Passive Voice
Content
What is Passive Voice?
A verb where the doer is unknown or hidden, and only the object receives importance is called passive voice. Focus is on what happened rather than who did it.
5 Key Features:
- Subject unknown or not mentioned
- Object receives importance
- Passive markers present in verb
- Only action happened is known, not who did it
- Structure: Object + Passive verb
Basic Pattern:
Object + Passive Verb
Example: Book + was read
4 Step Identification Method:
Step 1: Ask "Who did it?"
Step 2: If answer unknown → Passive voice
Step 3: Check if passive marker in verb
Step 4: Check if object is important
3 Passive Voice Formation Methods:
Method 1: Transitive → Passive conversion
Kumar read book → Book was read
Meena wrote letter → Letter was written
Child drank milk → Milk was drunk
Method 2: Adding passive marker
read → was read
write → was written
do → was done
Method 3: Remove subject, object first
Mother cooked food → Food was cooked
Teacher taught lesson → Lesson was taught
Kumar built house → House was built
3 Simple Examples:
Example 1:
Sentence: Book was read
Who read? → Unknown (no subject)
What is important? → Book (object)
Verb: was read (passive marker)
Type: Passive voice ✓
Example 2:
Sentence: Letter was written
Who wrote? → Unknown (no subject)
What is important? → Letter (object)
Verb: was written (passive marker)
Type: Passive voice ✓
Example 3:
Sentence: House was built
Who built? → Unknown (no subject)
What is important? → House (object)
Verb: was built (passive marker)
Type: Passive voice ✓
3 Types of Passive Voice:
Type 1: Single Object Passive
- Book was read
- Letter was written
- House was built
Type 2: Plural Object Passive
- Books were read
- Letters were written
- Houses were built
Type 3: Subject Mentioned Passive
- Book was read by Kumar
- Letter was written by Meena
- House was built by workers
10 Common Passive Verbs:
- read → was read
- write → was written
- do → was done
- cook → was cooked
- build → was built
- buy → was bought
- sell → was sold
- see → was seen
- give → was given
- take → was taken
3 Passive Voice Markers:
- Passive marker: was read, was written
- No subject: who did unknown
- Object first: book was read
5 Key Rules:
- Passive voice has no clear subject
- Object receives importance
- Passive marker essential
- Only action happened important
- Order: Object + Passive verb
Passive vs Active 5 Differences:
- Subject: Passive - unknown | Active - known
- Importance: Passive - object | Active - subject
- Marker: Passive - passive marker | Active - normal
- Order: Passive - object first | Active - subject first
- Example: Passive - Book was read | Active - Kumar read book
Method 1: "Who did it?" Question Method (Easiest Method)
4 Steps:
- Find verb in sentence
- Ask "Who did it?"
- If answer unknown → Passive voice
- If answer known → Active voice
5 Examples:
Example 1: Book was read
Question: Who read? → Unknown ✓ → Passive voice
Example 2: Letter was written
Question: Who wrote? → Unknown ✓ → Passive voice
Example 3: House was built
Question: Who built? → Unknown ✓ → Passive voice
Example 4: Food was cooked
Question: Who cooked? → Unknown ✓ → Passive voice
Example 5: Lesson was taught
Question: Who taught? → Unknown ✓ → Passive voice
Method 2: Passive Marker Identification
3 Types of Passive Markers:
- was/were + verb: was read, were written
- been + verb: has been read, have been written
- being + verb: is being read, are being written
5 Examples:
Example 1: Book was read
Marker: was read → Passive voice ✓
Example 2: Letter was written
Marker: was written → Passive voice ✓
Example 3: House was built
Marker: was built → Passive voice ✓
Example 4: Food was cooked
Marker: was cooked → Passive voice ✓
Example 5: Money was given
Marker: was given → Passive voice ✓
Method 3: Object First Method
In passive voice object comes first:
Object + Passive verb
5 Practices:
Practice 1: Book + was read → Passive voice ✓
Practice 2: Letter + was written → Passive voice ✓
Practice 3: House + was built → Passive voice ✓
Practice 4: Food + was cooked → Passive voice ✓
Practice 5: Lesson + was taught → Passive voice ✓
Method 4: Active → Passive Conversion
5 Conversions:
Conversion 1: Kumar read book (active) → Book was read (passive)
Conversion 2: Meena wrote letter (active) → Letter was written (passive)
Conversion 3: Mother cooked food (active) → Food was cooked (passive)
Conversion 4: Father built house (active) → House was built (passive)
Conversion 5: Teacher taught lesson (active) → Lesson was taught (passive)
Method 5: No Subject Test
Question: Is there clear subject in sentence?
