--- title: "Active and passive voice" description: "Choose active or passive voice to direct attention to the doer or receiver of an action, and form passive sentences while keeping the tense and matching the verb to the subject" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/active-and-passive-voice-mt_gbTyzvnWzr source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/active-and-passive-voice-mt_gbTyzvnWzr.md retrieved: 2026-11-12 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Active and passive voice Choose active or passive voice to direct attention to the doer or receiver of an action, and form passive sentences while keeping the tense and matching the verb to the subject Subject: English · Area: Grammar & Punctuation · Ages 10 to 11 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/active-and-passive-voice-mt_gbTyzvnWzr ## Ready when they can - Convert active sentences to passive voice and explain the change in emphasis - Identify passive constructions in news reports and scientific writing - Choose between active and passive voice based on purpose and audience ## Lesson: Active and Passive Voice Sentence choices can change what a reader notices. In an active action sentence, the subject does the action. In 'The chef cooked the meal,' the chef is the subject and does the cooking. The meal receives the action. Look at the subject and the whole verb when comparing active and passive voice. In 'The meal was cooked by the chef,' the meal is the subject and receives the action. This is passive voice. A common passive verb uses a form of be plus a past participle: was cooked. Many participles end in -ed. By can introduce the doer. 'The meal was cooked' is also passive, but it does not name the doer. *(drawing: The chef still does the cooking. The meal is now the subject.)* Make the receiver the passive subject. Use be plus a past participle. Keep the time: simple past uses was or were; simple present uses am, is or are; future uses will be. Match the subject: I am; he, she or it is; you, we or they are. Compare 'The door was painted' and 'The doors were painted.' Add by and the doer to keep who acted. With shake, use shaken: 'The leaves are shaken by the breeze.' **Example.** To change passive to active, find the doer: 'The kite was flown by Dad.' Dad becomes the subject, and was flown becomes flew: 'Dad flew the kite.' Keep the same time and action. If the passive sentence does not name the doer, use known context or ask for that information. Do not invent who did it. Choose active voice to make the doer the subject. Choose passive voice to focus on the receiver, or when the doer is unknown or not needed. 'We carried out the experiment' names the doer. 'The experiment was carried out' does not. Reports can use either voice. Passive wording does not by itself make a claim more accurate or objective. Some past participles have special forms: draw uses drawn, shake uses shaken, fly uses flown, sing uses sung, eat uses eaten, win uses won, and make uses made. To form a past passive with one picture, use was drawn. Drew is the active past form; it does not fit after was in a passive verb. Be alone does not show passive voice. 'The room was quiet' describes a state. 'The room was cleaned by Jo' describes an action received by the room. The subject also need not be the first words: in 'Yesterday, Jo cleaned the room,' Yesterday gives the time and Jo is the subject. **Recap.** In active action sentences, the subject acts. In passive sentences, it receives the action. Keep tense and agreement when changing voice, and choose the focus your reader needs. *The lesson, questions and flashcards were written for this dataset, with original examples about active and passive voice, verb forms and sentence focus.* ## Practice 24 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Past, Present and Progressive Tense](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/past-present-and-progressive-tense-mt_enj1sMcfOT) - [Subject-verb agreement](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/subject-verb-agreement-mt_u7Jxjjatkh) ## Opens up - [Grammar Terms: Voice and Punctuation](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/grammar-terms-voice-and-punctuation-mt_hzkNpp2PdV) - [Verb Voice and Mood](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/verb-voice-and-mood-mt_N5tciHU8cE)