Understanding examples of active and passive voice sentences for students is one of the most important steps in learning English grammar. Many students struggle with identifying whether a sentence is active or passive, changing one form into another, and knowing when to use which voice. This confusion often leads to poor writing, low exam scores, and lack of confidence in speaking and writing.
If you’ve ever asked yourself questions like:
- “How do I know if a sentence is active or passive?”
- “Why do teachers say active voice is better?”
- “How do I convert sentences without making mistakes?”
You’re in the right place. This guide explains everything in simple language with plenty of examples of active and passive voice sentences for students, clear rules, common mistakes, and practice exercises to help you master the topic.
Table of Contents
What Is Voice in English Grammar?
In grammar, voice shows whether the subject of a sentence is doing the action or receiving the action.
There are two types of voice:
- Active Voice – The subject performs the action.
- Passive Voice – The subject receives the action.
Understanding this difference is the foundation for learning examples of active and passive voice sentences for students.
What Is Active Voice? (With Simple Examples)
In active voice, the subject is the doer of the action.
Structure of Active Voice
Subject + Verb + Object
Examples of Active Voice Sentences
Here are some easy examples of active and passive voice sentences for students, starting with active voice:
- The teacher explains the lesson.
- She writes a letter.
- The dog chased the cat.
- Rahul completed his homework.
- The students cleaned the classroom.
👉 In all these sentences, the subject (teacher, she, dog, Rahul, students) is doing the action.
What Is Passive Voice? (With Simple Examples)
In passive voice, the subject is the receiver of the action.
Structure of Passive Voice
Object + helping verb (is/am/are/was/were/has been/have been) + past participle + by + subject
Examples of Passive Voice Sentences
Here are more examples of active and passive voice sentences for students, this time in passive voice:
- The lesson is explained by the teacher.
- A letter is written by her.
- The cat was chased by the dog.
- The homework was completed by Rahul.
- The classroom was cleaned by the students.
👉 In these sentences, the subject (lesson, letter, cat, homework, classroom) receives the action.
Why Students Get Confused About Active and Passive Voice
Most students face these common problems:
- They can’t identify the subject and object correctly.
- They forget to change the verb form.
- They misuse “by” in passive voice.
- They get confused with tenses.
Let’s solve these problems one by one using examples of active and passive voice sentences for students.
How to Identify Active and Passive Voice (Step-by-Step Method)
Ask these two questions:
- Who is doing the action?
- Is the subject performing the action or receiving it?
Example:
Sentence: The boy broke the window.
- Who did the action? → The boy
- The subject is doing the action → Active voice
Sentence: The window was broken by the boy.
- What received the action? → The window
- The subject is receiving the action → Passive voice
How to Change Active Voice into Passive Voice (Easy Method)
Many exams ask students to convert active sentences into passive ones. Follow this method:
Step 1: Identify Subject, Verb, Object
Active: She writes a story.
Subject = She
Verb = writes
Object = a story
Step 2: Make the Object the New Subject
Passive subject = a story
Step 3: Use Correct Helping Verb + Past Participle
Passive: A story is written by her.
More Examples of Active and Passive Voice Sentences for Students
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| The chef cooked the food. | The food was cooked by the chef. |
| She paints a picture. | A picture is painted by her. |
| They built a house. | A house was built by them. |
| The police caught the thief. | The thief was caught by the police. |
| He is reading a book. | A book is being read by him. |
When Should Students Use Passive Voice?
Students often hear that “active voice is better,” which is mostly true. But passive voice is useful in certain situations:
Use Passive Voice When:
- The doer is unknown
- The glass was broken.
- The action is more important than the doer
- The rules were followed.
- In scientific or formal writing
- The experiment was conducted successfully.
These practical situations make examples of active and passive voice sentences for students more meaningful and real-life based.
Common Mistakes Students Make (And How to Fix Them)
❌ Mistake 1: Wrong verb form
- Incorrect: The work is do by him.
- Correct: The work is done by him.
❌ Mistake 2: Forgetting the helping verb
- Incorrect: The letter written by her.
- Correct: The letter was written by her.
❌ Mistake 3: Using passive voice unnecessarily
- Weak: The match was won by our team.
- Better: Our team won the match.
Learning examples of active and passive voice sentences for students helps avoid these mistakes.
