ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Introduction

Before we start the discussion, it must be borne in mind that, this topic,
‘Active and Passive Voice’ is primarily about how to make subject
become object, and vice-versa. Sentences made in the active voices make
emphasis on the verb, and they are stronger than the passive voice. It must
also be noted that, a sentence cannot undergo passivisation if the sentence
lacks object. Again, it must also be borne in mind that, only nouns,
pronouns or nominals can function as objects.

One element in a sentence which plays a very important role in

passivisation is verb. A verb may be transitive or intransitive. A transitive
verb is the type of verb that carries object while intransitive verb does not
carry object. A transitive verb may carry one or two objects. If a transitive
verb carries one object, that verb is called monotransitive verb.

Examples:
a. He eats (monotransitive verb) rice (object).
b. We love (monotransitive verb) God (object).
c. The dog chases (monotransitive verb) the cat (object)
On the other hand, if transitive carries two objects, that verb is called
ditransitive verb.

Examples:
a. He told (ditransitive verb) me (indirect object) a story (direct
object).
b. I gave (ditransitive verb) my wife (indirect object) a car (direct
object).
c. My father sent (ditransitiveverb) me (indirectobject) aparcel
(directobject).
Grammatically, a subject comes before a verb in a sentence while an
object comes after a transitive verb in a sentence.
When the subject is the agent (doer) of the action, the verb is said to be in
the active voice.

Examples:
a. Thestudent passed the exam.
b. Thetutor teaches English.
In the sentences, ‘The student’ and ‘The tutor’ are active subjects that
perform the action of the verbs ‘passed’ and ‘teaches’. In the active
sentence, the subject is both logical and grammatical. However, when the
subject is the target of the action, the verb is said to be in the passive
voice.

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed by the verb.
That is, the grammatical subject in the active sentence becomes the agent
and the object becomes the subject in the passive sentence.

Examples:
a. The exam was passed by student.
b. English is taught by the tutor.
We can deduce from the sentences above that, the objects in the active
sentences have been moved from their positions to precede the verbs in the
sentences. ‘The exam’ and ‘English’ have become the grammatical
subjects of the sentences.

What then is the difference between logical subject and grammatical

subject?

Logical subject: Logical subject refers to the subject of a sentence that

actually does the action or is described. Sentences with a logical subject
(as well as a syntactic subject) usually have active verbs.

Examples:
 a. The man beats the boy. ‘The man’ is the logical subject because
he is actually doing the action of ‘beating’. Again, ‘The man’ is a
grammatical subject because it comes before the verb, ‘beat’
Grammatical subject: Grammatical subject is used to describe the
nouns, pronouns, and noun phrases that occur before the verb in a
sentence. Thus, the subject describes a position in the sentence. When the
verb is in the active form, the subject of the sentence is the "do-er" or
agent (who or what that causes the action) or what is about.

Agentless structures
It must be noted that, when an active sentence is changed to passive
sentence, we can leave the agent out. In that case, the sentence is said to be
agentless.

Examples:
1. The man beats the boys. – The boys are beaten.
2. The car knocks down the girls. – The girls are knocked down.
3. We meet her every week. – She is met every week.

HOW TO CHANGE ACTIVE SENTENCES TO PASSIVE

SENTENCES

In order to change an active sentence to a passive sentence, we should

identify the tense of the main verb in the sentence.In order words, anytime
you are to change active sentence to passive sentence:
• check the tense of the main verb first.
• check whether the object is singular or plural.
• subjective pronouns (I, she, he, we, etc) change to objective
pronouns (me, her, him, us, etc)
The question is, ‘Why must I check these?’
One, you should check the tense because it determines which of the tense
of the verb “to be” (is/am, was/were) should be chosen.This means, if the
sentence is in the present tense, the verb “to be” that should be chosen is
either ‘is/am’ or ‘are’ depending on the singularity or plurality of the
object.

Examples:
a. They call me.
How do we change the sentence above to passive sentence?
 move the object (me) to the subject position. As you move the
object to the subject position, it changes from the objective
pronoun (me) to subjective pronoun (I).
 move the subject (they) to the object position. As that is done,
the subjective pronoun (they) changes to objective pronoun
(them).
 Introduce the ‘to be’ (am) of the verb that agrees with I,
because that is the subject now.
 Once the ‘be’ form of the verb is introduced, the main
changes to the perfective form.
 Introduce the mandatory preposition ‘by’
By following the above steps, we shall have:
I am called (by them).

b. We see them – They are seen (by us).

c. The student loves him – He is loved (by the students).
However, if the sentence is in the past tense, the verb “to be” that should
be chosen is either ‘was’ or ‘were’ depending on the singularity or
plurality of the object.

