sold the books.
6. When a sentence is an imperative one, then the word “let” is used in the Passive voice:
Read your books.
Let your books be read.
7. Prepositions following the verbs in the ACTIVE VOICE must follow them again in the PASSIVE VOICE:
He laughed at me.
I was laughed at by him.
8. In interrogative sentences, the helping verb should always precede the Doer of the action in the Active Voice and the Receiver of the action in the Passive Voice:
Did he post the letter ?
Was the letter posted by him ?
9. THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS are changed as under:
(A) Present Indefinite Tense
1. Active : I hate Physics like poison.
Passive : Physics is hated like poison by me.
2. Active : She sings a song.
Passive : A song is sung by her.
3. Active : Who teaches you history ?
Passive : By whom are you taught history ?
4. Active : Does he help you ?
Passive : Are you helped by him ?
(B) Past Indefinite Tense
1. Active : I hated Physics like poison.
Passive : Physics was hated like poison by me.
2. Active : She sang a song.
Passive : A song was sung by her.
3. Active : Who taught you history ?
Passive : By whom were you taught history ?
4. Active : Did he help you ?
Passive : Were you helped by him ?
(C) Future Indefinite Tense
1. Active : I will hate Physics like poison.
Passive : Physics shall be hared like posion by me.
2. Active : She will sing a song.
Passive : A song will be sung by her.
3. Active : Who will teach you history ?
Passive : By whom will you be taught history ?
4. Active : Will he help you ?
Passive : Will you be helped by him ?
(D) Present Continuous Tense
1. Active : The peon is ringing the bell.
Passive : The bell is being rung by the peon.
2. Active : Why are you making a noise ?
Passive : Why is a noise being made by you ?
3. Active : Who is ringing the bell ?
Passive : By whom is the bell being rung ?
4. Active : Is he singing a song ?
Passive : Is a song being sung by him ?
(E) Past Continuous Tense
1. Active : They were singing a song.
Passive : A song was being sung by them.
2. Active : What were they doing ?
Passive : What was being done by them ?
3. Active : Was he teaching the class ?
Passive : Was the class being taught by him ?
4. Active : The peon was ringing the bell.
Passive : The bell was being rung by the peon.
(F) Present Perfect Tense
1. Active : She has insulted her mother.
Passive : Her mother has been insulted by her.
Active : Have you stolen the book ?
Passive : Has the book been stolen by you ?
3. Active : Who has rung the bell ?
Passive : By whom has the bell been rung ?
4. Active : She has spoken the truth.
Passive : The truth has been spoken by her.
(G) Past Perfect Tense
1. Active : She had insulted her mother.
Passive : Her mother had been insulted by her.
2. Active : Had you stolen the book ?
Passive : Had the book been stolen by you ?
3. Active : Who had rung the bell ?
Passive : By whom had the bell been rung ?
4. Active : She had spoken the truth.
Passive : The truth had been spoken by her.
(H) Future Perfect Tense
1. Active : She shall have insulted her father.
Passive : Her father will have been insulted by her.
2. Active : Will you have seen the picture by then ?
Passive .: Will the picture have been seen by you by then ?
3. Active : She will have caught the bird.
Passive : The bird will have been caught by her.
4. Active He will have stolen my pen.
Passive : My pen will have been stolen by him.
(I) Use of “Should”, “Must”, “Ought”, “Can”, “Could”, “May”, “Might” Etc. (Auxiliary Verbs)
1. Active : We should not laugh at the poor.
Passive : The poor should not be laughed at by us.
2. Active : You must teach him.
Passive : He must be taught by you.
3. Active : We ought to obey our elders.
Passive : Our elders ought to be obeyed by us.
4. Active : You can do it.
Passive : It can be done by you.
5. Active : I could teach him a lesson.
Passive : He could be taught a lesson by me.
6. Active : May I see your pen ?
Passive : May your pen be seen by me ?
7. Active : He might follow this path.
Passive : This path might be followed by him.
8. Active : May God bless you with a son !
Passive : May you be blessed with a son by God !
(J) Use of “Who”, “What”, “Why”, “When” Etc.
1. Active : Who beat you ?
Passive : By whom were you beaten ?
2. Active : Who broke your pen ?
Passive : By whom was your pen broken ?
3. Active : What have you done ?
Passive : WTiat has been done by you ?
4. Active : WTiy did you abuse him ?
Passive : Why was he abused by you ?
5. Active : When do you visit the temple ?
Passive : WTien is the temple visited by you ?
(K) Use Of “Know”, “Contain”, “Please”, “Astonish” “Surprise”, “Disgust”, “Alarm” Etc.
1. Active : Do you know him ?
Passive : Is he known to you ?
2. Active : This cup contains milk.
Passive : Milk is contained in this cup.
3. Active : His behaviour displeased me.
Passive : I was displeased at his behaviour.
4. Active : I cannot please everybody.
Passive : Everybody cannot be pleased with me.
5. Active : Her conduct astonished me.
Passive : I was astonished at her conduct.
6. Active : This news alarmed me.
Passive : I was alarmed at this news.
(L) Imperative Sentences
1. Active : Post this letter.
Passive : Let this letter be posted.
2. Active : Obey your elders.
Passive : Let your elders be obeyed.
3. Active : Do not pluck flowers.
Passive : You are prohibited to pluck flowers.
4. Active : Sit down.
Passive : You are ordered to sit down.
5. Active : Speak the truth.
Passive : You are advised to speak the truth.
6. Active : Please help me.
Passive : You are requested to help me.
NOTE : There are some Transitive verbs that give the sense of the Passive Voice without being changed into the Passive Voice.
