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SSC CGL English · Grammar

Active and Passive Voice

Changing a sentence between active and passive: the receiver becomes the subject, the verb becomes be + past participle in the same tense, and the doer moves to by.

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Why this matters

Two hundred and twenty-seven questions in the bank, 78 from the 2023 shifts, 72 from the 2024 shifts and 77 from the 2025 shifts, more than half the chapter, and 180 of them EASY. SSC asks the change both ways, so one rule (keep the tense, swap the doer and the receiver) earns marks in every shift.

Concept 1 of 3: The passive in every tense

To make a sentence passive, the object becomes the subject, the verb turns into be + past participle while keeping its tense, and the doer moves after by. Going from passive to active reverses each step. The tense never changes.

Definition

  • Simple: writes becomes is/are written; wrote becomes was/were written; will write becomes will be written.
  • Continuous: is writing becomes is being written; was writing becomes was being written.
  • Perfect: has written becomes has been written; had written becomes had been written; will have written becomes will have been written.
  • Negatives: not stays after the first helping verb: did not write becomes was not written.
  • Agreement: the new subject decides is or are, was or were: "Pancakes were made".
  • By + object form: by him, by them, by me; the doer may be dropped when it is unknown or people in general.

Worked example

Change to the passive: The gardener is watering the plants.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2023 · Tier I, 20 Jul 2023, Shift 1 · Q88Easy

Example 1 · Grammar · Active and Passive Voice

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice. The workers had eaten all the pastries before the day broke.

Changing the tense

"She is writing a letter" becomes "A letter is being written by her", not "was written". Only the voice changes.

Agreeing with the old subject

"He made the cakes" becomes "The cakes were made by him": the new subject, the cakes, is plural, so were.
Drill 164 more on the passive in every tense

Concept 2 of 3: Questions and commands

A question stays a question. Who becomes by whom; a do, does or did question becomes is, are, was or were + the new subject + participle; a question word such as why stays in front. A command becomes "Let ... be + participle".

Definition

  • Who? becomes By whom?: "Who wrote it?" becomes "By whom was it written?"
  • Do, does, did questions: "Did you buy it?" becomes "Was it bought by you?"; "Does she cook rice?" becomes "Is rice cooked by her?"
  • Helping-verb questions keep the helping verb first: "Is he driving a car?" becomes "Is a car being driven by him?"
  • Question words stay in front: "Why did she open it?" becomes "Why was it opened by her?"
  • Commands: "Close the door" becomes "Let the door be closed"; "Don't touch it" becomes "Let it not be touched".
  • Let me, let us: "Let me do it" becomes "Let it be done by me".

Worked example

Change to the passive: Did the boy break the window?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2023 · Tier I, 21 Jul 2023, Shift 1 · Q94Easy

Example 2 · Grammar · Active and Passive Voice

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice. Who broke my glasses?

Losing the question

"Did you buy it?" does not become "It was bought by you". The passive is still a question: "Was it bought by you?"

By who

After by, the object form is needed: by whom, never by who.
Drill 35 more on questions and commands

Concept 3 of 3: Modals, two objects and verbs with a preposition

A modal keeps its place and takes be + participle: must deliver becomes must be delivered. A verb with two objects (give, teach, send) can make either object the subject. A verb with a preposition keeps it: laugh at becomes be laughed at. And know takes to, not by.

Definition

  • Modal + be + participle: can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must + be + participle.
  • Modal + have been + participle: might have completed becomes might have been completed.
  • Has to, have to: has to bake becomes has to be baked.
  • Two objects: "The teacher gave her a prize" becomes "She was given a prize" or "A prize was given to her".
  • Keep the preposition: laugh at, look after, call up: "is laughed at", "was looked after".
  • Known to: "Everyone knows him" becomes "He is known to everyone".
  • No doer needed: "Someone has stolen my bag" becomes "My bag has been stolen".

Worked example

Change to the passive: You should finish the report today.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2024 · Tier I, 11 Sep 2024, Shift 3 · Q80Easy

Example 3 · Grammar · Active and Passive Voice

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice. He must deliver pizza.

Dropping the preposition

"The clown was laughed by the children" loses the at. A verb's preposition stays with it in the passive.

Known by

SSC's keys use known to: "He is known to everyone", not "known by everyone".
Drill 25 more on modals, two objects and verbs with a preposition

Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance

A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.

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