Key Concepts and Practice for Active and Passive Voice in Class 8 Exams
In today’s lesson, we will discuss the essential topic of English grammar, “voices”. Voices denote how information is presented. There are two types which are active and passive. In this article example sentences of active and passive voice along with answers have been illustrated. Practice questions and solved examples of the topic are given throughout the article for better understanding and concept clarity. Let’s begin the journey on this important topic.
Grammar
Voice
Voice refers to how a piece of information or conversation is presented.
Active Voice and Passive Voice
There are two types of voices which are active and passive.
Active voice is used the subject is a doer of an action. For example, She loves flowers.
Passive voice is used when the subject is the receiver of an action. For example, Flowers are loved by her.
Examples of these according to different tenses are given below.
Changing from Active to Passive Voice
Simple Tenses
1. Simple Present Tense
2. Simple Past Tense
3. Simple Future Tense
Continuous Tenses
1. Present Continuous Tense
2. Past Continuous Tense
3. Perfect Tense
Difficult Words with Meanings
Summary
In this chapter, we discussed the concept of parts of voices. Voices denote how information is presented. There are two types which are active and passive. In this article example sentences along with answers have been illustrated. While passive voice can assist avoid needless repetition, active voice frequently increases intelligibility. By making it plain to the reader who is acting in the sentence, an active voice can help assure intelligibility. The subject of the sentence is the one who receives the action, which was highlighted by the passive voice. The action's performer may or may not be named later in the text when utilising the passive voice. Example sentences along with answers have been illustrated. We then discussed different types of voices.
Practice Questions
Convert the given sentences into passive voice
1. We shall eat the fruits.
2. She bought a new purse.
3. He hates bitter gourds.
4. Joey doesn’t waste water.
5. She conserves the environment.
6. She was hiding the pretty dress.
7. She stitched the dress.
8. He moved the cupboard out of the room.
9. The editor published the article.
10. The reader enjoyed the book.
Answers:
Convert the given sentences into passive voice
1. The fruits shall be eaten by us.
2. A new purse was bought by her.
3. Bitter gourds are hated by him.
4. Water isn’t wasted by Joey.
5. The environment is conserved by her.
6. The pretty dress was being hidden by her.
7. The dress was stitched by her.
8. The cupboard was moved out of the room by him.
9. The article was published by the editor.
10. The book was enjoyed by the reader.
FAQs on Class 8 English Grammar: Active and Passive Voice Explained for 2025-26
1. What are the most important types of questions on Active and Passive Voice for the CBSE Class 8 English exam 2025-26?
For the Class 8 English exam, students should focus on a few key question types for Active and Passive Voice, which frequently appear. Important areas include:
Simple Conversions: Changing basic declarative sentences from active to passive across different tenses (Simple Present, Past, Future).
Interrogative Sentences: Converting questions (starting with 'Who', 'What', 'When', 'Why', 'How', or auxiliary verbs) into the passive form.
Imperative Sentences: Changing commands, requests, or advice into passive voice, often using structures like 'Let...be...' or 'You are requested/advised to...'.
Sentences with Modals: Converting sentences containing modal verbs like 'can', 'should', 'must', or 'will'.
2. What is the fundamental rule for changing a sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice?
The fundamental rule involves three main steps. First, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Second, the main verb is changed into its past participle (V3) form, and it is preceded by an appropriate form of the verb 'to be' (is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being). Third, the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence, usually introduced by the preposition 'by'. For example, 'She eats an apple' (Active) becomes 'An apple is eaten by her' (Passive).
3. How are sentences with modal verbs like 'can', 'must', or 'should' changed into passive voice?
When a sentence in the active voice contains a modal verb, the structure for the passive voice is Modal Verb + be + Past Participle (V3). The modal verb itself does not change. For example:
Active: He can solve this puzzle.
Passive: This puzzle can be solved by him.
Active: You must finish the homework.
Passive: The homework must be finished by you.
4. Why is the 'by' phrase (the agent) sometimes omitted in passive sentences? Is this important for exams?
Yes, understanding when to omit the agent is an important concept. The 'by' phrase is intentionally left out in passive sentences under certain conditions:
When the agent is unknown or not important (e.g., 'My wallet was stolen.' We don't know who stole it).
When the agent is obvious from the context (e.g., 'The thief has been arrested.' It is obvious the police arrested him).
When the statement is a general or scientific truth where the action is more important than the doer (e.g., 'English is spoken all over the world.').
In exams, correctly omitting the agent where appropriate can show a deeper understanding of the topic.
5. What is the correct method to convert an interrogative sentence (a question) to passive voice?
To change an interrogative sentence to passive voice, the question form must be retained. The method depends on the type of question:
For questions starting with Wh-words (What, Why, etc.), the word remains at the beginning. The auxiliary verb is placed before the new subject. For example, 'Why did you break the window?' becomes 'Why was the window broken by you?'.
For questions starting with 'Who', it is changed to 'By whom'. For example, 'Who wrote this letter?' becomes 'By whom was this letter written?'.
For Yes/No questions starting with an auxiliary verb (Do, Does, Did, Have, etc.), the passive form also starts with an auxiliary verb. For example, 'Did he complete the project?' becomes 'Was the project completed by him?'.
6. How are imperative sentences, such as commands and requests, converted into the passive voice?
The conversion of imperative sentences depends on the nature of the sentence:
For commands or orders that have an object, the structure 'Let + object + be + past participle (V3)' is used. For example, 'Open the door' becomes 'Let the door be opened'.
For requests (sentences starting with 'Please' or 'Kindly'), the structure 'You are requested to...' is used, followed by the rest of the sentence. For example, 'Please help me' becomes 'You are requested to help me'.
For advice or suggestions, the structure 'Object + should be + past participle (V3)' is often used. For example, 'Respect your elders' becomes 'Your elders should be respected'.
7. What is the key difference in focus between an active voice sentence and a passive voice sentence?
The key difference lies in the emphasis. In the active voice, the focus is on the subject or the 'doer' of the action. The sentence structure highlights who or what is performing the action. In the passive voice, the focus shifts to the object or the recipient of the action. It emphasises the action itself or the thing that is acted upon, making the 'doer' secondary or sometimes irrelevant.
8. Are there any verb tenses that cannot be converted to passive voice? Which ones are important to remember for Class 8?
Yes, not all tenses can be practically converted into the passive voice because the resulting sentence would be grammatically awkward. The following four tenses are generally not used in the passive voice:
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Future Continuous Tense
Remembering this exception is a higher-order skill that is useful for competitive exams and avoiding errors in complex transformations.