Tense-Based Examples (Very Important for Exams)
Present Simple
- Active: She writes a letter.
- Passive: A letter is written by her.
Past Simple
- Active: He cleaned the room.
- Passive: The room was cleaned by him.
Present Continuous
- Active: They are playing football.
- Passive: Football is being played by them.
Future Simple
- Active: She will complete the work.
- Passive: The work will be completed by her.
Practice Exercises for Students
Try converting these active sentences into passive voice:
- The teacher praised the student.
- She is cooking dinner.
- They will finish the project.
- The boy kicked the ball.
- The manager approved the plan.
👉 Practicing such examples of active and passive voice sentences for students regularly improves confidence and accuracy.
Real-Life Examples for Better Understanding
Let’s look at daily-life based examples of active and passive voice sentences for students:
- Active: Mom prepared breakfast.
- Passive: Breakfast was prepared by Mom.
- Active: The mechanic repaired the bike.
- Passive: The bike was repaired by the mechanic.
- Active: The company launched a new product.
- Passive: A new product was launched by the company.
These relatable examples help students understand how grammar works in real communication.
Why Active Voice Is Better for Writing
Active voice:
- Makes sentences clearer
- Makes writing stronger
- Improves readability
- Sounds more natural
That’s why students are encouraged to use active voice in essays, stories, and exams unless passive voice is required.
Final Tips for Students
- Always find the doer of the action
- Practice daily with small sentences
- Learn verb forms (past participle)
- Read examples of active and passive voice sentences for students
- Try writing 5 sentences in both voices every day
Conclusion
Learning examples of active and passive voice sentences for students is not just about grammar rules—it’s about building confidence in English. When students understand how sentences work, they can write better essays, score higher in exams, and communicate more clearly.
Start small, practice daily, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. With regular practice and the right examples, active and passive voice will become easy and natural for you.
Here’s an SEO-optimized FAQs section for rich snippets you can add to your blog post. These are concise, student-friendly, and designed to win featured snippets / FAQ schema:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is active voice with examples for students?
Active voice is when the subject of a sentence performs the action. For example: “The student wrote the answer.” In this sentence, the subject “the student” is doing the action. Learning examples of active and passive voice sentences for students helps clearly understand this difference.
2. What is passive voice with examples for students?
Passive voice is when the subject of a sentence receives the action. For example: “The answer was written by the student.” Here, the subject “the answer” is not doing the action but receiving it.
3. How can students identify active and passive voice easily?
Students can identify the voice by asking: Who is doing the action? If the subject is doing the action, the sentence is active. If the subject is receiving the action, the sentence is passive. This simple question helps in recognizing examples of active and passive voice sentences for students quickly.
4. How do you change an active voice sentence into passive voice?
To change active voice into passive voice, make the object of the active sentence the subject of the passive sentence, use the correct helping verb (is, am, are, was, were, etc.), and use the past participle form of the main verb. Example:
Active: “She writes a letter.”
Passive: “A letter is written by her.”
5. Is active voice better than passive voice for students?
Yes, in most cases active voice is better because it makes sentences clear, direct, and easy to understand. Students are encouraged to use active voice in essays, stories, and exams. Passive voice should be used only when the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant.
6. Why do students find passive voice difficult?
Students find passive voice difficult because it involves changing the sentence structure, using helping verbs, and remembering the past participle form of verbs. Regular practice with examples of active and passive voice sentences for students makes it easier over time.
7. When should students use passive voice?
Students should use passive voice when the person doing the action is unknown, when the action is more important than the doer, or in formal and scientific writing. For example: “The experiment was completed successfully.”
8. What are common mistakes students make in active and passive voice?
Common mistakes include using the wrong verb form, forgetting helping verbs, and overusing passive voice in normal writing. These mistakes can be avoided by practicing sentence conversions and revising basic grammar rules regularly.
9. Are active and passive voice questions important for exams?
Yes, questions based on active and passive voice are very common in school exams, competitive exams, and English grammar tests. Students should practice converting sentences and identifying the voice to score better.
10. How can students practice active and passive voice at home?
Students can practice by writing five active sentences daily and converting them into passive voice. Reading short stories, noticing sentence structures, and solving grammar worksheets also help improve understanding of voice.
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