Examples:
a. The boys called me – I was called (by the boys).
b. I called the boys. – The boys were called (by me).
c. We saw them. – They were seen (by us).
d. The student loved him. – He was loved (by the student).
Two, you should check whether the object is singular or plural because it
determines which of the verb “to be” should be chosen.

If the object is singular, consider ‘is or am’ (present tense) but consider
‘was’ (past tense)

If the object is plural, consider ‘are’ (present tense) but consider ‘were’
(past tense)

 TYPE 1: Let’s begin our discussion with a sentence in the

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE from active voice to passive voice:
It must be borne in mind that, if the object is singular, you will introduce a
singular verb ‘to be’ form of the verb (‘is, am’) plus the perfective form of
the main verb in the sentence. That is, ‘is or am + perfective form of the
verb.’ On the other hand, if the object is plural, you will introduce are +
perfective form of the main verb.

Examples:
a. Present tense (singular object): The woman beats her.
Now, let us see how to change the above sentence to passive sentence.
• ‘The woman’ (which is the subject) moves to occupy the object
position while ‘her’ (which is the object) moves to the subject
position. As it moves to the subject position, it (her) changes
‘she’.
• Introduce the mandatory preposition ‘by’ before the object.
• Introduce the ‘to be’ form that agrees with ‘She’ which is your
new subject.
• Change the main verb to its perfective form. Note that it is the
introduction of ‘to be’ verb that has changed the main to its
perfective form.
Following the steps, the active sentence, ‘The woman beats her’ when
changed to passive sentence will become: She is beaten by the woman.
b. Present tense (plural object): The woman sent them away.

• ‘The woman’ (which is the subject) moves to occupy the object

position while ‘them’ (which is the object) moves to the subject
 position. As it moves to the subject position, it (them) changes
‘They’.
• Introduce the preposition ‘by’ before the object.
• Introduce the ‘to be’ form that agrees with ‘They’ which is your
new subject.
• Change the main verb to its perfective form. Note that it is the
introduction of ‘to be’ verb that has changed the main to its
perfective form.
Following the steps, the active sentence, ‘The woman sends them’ when
changed to passive sentence will become: They are sent by the woman.

 TYPE 2: How to change a sentence in the SIMPLE PAST

TENSE from active sentence to passive sentence
Again, if the object is singular, you will introduce a singular verb ‘to be’
form of the verb (‘was’) plus the perfective form of the main verb in the
sentence. That is, ‘was + perfective form of the verb.’ On the other hand,
if the object is plural, you will introduce were + perfective form of the
main verb

Examples:
a. Simple past tense (singular object): The driver drank water.
‘The driver’ (which is the subject) moves to occupy the object position
while ‘water’ (which is the object) moves to the subject position.

• Introduce the preposition ‘by’ before the object.

• Introduce the ‘to be’ form that agrees with ‘water’ which is your
new subject.
• Change the main verb to its perfective form.
• Note that it is the introduction of ‘to be’ verb that has changed the
main to its perfective form.
Following the steps, the active sentence, ‘The drivers drank water’ when
changed to passive sentence will become: Water was drunk by the boy.
Examples:
b. Simple past tense (plural object): The driver drove the cars.
‘The driver’ (which is the subject) moves to occupy the object position
while ‘the cars’ (which is the object) moves to the subject position.
• Introduce the mandatory preposition ‘by’ before the object.
• Introduce the ‘to be’ form that agrees with ‘The cars’ which is
your new subject.
• Change the main verb to its perfective form.
• Note that it is the introduction of ‘to be’ verb that has changed the
main to its perfective form.
Following the steps, the active sentence, ‘The drivers drove the car’ when
changed to passive sentence will become: The cars were driven by the
driver

EXERCISE 1: Change the following sentences from active sentence to

passive sentence
1. The man eats rice every week.
2. They provided food.
3. We loved our father dearly.
4. Ama reads the novel.
5. I visit the zoo with my sisters.

We have already discussed how to change active sentences in both simple

present tense and simple past tense to passive sentences.

