Voice Transformation — Full Practice Guide

Only transitive verbs (verbs with an object) can be made passive.

✓ "She wrote the letter." (object: letter → can be moved to subject position) ❌ "He sleeps early." (no object — intransitive → no passive)

Verbs That Don't Allow Passive (Intransitive or Stative)

• Stative verbs: resemble, have (= possess), consist of, lack, contain, suit
• Intransitive verbs: arrive, sleep, go, come, fall, die

❌ "She resembles her mother." → Cannot be passivised ❌ "He arrived late." → No object to move

Step 1: Identify Subject, Verb, Object

"The dog (S) bit (V) the child (O)."

Step 2: Move Object to Subject position

"The child …"

Step 3: Add correct "be" form (matching original tense)

"The child was …"

Step 4: Add V3 (past participle) of verb

"The child was bitten …"

Step 5: Add "by + original subject" (use object pronoun)

"The child was bitten by the dog."

Step 6: Check pronoun if original subject was a pronoun

When Object is a Pronoun

Active: "She helped him." Passive: "He was helped by her."

("him" → "He" in subject position; "she" → "her" in "by" position)

When the Agent is Unknown/Unimportant

Drop "by + agent" completely:

"Somebody broke the window." → "The window was broken." (who did it is unimportant/unknown) "They speak English in Australia." → "English is spoken in Australia."

Two Objects (Indirect and Direct)

When a sentence has two objects, either can become the subject:

Active: "She gave me (IO) a gift (DO)." Passive Option 1: "I was given a gift by her." Passive Option 2: "A gift was given to me by her."

(CBSE usually expects IO → subject when available)

Interrogative Sentences (Questions)

Active: "Did she write the letter?" Passive: "Was the letter written by her?"

Rule: Question word order is preserved but adjusted for passive structure.

Imperative Sentences (Commands)

Active: "Open the door." Passive: "Let the door be opened." (formal/old style) OR "You are requested to open the door."

Active: "Don't make noise." Passive: "Let noise not be made." OR "You are requested not to make noise."

1. Can "He sleeps at 10 pm" be passivised? Why or why not?
2. Transform: "The manager has approved your application."
3. Passive of question: "Why did they close the shop?"
4. Transform (two-object): "She sent him an invitation."
5. Stretch: Transform to passive, then back to active — does the meaning change? "The storm destroyed several villages."