1. Active : Quinine tastes bitter.
Passive : Quinine is bitter when tasted.
2. Active : This milk tastes sweet.
Passive : This milk is sweet when tasted.
Exercise 1
Change the Voice:
1. I like my teacher.
2. Do manners reveal character ?
3. Columbus discovered America.
4. This man has cut down the trees.
5. Hari did not open the door.
6. I will win him over.
7. The old man takes the snuff.
8. A cruel boy killed the bird.
9. I had never seen a zoo before.
10. Will she have written a letter ?
Answer:
1. My teacher is liked by me.
2. Is character revealed by manners ?
3. America was discovered by Columbus.
4. The trees have been cut down by this man.
5. The door was not opened by Hari.
6. He will be won over by me.
7. The snuff is taken by the old man.
8. The bird was killed by a cruel boy.
9. A zoo had never been seen by me before.
10. Will a letter have been written by her ?
Exercise 2 (textual)
Change the Voice:
1. Does she know you ?
2. Will you post the letter ?
3. She has done her duty.
4. Avoid bad company.
5. Are you expecting him today ?
6. I cannot lift this heavy box.
7. May I see your book ?
8. You are wasting your time.
9. When will she have finished her work ?
10. Why do you not call in the doctor ?
Answer:
1. Are you known to her ?
2. Will the letter be posted by you ?
3. Her duty has been done by her.
4. Bad company should be avoided.
5. Is he being expected by you today ?
6. This heavy box cannot be lifted by me.
7. May your book be seen by me ?
8. Your time is being wasted by you.
9. When will her work have been finished by her ?
10. Why is the doctor not called in by you ?
Exercise 3 (Textual)
Change the Voice:
1. Her uncle looks after her.
2. A favour will be done to him by me.
3. How is Sharda known to you ?
4. He was shocked at his sisters stupidity.
5. Why are you laughing at me ?
6. Who abused you ?
7. Had the picture been painted by her ?
8. This pot contains milk.
9. Were the villagers beating the terrorists ?
10. Who does not love his motherland ?
Answer:
1. She is looked after by her uncle.
2. I will do him a favour.
3. How do you know Sharda ?
4. His sister’s stupidity shocked him.
5. Why am I being laughed at by you ?
6. By whom were you abused ?
7. Had she painted the picture ?
8. Milk is contained in this pot.
9. Were the terrorists being beaten by the villagers ?
10. By whom is his motherland not loved ?
Exercise 4 (Textual)
Change the Voice:
1. His father praised him.
2. Kalidas wrote Sakuntalam.
3. The teacher was pleased by the boy’s work.
4. He kept me waiting.
5. Lata was singing a song.
6. They had already consulted the lawyer.
7. Many toys had been purchased by Rani.
8. The paper published the news.
9. Did you wring the clothes ?
10. Which book do you want ?
Answer:
1. He was praised by his father.
2. Sakuntalam was written by Kalidas.
3. The boy’s work pleased the teacher.
4. I was kept waiting by him.
5. A song was being sung by Lata.
6. The lawyer had already been consulted by them.
7. Rani had purchased many toys.
8. The news was published by the paper.
9. Were the clothes wrung by you ?
10. Which book is wanted by you ?
Exercise 5
Change the Voice:
1. Do not keep bad company.
2. They will have missed the train.
3. I shall not show you my book.
4. You are to help him.
5. Who invented the gramophone ?
6. I was given your message by him.
7. Open the door.
8. What do you want ?
9. The fire will have destroyed the house.
10. We ought to love our country.
Answer:
1. Let bad company not be kept.
2. The train will have been missed by them.
3. My book will not be shown to you.
4. He is to be helped by you.
5. By whom was the gramophone invented ?
6. He gave me your message.
7. Let the door be opened.
8. What is wanted by you ?
9. The house will have been destroyed by the fire.
10. Our country ought to be loved.
Exercise 6 (Textual)
Change the Voice:
1. I was pleased with his conduct.
2. The sudden noise frightened the horse.
3. The man cut down the tree.
4. The people will soon forget it.
5. We elected Thomas captain.
6. Somebody has put out the light.
7. We prohibit smoking.
8. He was refused admission.
9. Those cars were built by robots.
10. Why did he defraud you of your earnings ?
Answer:
1. His conduct pleased me.
2. The horse was frightened by the sudden noise.
3. The tree was cut down by the man.
4. It will soon be forgotten by the people.
5. Thomas was elected captain by us.
6. The light has been put out.
7. Smoking is prohibited.
8. The Principal refused him admission.
9. Robots built those cars. .
10. Why were you defrauded of your earnings by him ?
Additional Exercise Voice Based on Grammar Items
Exercise 1
Change the voice of the following sentences:
1. Crowd thronged the stadium.
2. Arjun is seeing a deer.
3. I have not liked kites.
4. Who is waiting for me ?
5. Learn your lessons.
6. Mend your business.
7. I am known to him.
8. You displeased her.
9. This pot contains coffee.
10. You had to do it.
11. Indians adore Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
12. Work must be finished.
13. Did he sing a song ?
14. Can you lend me your book.
15. Do you like apples ?
Answer:
1. The stadium was thronged with crowd.
2. A deer is being seen by Arjun.
3. Kites have not been liked by me.
4. By whom am I being waited for ?
5. Let your lessons be learnt ?
6. Let your business be mended ?
7. He knows me.
8. She was displeased at you.
9. Coffee is contained in this pot.
10. It had to be done by you.
11. Prime Minister is adored by Indians.
12. Workers must finish work.
13. Was a song sung by him ?
14. Can your book be lent to me (by you) ?
15. Apples are liked by me.