 TYPE 3: How to change a sentence in the PRESENT

CONTINUOUS ASPECT from active sentence to passive
sentence.
Now, the rules:
(a) introduce ‘is/am’ or ‘are’ plus ‘being’ if the aspect is present
continuous when you want to change active sentence to passive sentence.
The choice of this ‘verb to be’ depends on the object. The introduction of
the ‘verb to be’ changes the main verb to its perfective form’. In simple
language, if the aspect is PRESENT CONTINUOUS, introduce the
present tense form of the ‘to be verb’ (‘is/am’ or ‘are’) plus ‘being’ plus
the perfective form of the main verb.
That is, ‘am/is’ or ‘are’ + ‘being’ + perfective form of the main verb.

Examples:
a. The man is reading books. – Books are being read by the man.
b. We are chasing her. – She is being chased by us.
c. I am eating rice. – Rice is being eaten by me.
d. She is selling oranges. – Oranges are being sold by her.
e. I remember my father taking me to zoo. – I remember being taken to
zoo by my father.
f. We could see ourselves singing songs. – We could see songs being
sung by us.

EXERCISE 2: Change the following sentences to passive sentences:

a. The singer is making a lot of unpardonable mistakes.
b. The driver is calling his wife on phone.
c. The man looking at me is seeing Yaa.
d. She is writing her first novel.
e. He is chasing the armed robbers.

 TYPE 4: How to change a sentence in the PAST CONTINUOUS

ASPECT from active sentence to passive sentence.
Now, the rules:
Introduce ‘was’ or ‘were’ plus ‘being’ if the aspect is past continuous
when you want to change active sentence to passive sentence. The choice
of this verb ‘to be’ depends on the object. The introduction of the verb
‘tobe’ changes the main verb to its perfective form.In simple language, if
the aspect is past continuous, introduce the present tense form of the
‘tobeverb’ (‘was’ or ‘were’) plus being plus the perfective form of the
main verb.That is, ‘was’ or ‘were’+ being + ‘perfective form of the main
verb

Examples:
a. The man was reading books. – Books were being read by the
man.
b. We were chasingher. – She was being chased by us.
 c. I was eating rice. – Rice was being eaten by me.
d. She was selling oranges. – Oranges were being sold by her.
e. We were singing the song beautifully. – The song was being
sung beautifully by us.

Change the following sentences from active to passive sentences:

a. The girl in the room was demanding justice.
b. The tutor was teaching ‘Changes’.
c. The man in UK was writing a letter.
d. The senior minister was conducting a research.

 TYPE 5: How to change a sentence in the PRESENT

PERFECT ASPECT from active sentence to passive sentence.
You should be reminded that, the present perfect aspect is represented by
‘has been’ or ‘have been’ plus the perfective form of the main verb.
When we change the present perfect to passive sentence, the verbs do not
change in form. The only change that occurs is the change in position of
the object and the subject. That is, HAS BEEN or HAVE BEEN +
PERFECTIVE FORM OF THE MAIN VERB

Examples:
a. The man has read the books. – The books have been read by the
man.
b. We have chased them. – They have been chased by us.
c. I have eaten rice. – Rice has been eaten by me.
d. She has sold oranges. – Oranges have been sold by her.
e. We have sung the song beautifully. – The song has been sung
beautifully by us.

 TYPE 6: Now, how do we change active sentence in PAST

PERFECT ASPECT to passive sentence?
You should be reminded that, the present perfect aspect is represented by
HAD been plus the perfective form of the main verb. When we change
the present perfect to passive sentence, the verbs do not change in form.
The only change that occurs is the change in position of the object and the
subject. That is, HAD BEEN + PERFECTIVE FORM OF THE MAIN
VERB

Examples:
a. The man had read the books. – Thebooks had been read by the
man.
b. We had chased them. – They had been chased by us.
c. I had eaten rice. – Rice had been eaten by me.
d. She had sold oranges. – Oranges had been sold by her.
e. We had sung the song beautifully. – The song had been sung
beautifully by us.
Change the following sentences to passive sentences
a. He has sent him away.
b. The dog has caught a big rat.
c. We have taken the documents home.
d. It has taken them by surprise.
e. The Health Minister has commissioned a new Nursing College.

