Change the focus without changing the event
“The volunteers repaired the noticeboard” begins with the people doing the work. “The noticeboard was repaired by the volunteers” begins with the thing affected. Both can describe the same event, but they direct the reader’s attention differently.
A reliable active–passive rewrite preserves who did what, when it happened and whether it happened at all. It also preserves whether the action was in progress or already complete. The fictional classroom contexts below show why changing word order alone is not enough.
Find the parts before moving them
In “The volunteers repaired the noticeboard”, volunteers is the subject, repaired is the verb and noticeboard is the direct object. In the passive version, the old object becomes the subject. The old subject can appear in a phrase beginning with by.
- Identify a suitable verb with an object in this particular use.
- Make that object the subject of the new clause.
- Build the appropriate form of be plus the main verb’s past participle.
- Make the first finite auxiliary agree with the new subject.
- Retain negatives, time expressions and any important agent information.
- Read both clauses for meaning and then check their fit in the paragraph.
The past participle is not always the past simple form. Write becomes wrote in past simple but written as a participle. Thus “Roni wrote the headings” becomes “The headings were written by Roni”, not “were wrote”.
| Time or aspect | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | The helper checks the cards. | The cards are checked by the helper. |
| Past simple | The helper checked the cards. | The cards were checked by the helper. |
| Present continuous | The helper is checking the cards. | The cards are being checked by the helper. |
| Past continuous | The helper was checking the cards. | The cards were being checked by the helper. |
| Present perfect | The helper has checked the cards. | The cards have been checked by the helper. |
| Past perfect | The helper had checked the cards. | The cards had been checked by the helper. |
Being signals the progressive passive in these examples; been belongs to the perfect passive. “The cards have being checked” combines them incorrectly. A singular new subject would require “The card has been checked”. Agreement follows the new subject, not the former one.
Worked context 1: a negative action
Context: A report must distinguish the map from the labels. Lela corrected the labels yesterday, but she left the map unchanged.
Active account: Lela did not alter the map yesterday. She corrected the labels.
Map-focused version: The map was not altered by Lela yesterday. The labels were corrected by her.
Map becomes the singular subject. Past simple negative “did not alter” becomes “was not altered”: did disappears because was now carries tense, while not remains. Labels is plural, so the second sentence requires were. “The map is not altered” would change the tense and could suggest a present state.
The passive first sentence does not claim that nobody altered the map. It says that Lela did not. If someone else might have changed it, retaining “by Lela” matters. Omitting the agent could create a broader claim than the facts justify. This is why negation and agent scope deserve a meaning check together.
Worked context 2: work still in progress
Context: At noon, two assistants were halfway through labelling display boxes. A visitor wanted to know why those boxes were unavailable.
Active: Two assistants were labelling the display boxes at noon.
Passive: The display boxes were being labelled by two assistants at noon.
The original subject is two assistants; the object is the display boxes. Boxes moves into subject position. Were preserves past time and plural agreement; being preserves the in-progress viewpoint; labelled supplies the participle. The time phrase remains unchanged.
“The display boxes were labelled at noon” is grammatical, but presents the labelling as an event rather than looking into work underway. It does not reliably preserve the supplied halfway-through meaning. For the visitor, “The display boxes were being labelled at noon” is enough if the workers’ identity and number are irrelevant. For a staffing record, keep “by two assistants”.
Worked context 3: completion and essential responsibility
Context: Before a reading session opened, the librarian had checked the borrowed books. The learners had only counted them. The report must identify who performed the check.
Active: The librarian had checked the borrowed books before the session opened.
Passive: The borrowed books had been checked by the librarian before the session opened.
The chain “had been checked” preserves the completed checking before another past event. “Were checked” loses the explicit past-perfect relationship, even if the before-clause still helps readers recover the order.
Here “by the librarian” is essential because checking and counting belonged to different people. “The books had been checked” leaves responsibility unstated. It may be sufficient in another context, but it does not fulfil this report’s purpose. Do not delete agents automatically merely because passives often omit them.
When the rewrite does not work
“The visitors arrived early” has no direct object: arrived is intransitive here. “Early was arrived by the visitors” is not an ordinary passive counterpart. Early tells us when; it does not name something affected by arriving.
Even a verb with an object does not guarantee a natural passive in every sense. “The room has two doors” describes possession or a feature; “Two doors are had by the room” is not a normal way to express it. Check the verb’s use and the intended message rather than applying a blind object-moving formula.
When changing passive to active, restore a known agent as the subject. “The bell was repaired” does not tell us who repaired it. “Someone repaired the bell” preserves that lack of identification; “The caretaker repaired the bell” invents information unless the context supplies it.
Choose a voice that suits the paragraph
Purpose: Describe what Mira did during a volunteering session.
Grammatical but awkward: The chairs were arranged by Mira. The display was checked by Mira. The visitors were welcomed by Mira.
More direct revision: Mira arranged the chairs, checked the display and welcomed the visitors.
The active version keeps the person being profiled as the subject and avoids three repeated agent phrases. For a report organised around the display, “The display was checked before visitors entered” could fit better. Passive voice is neither automatically superior nor automatically a mistake.
Three solved practice sets
Practice 1: keep the negative and number
Rewrite with posters as the subject: “The art club did not replace the posters on Monday.” Then change the object to one poster.
Solution: “The posters were not replaced by the art club on Monday.” With one: “The poster was not replaced by the art club on Monday.” Were changes to was because the new subject changes number. Not and on Monday remain; replaced is the participle in both versions.
Practice 2: distinguish ongoing and completed work
Rewrite: “The technician is testing the microphone.” Then rewrite: “The technician has tested the microphone.” Keep the technician identified.
Solution: “The microphone is being tested by the technician.” “The microphone has been tested by the technician.” The first describes testing underway; the second presents completed testing with present relevance. Swapping being and been would damage the construction and the intended distinction.
Practice 3: edit for the stated purpose
A short profile introduces Daro’s contribution: “The route cards had been prepared by Daro before the walk began. Daro’s labels were added by Daro. The participants arrived at eight.” Improve the focus without inventing an agent for arrived.
Solution: “Daro had prepared the route cards before the walk began. Daro added the labels. The participants arrived at eight.” The first sentence retains past perfect. The second removes a cumbersome repetition. The third stays active because arrived has no object to promote.
Frequently asked questions
Does passive voice change the tense?
A faithful transformation preserves it. The auxiliary chain changes to express the same tense and aspect in the passive.
Can I omit every by-phrase?
No. Omission may be useful when the agent is unknown or irrelevant. Retain it when identity, contrast or responsibility matters.
Why does has sometimes become have?
The new subject may be plural: “She has checked the cards” becomes “The cards have been checked by her”.
Is every be-plus-participle expression an action passive?
No. Some participles describe a state or function like adjectives. Context helps distinguish a reported action from a description.
Must I add someone when changing a passive to active?
Only if no more specific agent is known and an active rewrite is needed. Never invent a named doer.
Is passive voice suitable only for formal writing?
No. It also occurs naturally in everyday communication. Choose it according to focus and available information.
What is the fastest final check?
Compare action, participants, time, completion, negation and number. Then ask whether the new subject fits the surrounding paragraph.
Reference and further practice
The British Council’s active and passive voice reference explains be-plus-participle forms and agent phrases. The English topical revision collection requires login for its contents. All contexts and answers above are original.
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