Definitions

Active Voice - indicates that the subject is doing the action.

Passive Voice - indicates that the subject is being acted upon.  A passive voice verb is formed by a combination of a form of the verb to be and the past participle.

Why would a writer want to change a verb from active to passive or passive to active voice? After writing and revising an essay, the writer might want to have a variety of sentence structures.  For example:

1. Changing two simple, related sentences to a compound sentence or to a complex sentence.

Bill went to the store.  He bought five cans of soup.

2. Change to a compound:

Bill went to the store and he bought five cans of soup.

3. Change to a complex:

When Bill went to the store, he bought five cans of soup.

and/or

Changing an active sentence to passive - Doing this is all right once or twice in a writing, but do not do this often because the composition will lack interest and energy.  This can only be done with an active voice sentence that has a direct object.

Example of an active voice sentence: Bill threw the ball.

To change it to passive, do the following steps:

1. Take the direct object (ball) and make it the subject of the passive voice sentence.  The ball...

2. Look at the tense of the verb.  In this sentence the tense of the verb, throw, is past tense: threw.  Use the past tense of the verb to be (was) and the past participle of throw (thrown),  The ball was thrown...

3. Take the subject of the active voice sentence and make it the object of the preposition by.  The ball was thrown by Bill.

If, in the active voice sentence, the writer does not have a subject, such as in a request or command, he/she could make up a subject, if desired.

Example of active voice sentence: Copy the paper.

Passive voice: The paper is copied.  (or)  The paper is copied by me.

and/or

Changing the passive voice sentence to active - A writer would want to do this if there are too many passive voice sentences.  If the sentence is in passive voice, do just the opposite:

The tests were handed out by the teacher.

1.Change subject to direct object, for example, the tests.

2. Look at the verb.  If the verb form, to be, is past, change the main verb to the past.  In the example, the verb were is past tense, so use the past of hand (handed) handed out (keep the adverb near the verb) the tests.

3. Take object of preposition, by (and delete the preposition), and make it the subject:

The teacher handed out the tests.

The sentence is now in active voice.

Change the following five sentences to the opposite voice.  Write the voice of the sentence as it is on this paper, then change it to the opposite voice.  That is, if the sentence below is in active voice, change it to passive.  If the sentence is in passive voice, change it to active.

1. The captain guided his ship.
2. Everyone drank the lemonade slowly.
3. The candles will be lit by Debbie.
4. John hit the baseball to left field.
5. Her teeth were cleaned by the dentist.