 TYPE 7: Let us look at how we can change active sentence in

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS ASPECT to passive
sentence.
You should be reminded that, the present perfect aspect is represented by
‘has been’ or ‘have been’ plus the perfective form of the main verb.
When we change the present perfect continuous to passive sentence, the
only element we will introduce is ‘being’ because of the verb in the ‘-ing’

We shall, therefore, have ‘has been’ or ‘have been’ + ‘being’ + the

perfective form of the main verb. That is, HAS BEEN or HAVE BEEN
+BEING + PERFECTIVE FORM OF THE MAIN VERB

Examples:
a. The man has been reading the books. – The books have been
being read by the man.
b. We have been chasing her. – She has been being chased by us.
c. I have been eating rice. – Rice has been being eaten by me.
 d. She has been selling oranges. – Oranges have been being sold by
her.

 TYPE 8: Now, let us look at how we can change active

sentence in PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS ASPECT to
passive sentence.
You should be reminded that, the present perfect aspect is represented by
HAD been plus the perfective form of the main verb. When we change
the present perfect continuous to passive sentence, the only element we
will introduce is ‘being’. We shall, therefore, have ‘HAD been’ + ‘being’
+ perfective form of the main verb. That is, HAD BEEN +BEING +
PERFECTIVE FORM OF THE MAIN VERB.

Examples:
The man had been reading the books. - The books had been being read
by the man.

We had been chasing her. – She had been being chased by us.

I had been eating rice. – Rice had been being eaten by me.

 TYPE 9: How to change active sentence to passive sentence

when MODAL VERBS are used.
We shall look at how to change active sentences to passive sentences
when MODAL VERBS (can, could, will, would, may, might, ought to,
shall, etc) are used.

The pattern is MODAL VERB + BE+ PERFECTIVE FORM OF THE

VERB

Examples:
a. The man ought to do the work. – The work ought to be done by
the man.
b. We shall see her. – She shall be seen by us.
c. I may eat rice. – Rice may be eaten by me.
d. She can sell oranges. – Oranges can be sold by her.
 e. You should the door. – The door should be shut by you.

 TYPE 10: How to change active sentence to passive sentence

when MODAL VERBS are used.
In order to change imperative sentences to passive sentences, follow these:
Introduce ‘let’ +the object + appropriate form of the ‘to be’verb + the
perfectiveform of the main verb
Examples:
1. Eat the food – Let the food beeaten.
2. Write the letter – Let the letter to be written.
3. Park the car – Let the car be parked.

Change the following from active sentences passive sentences:

1. You must open the door.
2. They should have sent her.
3. I remember my father taking me to the zoo.
4. He saw the man eating rice.
5. We met him yesterday

NB: It must be noted that, when you change an active sentence to passive
sentence, the ‘by phrase’ can be omitted.
Example:
• Ama killed the cat …… The cat was killed by Ama
The cat was killed.
• He sings songs at church …Songs are sung at church by him
Songs are sung at church.
Songs are sung.

HOW TO CHANGE PASSIVE SENTENCE TO ACTIVE

SENTENCE

Before we begin the lesson on how to change passive sentence to active

sentence, let identify why passive sentences are used.
Uses of passive sentences
1. We use passive sentences when the identity of the agent of the verb
is not known.
• The news was spread throughout the country.
• The man has been killed in his house.

2. We also use passive sentence when we want to avoid identifying

the agent.
• The market was demolished.
• The crime has been committed.

3. Again, it is used in scientific research to avoid constant repetition

of the subject.
• It has been discovered that the earth is spherical.

4. Furthermore, we use passive sentence when we are more

interested in the action than in the agent.
• The classrooms have been renovated.
• A vehicle has been bought for the school.

NOW, LET’S LOOK AT HOW TO CHANGE PASSIVE

SENTENCE (BACK) TO ACTIVE SENTENCE

I hope you have not forgotten what passive sentence is? Let us look at
some examples of passive sentences:

1. A vehicle is bought (by Kofi).

2. A vehicle was bought (by Kofi).
3. The president is assassinated (by unknown person).
It must be noted that, when an active sentence is changed to passive
sentence, we can leave the agent out. In that case, the sentence is said to be
agentless.

Examples:
1. A vehicle is bought.
 2. A vehicle was bought.
3. The president is assassinated.
In order to make this lesson very easy to understand, we shall look at the
structure of the passive structure and determine its tense or aspect. If the
sentence is agentless, introduce agent of your choice (noun, or pronoun,
singular or plural).

