Active and Passive Voice — SSC CGL English Comprehension
Voice conversion is a mechanical procedure, not a judgement call. In the active voice the subject acts ("She writes a letter"); in the passive, the object is promoted and the action is received ("A letter is written by her"). Every conversion is the same three steps: swap object and subject, add the correct form of "be" for the tense, and use the verb's third form (past participle). Master the tense-to-"be" table and it's automatic.
1. What SSC actually asks
Tier 1: 1–2 Q · Tier 2: 1–2 Q. Format: a sentence in one voice with four options in the other — pick the correct conversion. The distractors usually get the "be" form or the participle slightly wrong, so accuracy on the tense is everything.
2. The three-step recipe
To turn active → passive:
- Object becomes the subject (and its pronoun changes: me→I becomes I→me the other way; he↔him, she↔her, they↔them).
- Add the correct form of "be" matching the original tense.
- Main verb → past participle (V3); add "by + agent" (often dropped if the agent is unknown/unimportant).
Active: She writes a letter. → Passive: A letter is written by her.
3. Tense-to-"be" table (the whole chapter)
| Tense | Active | Passive ("be" + V3) |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | writes | is/am/are written |
| Present continuous | is writing | is/am/are being written |
| Present perfect | has written | has/have been written |
| Past simple | wrote | was/were written |
| Past continuous | was writing | was/were being written |
| Past perfect | had written | had been written |
| Future simple | will write | will be written |
| Modals (can/may/must) | must write | must be written |
Note: perfect continuous and future continuous tenses are generally not converted to passive (they're clumsy) — SSC avoids them.
4. Special cases
- Imperatives: "Open the door." → "Let the door be opened." Requests/orders → "You are requested/ordered to…".
- Questions: convert the statement inside. "Did he break the glass?" → "Was the glass broken by him?"
- Two objects: "He gave me a book." → "I was given a book" or "A book was given to me" (either object can be promoted).
- Agent omission: if the doer is "people/someone/they", drop "by them": "English is spoken here."
5. Passive → active (reverse)
- The "by + agent" becomes the subject.
- Drop the "be" form; put the verb back into the tense's active form.
- The passive subject becomes the object.
Passive: The song was sung by her. → Active: She sang the song.
6. Solved PYQ-style examples
Q1. Active: They have completed the project. Solution. Present perfect → The project has been completed by them.
Q2. Active: The chef is cooking dinner. Solution. Present continuous → Dinner is being cooked by the chef.
Q3. Active: You must obey the rules. Solution. Modal → The rules must be obeyed (by you).
Q4. Active: Open the window. Solution. Imperative → Let the window be opened.
Q5. Passive: The song was sung by her. Solution. Active → She sang the song.
Q6. Active: Did he break the glass? Solution. Question, past simple → Was the glass broken by him?
7. Exam protocol
- Identify the tense first — it dictates the "be" form.
- Swap subject and object; change pronoun case (he↔him, they↔them).
- Always use the past participle (V3) of the main verb.
- Imperatives → "Let … be …"; questions → convert the inner statement.
- Check the distractors' "be" form and participle — that's where the wrong options fail.
