Active and Passive Voice Questions, Concepts, Rules, Tricks and Tips

Active and Passive Voice is one of the most frequently tested topics in competitive exams. Mastering it not only improves grammar but also enhances reading comprehension and sentence construction skills. In this blog, we will cover definitions, types of questions, shortcuts, solved examples from 2024–25 exams, tricks, and more.

What Is Active and Passive Voice in English?

Active Voice: The subject performs the action.
Example: “The manager approved the loan.”

Passive Voice: The subject receives the action.
Example: “The loan was approved by the manager.”

Why it appears in exams:
Active and Passive Voice questions test your understanding of sentence structure, verb forms, and grammatical transformations — crucial for SSC, Banking, and RRB exams.

Skills required:

• Logical sentence transformation
• Verb tense recognition
• Understanding subject-object relationships

Why Is Active and Passive Voice Important in Competitive Exams?

Active and Passive Voice questions are short, scoring, and easy to attempt if you know the rules. They appear consistently across exams.

Exam	No. of Questions	Difficulty
SSC CGL / CHSL	1–2	Easy
IBPS PO / SBI PO	1–2	Moderate
RRB NTPC / Group D	1	Easy
State PSC / Police	1–2	Moderate

Active and Passive Voice English Short Notes

Concepts used to solve questions based on active and passive voice are as follows:

Concept	Details	Example
Active Voice	Subject performs the action	The boy kicks the ball
Passive Voice	Subject receives the action	The ball is kicked by the boy
Tense Changes	Verb forms change according to tense	Present: “He eats” – “It is eaten by him”
Modal Verbs	Modals retain form, auxiliary changes	Can – Can be, Must – Must be
Direct to Indirect	Often linked to passive	“He said, ‘I will go’” – “He said that he would go”

Quick Revision Summary

Some of the common details that aspirants have to keep in mind while solving questions based on active and passive voice are as follows:

Concept	Details
Present Simple	“V1 / am/is/are + V3”
Past Simple	“V2 / was/were + V3”
Future Simple	“will/shall + be + V3”
Present Continuous	“am/is/are + being + V3”
Past Continuous	“was/were + being + V3”
Modal Verbs	“modal + be + V3”

What Are the Types of Active and Passive Voice Questions in English?

Types of questions asked from the topic are as follows:

Type	Details
Direct Transformation	Convert given active sentence to passive or vice versa
Error Detection	Identify incorrect use of passive voice
Fill in the Blanks	Insert correct verb form in passive voice
Rearrangement	Arrange jumbled sentences in correct passive/active format
Tense-Based	Apply passive forms across different tenses

Active and Passive Voice Question Patterns in English

Patterns of questions that were being asked are as follows:

• Always identify subject, object, and verb first.
• Match tense accurately.
• Use “by” for the agent in passive sentences.
• For modal verbs, keep modal + be + past participle structure.
• Ignore sentences that are intransitive (cannot be made passive).

Active and Passive Voice Tricks for SSC CGL and Other Exams

Tricks to solve this questions correctly are as follows:

1. Identify transitive verbs (only these can be passive).
2. Start by spotting the subject and object.
3. Change the verb form according to tense rules.
4. Add “by” + subject for clarity (optional if subject is unknown).
5. Eliminate options that don’t match tense or plurality.
6. Practice mentally transforming simple sentences before exams.

Solved Active and Passive Voice Questions from 2024–25 Exams

1. SSC CGL 2024 Tier 1 – Shift 2 (Memory-Based)
   • Q: “The teacher praised the students.” → Passive form?
   • Answer: “The students were praised by the teacher.”
   • Explanation: Present simple → past participle with “were”
2. IBPS PO Prelims 2024
   • Q: “The manager will review the report.” → Passive form?
   • Answer: “The report will be reviewed by the manager.”
   • Explanation: Future simple → will + be + V3
3. RRB NTPC 2024
   • Q: “People speak English all over the world.” → Passive form?
   • Answer: “English is spoken all over the world.”
   • Explanation: Present simple, plural subject → is/are + V3

Active and Passive Voice Concepts for Bank Exams

Banking exams often include coded or symbol-based transformations:

• Example: Convert sentence with abbreviations or placeholders:
  • “Mgr approves L” → “L is approved by Mgr”
• Recognize tense and subject-object logic first.

Common Mistakes to Avoid while Solving Active and Passive Voice

Common mistakes that aspirants must avoid while solving questions based on active and passive voice are as follows:

1. Using passive with intransitive verbs – avoid by checking verb type.
2. Wrong tense in transformed sentence – match original tense exactly.
3. Omitting “by” when the agent is mentioned – include if required.
4. Plural/singular mismatch – check subject-verb agreement.
5. Confusing continuous and perfect tenses – remember auxiliary + V3 rules.

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