Example:
a. The book is published. (The question is, ‘Who publishes the
book?’
The agent is omitted, so introduce an agent.

However, make sure that the agent introduced agrees with the verb since
that will be subject in the active sentence.The subject in the passive
sentence will become the object in the active sentence while the agent
introduced becomes the subject in the sentence.

Now, how do we change the passive sentence above to active sentence?

 First of all, introduce the agent (subject) because it is an agentless
structure.
 Secondly, move the agent introduced to the subject position.
 Finally, check the tense or the aspect (very important)

TYPE ONE: (‘am/is/are + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘am/is/are + perfective verb’ structure, the
sentence will be changed to simple present tense.

The book is published.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘Kofi’).

The book is published by Kofi.

Move the agent introduced (Kofi) to the subject position.

Consider the tense (or aspect of the sentence) under discussion, we realize
that we have ‘is/am/are + perfective verb’ (that is ‘is + perfective verb)in
our sentence. The tense is, therefore, simple present tense.

In order to change ‘The book is published by Kofi’ to simple present

tense, we shall cross out ‘is’, and change the perfective verb ‘punished’ to
simple present tense (singular verb) to agree with the agent introduced
(Kofi).

Following the above steps, ‘The book is published by Kofi’ when changed
to active sentence will be:

Kofi publishes the book.

Note that, if we choose a plural agent, the verb will be ‘publish’. For
example, if we choose as the agent, we shall have:

They publish the book.

Additional examples:
a. The girls are sent.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The girls are sent by my father.
My father sends the girls.

b. I am punished by them.
Here, there is agent, so you don’t have to introduce any agent.
i. They punish me or He punishes me.

c. The work is done………………………………

Good! You are correct! The answer is:
They do the work (The boy does the work)

Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:

1. The door is closed.
2. The men are beaten mercilessly.
3. We are delivered.
 4. The demonstration is called off.
5. The papers are written.

TYPE TWO: (‘was/were + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘was/were + perfective verb’ structure, the
sentence will be changed to simple past tense.

The book was published.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘Kofi’).

The book was published by Kofi.

Following the above steps, ‘The book was published by Kofi’ when
changed to active sentence will be:

Kofi published the book.

They published the book.

Additional examples:
The girls were sent.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The girls were sent by my father.
My father sent the girls.

I was punished by them.

Here, there is agent, so you don’t have to introduce any agent.

ii. They punished me or He punished me.

The work was done……………………………………………

They did the work (The boy did the work)

Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:
1. The doors were opened.
2. The woman was sanctioned.
3. Permission was sought.
4. Love is shared.
5. We were delivered.

TYPE THREE: (‘is/am/are + being + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘is/am/are + being + perfective verb’ structure,
the sentence will be changed to present continuous form.

The book is being published.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘Kofi’).

The book is being published by Kofi.

Following the above steps, ‘The book is being published by Kofi’ when
changed to active sentence will be:

Kofi is publishing the book.

If you choose ‘They’ as your agent, you will have:

They are publishing the book.

Additional examples:

The girls are being sent.

Introduce the agent of your choice.

 The girls are being sent by my father. - My father is

sending the girls.

I am being punished by them.

Here, there is agent, so you don’t have to introduce any agent.

 iii. They are punishing me or He ispunishing me.

The work is being done……………………………

Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:

1. The dog is being killed.
2. The woman is being sanctioned.
3. The man is being operated upon.
4. The award is being received.
5. We are being monitored.

TYPE FOUR: (‘was/were + being + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘was/were + being + perfective verb’ structure,
the sentence will be changed to past continuous form.

The child was being sold.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘The

kidnapper’).

The child was being sold by the kidnapper.

Following the above steps, ‘The child was being sold by the kidnapper’
when changed to active sentence will be:

The kidnapper was selling the child.

If you choose ‘The men’ as your agent, you will have:

The men were selling the child.

Additional examples:
The criminals were being arrested.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The criminals were being arrested by the police officers.
The police officers were arresting the criminals.
Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:
1. The girl was being raped.
2. The virgin was being seduced.
3. Our country was being monitored during the election.
4. Water was being drunk last night.
5. Dogs were being to arrest the cocaine dealers.

TYPE FIVE: (‘has been/have been + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘has been/have been + perfective verb’ structure,
the sentence will be changed to present perfect form. Cross out the ‘been’
when changed to present perfect tense.

The child has been sold.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘The

kidnapper’).

The child has been sold by the kidnapper.

