Active / Passive Voice

Active/Passive Voice questions ask you to convert from one to the other or pick the correctly converted version. SSC Stenographer asks 1–2 such items per paper. The grammar is fully rule-based; once you memorise the tense conversion table, this becomes a 20-second topic. After this lesson you will own the conversion formulas for all 12 tenses.

Conversion steps:

1. Identify subject (S), verb (V), object (O).
2. Swap: object becomes new subject, original subject becomes "by + agent".
3. Change verb: use the third form (past participle) with the matching form of "be".
4. Pronoun changes: I→me, he→him, she→her, we→us, they→them.

The "be" form depends on tense:

• Simple Present — am/is/are + V3
• Simple Past — was/were + V3
• Future — will be + V3
• Present Continuous — am/is/are being + V3
• Present Perfect — has/have been + V3

Example 1. Active: She writes a letter. Convert to passive.

1. Object "letter" becomes subject.
2. Verb: writes → is written.
3. Passive: A letter is written by her.

Example 2. Active: They are building a house. Passive?

1. Present continuous → is/are being + V3.
2. Passive: A house is being built by them.

1. Active to passive.
2. Passive to active.
3. Imperative voice (Open the door → Let the door be opened).
4. Interrogative voice.
5. Modal verbs (must, should).
6. Pronoun substitution.

1. Forgetting V3. Always third form of verb in passive.

2. Wrong tense of "be".

3. Missing "by + agent".

4. Mishandling imperatives — "Let + object + be + V3".

Why Active/Passive Voice rewards rule-followers. SSC Stenographer 2026 asks 1–2 voice transformation questions per paper. The topic is purely formula-based — six standard tense conversion rules cover every question type. Memorise the conversion table (Simple Present → is/am/are + V3, Simple Past → was/were + V3, Present Perfect → has/have been + V3, Past Perfect → had been + V3, Future Simple → will be + V3, Modal verbs → modal + be + V3) and you handle 90% of items in 30 seconds each. The traps lie in the small print: by + agent is dropped when the doer is unknown (English is spoken here, not spoken by people here); imperative sentences become Let + object + be + V3 (Let it be done); questions become statements first, then convert; interrogatives starting with Wh-words retain the Wh-word at the front. Watch for double traps — passive of I am writing a letter is A letter is being written by me, and aspirants frequently miss being. Pair this topic with Direct/Indirect Narration in the same week — both share the structural-transformation muscle.

• Memorise 12-tense conversion table.
• Always use V3 in passive.
• Pronoun: I→me, he→him.
• Imperative → Let + object + be + V3.
• Interrogative → flip "be" to start.
• Cap time at 25 sec per Q.
• Solve 5 PYQ voice Qs daily.
• Watch for modal verbs.
• Modal passives: 'can do' → 'can be done', 'must finish' → 'must be finished'.
• Perfect tenses: 'has done' → 'has been done', 'had done' → 'had been done'.
• Continuous tenses: 'is doing' → 'is being done', 'was doing' → 'was being done'.
• Future passive: 'will do' → 'will be done'; future continuous has no passive form.
• Stative verbs (know, like, believe) typically don't take passive.
• Drill 50 active-passive conversions across all 12 tenses for full mastery.
• Tense-by-tense passive cheat sheet: Simple Present → is/am/are + V3; Present Continuous → is/am/are being + V3; Present Perfect → has/have been + V3.
• Past tenses: Simple Past → was/were + V3; Past Continuous → was/were being + V3; Past Perfect → had been + V3.
• Future: Simple Future → will be + V3; Future Perfect → will have been + V3; Future Continuous and Perfect Continuous — NO passive form.
• Imperative passive: 'Do this' → 'Let this be done'; 'Don't do that' → 'Let that not be done' / 'You are forbidden to do that'.
• Question passives: 'Did he write?' → 'Was it written by him?'; flip the auxiliary, keep wh-word at start.
• For SSC Stenographer 2026, expect 1–2 voice items — formula-based scoring worth 1.5–3 marks at 25 seconds each.