Voice is a grammatical category that applies to the verb in a sentence. It shows the relationship between the doer of an action (subject) and the receiver of that action (object).

Type of Voice

There are two kinds of Voices: Active and Passive Voice

Active Voice

In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. The structure of an active sentence is typically Subject + Verb + Object.

Example: The lion (subject) chased (verb) the deer (object).

In the given example, the lion is the one performing the action (chasing), and the deer is the recipient of the action.

Passive Voice

In passive voice, the subject receives the action and the focus is on the action rather than the doer. The structure of a passive sentence is typically Object + Verb (past participle) + Subject.

Example:

The deer (subject) was chased (verb) by the lion (agent).

In this passive example, the deer is receiving the action (being chased), and the cat (the one doing the chasing) is mentioned as the agent introduced by "by."

Rules to Change Active into Passive Voice in Each Tense Category

1. Simple Present Tense

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Simple Present	Subject + Verb1 + Object	Object + is/am/are + Verb3 (past participle) + by + Subject
Example	That lady catches butterflies.	Butterflies are caught by that lady.

2. Simple Past Tense

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Simple Past	Subject + Verb2 + Object	Object + was/were + Verb3 + by + Subject
Example	She wrote a letter.	A letter was written by her.

3. Present Continuous Tense

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Present Continuous	Subject + is/am/are + Verb1 + Object	Object + is/am/are + being + Verb3 + by + Subject
Example	I am playing video games.	Video games are being played by me.

4. Past Continuous Tense

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Past Continuous	Subject + was/were + Verb1 + Object	Object + was/were + being + Verb3 + by + Subject
Example	They were watching a movie.	A movie was being watched by them.

5. Present Perfect Tense

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Present Perfect	Subject + has/have + Verb3 + Object	Object + has/have + been + Verb3 + by + Subject
Example	She has eaten lunch.	Lunch has been eaten by her.

6. Past Perfect Tense

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Past Perfect	Subject + had + Verb3 + Object	Object + had + been + Verb3 + by + Subject
Example	He had finished his work.	His work had been finished by him.

Imperative Sentences

Imperative sentences are sentences that give commands, instructions or make requests. They are used to express a direct and clear action and they often begin with a verb. Imperative sentences are commonly used in everyday language to tell someone what to do or to give guidance.

Examples:

→ Study for the exam.
→ Follow the steps carefully.
→ Bring me a glass of water.

Changing Imperative Sentences into Passive Voice

To change imperative sentences into passive voice, we generally follow these steps:

→ Identify the verb in the imperative sentence.
→ Make the object of the action the new subject of the passive sentence.
→ Use the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.

Examples:

→ Imperative Sentence: "Complete the project by Friday."
Passive Voice: "Let the project be completed by Friday."

→ Imperative Sentence: "Revise the manuscript thoroughly."
Passive Voice: "Let the manuscript be revised thoroughly."

→ Imperative Sentence: "Send the report to the manager immediately."
Passive Voice: "Let the report be sent to the manager immediately."

→ Imperative Sentence: "Prepare a detailed analysis of the data."
Passive Voice: "Let a detailed analysis of the data be prepared."

Examples of Active and Passive Voice

Active Voice	Passive Voice
They gave a term paper to all the students and asked for them to be delivered in the best way.	All students were given a term paper and asked to deliver them in the best way.
After talking to me, some things about my life became clearer.	After I was talked to by you, some things have been clarified about my life.
I pay the bills every month and after this process, you do not thank me in any way. Such behaviour is breaking me.	The bills are paid by me every month and after this process, I am not thanked by you in any way. I am broken by these behaviours.
After counting the money, he turned to me and said that he did not want to talk more about this issue.	After the money was counted, I was contacted and was told not to talk more about this subject.
Monkeys really like bananas, and by using this fact, scientists have organized many experimental environments.	Monkeys really like bananas, and by using this fact, scientists have organized many experimental environments.
The company requires staff to watch a safety video every year.	The staff are required by the company to watch a safety video every year.
I understand the difficulty of your situation, but people should share with others what they feel in such situations.	I understand the difficulty of the situation, but what is felt in such situations should be shared with others.
Larry generously donated money to the homeless shelter.	Money was generously donated to the homeless shelter by Larry.
Since the people I speak to ask me not to raise this issue any more, you will never hear this sentence from me anymore.	This sentence will certainly not be heard from me, as I am asked to not raise this issue further by the people I am talking to.
People, especially in the morning, drink coffee.	One of the most consumed drinks by people, especially in the morning, is coffee.

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Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and indirect speech are two ways of reporting what someone else has said.

Direct Speech

Direct speech is when you report someone's exact words within quotation marks.

Example: I said to him, "You are a selfish boy."

In this sentence, the exact words spoken by the person are enclosed in quotation marks, making it a direct speech.

Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)

Indirect speech involves reporting what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. Instead, you convey the meaning of the statement in your own words. In indirect speech, the reporting verb (said, told, asked) is used to introduce the reported statement, and often the pronouns, time expressions, and tenses may change.

Example:

Direct speech: I said to him, "You are a selfish boy."

Indirect speech: I told him that he was a selfish boy.

In this example, the pronoun "I" remains "I," and the verb "are" changes to "was" to match the tense of the reporting verb. Also, the quotation marks are not used in indirect speech.

Rules to Change Direct into Indirect Speech in Each Tense Category

The rules for converting direct speech (spoken words) into indirect speech (reported or narrated words) depend on the tense of the original sentence.

Tenses	Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Present Simple	"I play football," said John.	John said that he played football.
Present Continuous	"I am reading a book," she said.	She said that she was reading a book.
Present Perfect	"I have visited London," he said.	He said that he had visited London.
Past Simple	"I visited Paris," she said.	She said that she had visited Paris.
Past Continuous	"I was studying," he said.	He said that he had been studying.
Past Perfect	"I had finished my work," she said.	She said that she had finished her work.
Future Simple	"I will call you tomorrow," he said.	He said that he would call me the next day.
Future Continuous	"I will be waiting," she said.	She said that she would be waiting.
Future Perfect	"I will have completed the project," they said.	They said that they would have completed the project.

NOTE:

→ In indirect speech, the tense of the reporting verb (e.g., said, told) is often changed according to the reporting verb's context.
→ Pronouns may also change (e.g., I → he/she, my → his/her) depending on the context of the reported speech.
→ Time expressions may need to be adjusted (e.g., today → that day, tomorrow → the next day).

Changes in Modals

This table illustrates how modal verbs change their forms in the present, past, and future tenses.

Modal	Present	Past	Future
can	can	could	will be able to
could	could	could	would be able to
may	may	might	may
might	might	might	might
shall	shall	should	will
should	should	should	would
will	will	would	will
would	would	would	would
must	must	had to	must
have to	have to	had to	will have to
ought to	ought to	ought to	ought to
need to	need to	needed to	will need to
dare to	dare to	dared to	dare to

Changes in Interrogative Sentences

→ The interrogative sentence in direct speech is often introduced by an auxiliary verb (e.g., "are," "have," "will," "can," "did").
→ In the indirect speech version, the question word order is changed, and the auxiliary verb is typically placed before the subject.
→ The tense of the verb in the reported speech may shift back one step in time. For example, present tense becomes past tense, and past tense becomes past perfect tense.
→ The question mark in direct speech is replaced by a period in indirect speech.

Examples:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
"Are you coming to the party?"	He asked if I was coming to the party.
"Have you finished your homework?"	She asked if I had finished my homework.
"Will they attend the meeting?"	The teacher inquired if they would attend the meeting.
"Can you help me with this problem?"	She wanted to know if I could help her with that problem.
"Did he visit the museum?"	I asked him if he had visited the museum.

Changes in Imperative Sentences

→ In direct speech imperatives, the verb is in its base form without any changes.
→ In indirect speech, the reporting verb changes the form. Common reporting verbs for imperatives are "tell," "ask," "order," "request," or "advise."
→ In indirect speech, the word "to" is often used before the verb, and the pronoun changes accordingly.
→ In negative imperatives, "do not" or "don't" becomes "not to" in indirect speech.
→ Expressions like "please" or "kindly" may be replaced with appropriate reporting verbs or expressions.

Examples:

Direct Speech (Imperative)	Indirect Speech (Reported Imperative)
Direct Speech	I often enjoy myself.
Indirect Speech	Jack will say that he often enjoys himself.
Direct Speech	Please help me carry this!
Indirect Speech	My mother asked me to help her carry that.
Direct Speech	Everything is going fine.
Indirect Speech	The news says that everything is going fine.

Changes in Operative Sentences

→ "Said" is changed into 'wished/ prayed'.
→ Conjunction 'that' is used.
→ Tense and pronoun are changed accordingly.

Examples:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
He said to me, "May you live long!"	He prayed that I might live long.
My sister said to me, "May you succeed in the test!"	My sister prayed that I might succeed in the test.
She said, "Would that I were rich!"	She wished she were rich.
I said to him, "Would that you were here on Sunday!"	I wished he had been here on Sunday.
You said, "I pray you find your camera!"	You prayed that I might find my lost camera.

FAQs

1. Why do we commonly use active voice in writing?

Answer: Active voice is generally more direct and clearer, making it easier for readers to understand the message.

2. What do you mean by direct and indirect speech?

Answer: Direct speech involves quoting the exact words spoken by a person, while indirect speech conveys the meaning of the speaker's words without quoting them directly.

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