Following the above steps, ‘The child has been sold by the kidnapper’
when changed to active sentence will be:

The kidnapper has sold the child.

If you choose ‘The men’ as your agent, you will have:

The men have sold the child.

Additional examples:
The criminals have been arrested.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The criminals have been arrestedby the police officers.
The police officers have arrested the criminals.
I have been told to do the work ………
He has told me to do the work.

Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:

1. The girl has been raped.
2. The virgin has been seduced.
3. Our country has been monitored.
4. Water has been drunk.
5. We have been punished seriously.

TYPE SIX: (‘had been + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘had been + perfective verb’ structure, the
sentence will be changed to past perfect form. Cross out the ‘been’ when
changed to present perfect tense.

The child had been sold.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘The

kidnapper’).

The child had been sold by the kidnapper.

Following the above steps, ‘The child had been sold by the kidnapper’
when changed to active sentence will be:

The kidnapper had sold the child.

If you choose ‘The men’ as your agent, you will have:

The men had sold the child.

Additional examples:
The criminals had been arrested.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The criminals had been arrestedby the police officers.
The police officers had arrested the criminals.
Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:
1. The girl had been raped.
2. The virgin had been seduced.
3. Our country had been monitored.
4. Water had been drunk.
5. We had been punished seriously.

TYPE SEVEN: (‘has been/have been + being + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘has been/have been + being + perfective verb’
structure, the sentence will be changed to present perfect continuous
form. Cross out the ‘being’ when you changed to active, and its place is
taken by ‘-ing’ of the main verb in the sentence.

The children have been being sold.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘The

kidnapper’).

The children have been being sold by the kidnapper.

Following the above steps, ‘The children have been being sold by the
kidnapper’ when changed to active sentence will be:

The kidnapper has been selling the children.

If you choose ‘The men’ as your agent, you will have:

The men have been selling the child.

Additional examples:
The criminals have been being arrested.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The criminals have been being arrestedby the police officers.
The police officers have been arresting the criminals.

Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:

 1. The girls have been being summoned.
2. The virgin has been being seduced.
3. The magistrate has been being monitored.

TYPE EIGHT: (‘had been + being + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘had been + being + perfective verb’ structure,
the sentence will be changed to past perfect continuous form. Cross out
the ‘being’ when you changed to active, and its place is taken by ‘-ing’ of
the main verb in the sentence.

The children had been being sold.

Introduce the agent (subject) of your choice. (I have chosen ‘The

kidnapper’).

The children had been being sold by the kidnapper.

Following the above steps, ‘The children had been being sold by the
kidnapper’ when changed to active sentence will be:

The kidnapper had been selling the children.

If you choose ‘The men’ as your agent, you will have:

The men had been selling the child.

Additional examples:
The criminals had been being arrested.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The criminals had been being arrested by the police officers.
The police officers had been arresting the criminals.
Exercise: Change the following from passive to active sentence:
1. The girls had been being summoned.
2. The virgin had been being seduced.
3. The magistrate had been being monitored.

TYPE NINE: (‘modal verb + be + perfective verb’)

If a passive sentence has ‘modal verb + be + perfective verb’ structure,
the sentence will be changed to modal + perfective verb. Cross out the
‘be’ when you changed to active.
Examples of modal verbs are can, could, will, would, may, might, ought
to, shall, etc

Examples:
f. The work ought to be done.
Introduce the agent of your choice.
The work ought to be done by the man
Cross out the ‘be’ in the passive sentence.
The man ought to do the work.
g. She shall be seen.
She shall be seen by us.
We shall see her.

 TYPE 10: How to change passive sentence to active sentence

when MODAL VERBS are used.
In order to change imperative sentences to active sentences, follow these:
Introduce ‘let + the object + appropriate form of the ‘to be’ verb + the
perfective form of the main verb.
Examples:
• Let the food beeaten – Eat the food.
• Let the letter to be written – Write the letter.
• Let the car be parked – Park the car.
• Sit down – You are told to sit down.

Change the following passive sentence into active sentence

1. I have been told to do the work.
2. The man was beaten by the rain
3. The problem was being solved by the student.
4. The demonstration was called off.
5. The meeting has been being organized on Sunday.
6. The company is to be managed by the president’s son.
7. The papers were thrown away.
8. The work could have been done.
9. The thieves were arrested from their hideout by the police.
10. You are to sit down.

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