If no → Passive voice
3 Tests:
Test 1: Book was read
Subject present? → No (who read unknown) → Passive voice ✓
Test 2: Letter was written
Subject present? → No (who wrote unknown) → Passive voice ✓
Test 3: Kumar read book
Subject present? → Yes (Kumar clearly present) → Active voice
Set 1: Basic Passive Voice (10 Examples)
Practice 1: Book was read → Passive voice ✓
Practice 2: Letter was written → Passive voice ✓
Practice 3: House was built → Passive voice ✓
Practice 4: Food was cooked → Passive voice ✓
Practice 5: Lesson was taught → Passive voice ✓
Practice 6: Sum was written → Passive voice ✓
Practice 7: Song was sung → Passive voice ✓
Practice 8: Picture was drawn → Passive voice ✓
Practice 9: Tree was planted → Passive voice ✓
Practice 10: Story was told → Passive voice ✓
Set 2: Plural Passive Voice (10 Examples)
Practice 11: Books were read → Passive voice ✓
Practice 12: Letters were written → Passive voice ✓
Practice 13: Houses were built → Passive voice ✓
Practice 14: Foods were cooked → Passive voice ✓
Practice 15: Lessons were taught → Passive voice ✓
Practice 16: Sums were written → Passive voice ✓
Practice 17: Songs were sung → Passive voice ✓
Practice 18: Pictures were drawn → Passive voice ✓
Practice 19: Trees were planted → Passive voice ✓
Practice 20: Stories were told → Passive voice ✓
Set 3: Subject Mentioned Passive (5 Examples)
Practice 21: Book was read by Kumar → Passive voice ✓
Practice 22: Letter was written by Meena → Passive voice ✓
Practice 23: Food was cooked by Mother → Passive voice ✓
Practice 24: House was built by workers → Passive voice ✓
Practice 25: Lesson was taught by teacher → Passive voice ✓
Set 4: Conversion Practice (5 Examples)
Practice 26: Kumar read book (active) → Book was read (passive) ✓
Practice 27: Meena wrote letter (active) → Letter was written (passive) ✓
Practice 28: Mother cooked food (active) → Food was cooked (passive) ✓
Practice 29: Father built house (active) → House was built (passive) ✓
Practice 30: Teacher taught lesson (active) → Lesson was taught (passive) ✓
TNPSC Model 5 Questions:
Question 1: "Book was read" - What type of verb?
a) Intransitive b) Transitive c) Passive
Answer: c) Passive
Question 2: Find passive voice sentence:
a) Kumar read book b) Book was read c) Kumar ran
Answer: b) Book was read
Question 3: Verb with unknown subject:
a) Intransitive b) Transitive c) Passive
Answer: c) Passive
Question 4: Sentence with passive marker:
a) Kumar ran b) Letter was written c) Meena read
Answer: b) Letter was written
Question 5: "House was built" - Who built?
a) Kumar b) Father c) Unknown
Answer: c) Unknown
Quick 4 Step Identification:
Step 1: Ask "Who did it?"
Step 2: If answer unknown → Passive voice possibility
Step 3: Check if passive marker in verb
Step 4: Check if object comes first
Example: Book was read
Step 1: Who read? → Unknown ✓
Step 2: Passive possibility ✓
Step 3: was read (passive marker present) ✓
Step 4: Book comes first ✓
Result: Passive voice
4 Verb Types Detailed Difference:
-
Subject:
Intransitive: Known (one person)
Transitive: Known (one person)
Causative: Known (two persons)
Passive: Unknown -
Object:
Intransitive: No
Transitive: Yes
Causative: Yes
Passive: Yes (important) -
Importance:
Intransitive: Subject
Transitive: Subject
Causative: Causer
Passive: Object -
Marker:
Intransitive: Normal
Transitive: Normal
Causative: Causative marker
Passive: Passive marker -
Example:
Intransitive: Kumar ran
Transitive: Kumar read book
Causative: Mother made Kumar read
Passive: Book was read
4 Common Errors:
Error 1: Thinking subject exists
❌ "Book was read" - Book is subject
✓ Book is object (no subject)
Error 2: Not noticing passive marker
❌ "Kumar read" - Passive voice
✓ Active voice (no passive marker)
Error 3: Transitive-Passive confusion
❌ "Book was read" - Transitive
✓ Passive (subject unknown)
Error 4: Subject mentioned passive confusion
❌ "Book was read by Kumar" - Transitive
✓ Passive (passive marker present, Kumar not direct subject)
3 TNPSC Strategies:
Strategy 1: "Who did?" Question (40%)
If unknown then passive - 15-20 seconds
Strategy 2: Passive Marker Test (35%)
Check if passive marker present - 15-20 seconds
Strategy 3: Object First Test (25%)
Check if object comes first - 15-20 seconds
Memory Shortcut:
"N - P - PA" = No subject - Passive marker - Passive
Subject unknown? → Passive marker present? → Passive conclude
Simple Identification:
Subject unknown + Passive marker = Passive
Subject known + Object = Transitive
Only subject = Intransitive
Before Exam 5 Tips:
- Memorize passive marker types
- Practice 20 passive voice sentences
- Practice transitive → passive conversion
- Practice finding if subject exists or not
- Practice 10 model questions in 3 minutes
During Exam 5 Steps:
- Read sentence twice
- Ask "Who did it?"
- Check if passive marker in verb
- Check if object comes first
- Write type
Score Distribution:
TNPSC General Tamil: 2-3 questions | Each: 1 mark | Total: 2-3 marks
5 Additional Notes:
- Passive voice never has clear subject
- Passive marker is key identification
- Object always receives importance
- "Who did it?" question is key test
- Even if subject mentioned (with by), still passive voice