A picturesque summer picnic featuring croissants, cherries, peaches, a hat, and an open book on a striped blanket.

April 4, 2026

Active & Passive Voice Cheatsheet

Listen to this article

Table of Contents

Active & Passive Voice Cheatsheet
Advanced Passive Voice Exceptions
Master Level Voice & Verb Rules

Active & Passive Voice Cheatsheet

The Ultimate Guide to Sentence Transformation & Verb Rules

1. The Golden Transformation Rule

Active: Subject + Verb + Object

↓

Passive: Object + Helping Verb + V3 (Past Participle) + by + Subject

Rule: Passive Voice ALWAYS uses the 3rd form of the verb (V3).

2. Tense-Wise Auxiliary Verb Changes

Tense	Active Voice Verb	Passive Voice Verb
Simple Present	V1 / s/es	is / am / are + V3
Simple Past	V2	was / were + V3
Simple Future	will / shall	will be / shall be + V3
Present Continuous	is/am/are + ing	is/am/are + being + V3
Past Continuous	was/were + ing	was/were + being + V3
Present Perfect	has / have + V3	has been / have been + V3
Past Perfect	had + V3	had been + V3
Future Perfect	will have + V3	will have been + V3

*Note: Future Continuous and all Perfect Continuous tenses generally do not have passive forms.

3. Pronoun Shifts

I → Me

We → Us

You → You

He → Him

She → Her

They → Them

Who → By whom

4. Special Cases & Advanced Rules

I. Imperative Sentences (Command/Request)

• Command: Use “Let + Object + be + V3”.
Active: Shut the door. → Passive: Let the door be shut.• Request: Use “You are requested to + V1”.
Active: Please help me. → Passive: You are requested to help me.

• Advice: Use “Object + should be + V3”.
Active: Help the poor. → Passive: The poor should be helped.

II. Sentences with Modals (Can, Could, May, Must)

Rule: Modal + be + V3.
Example:
Active: He can lift this box.
Passive: This box can be lifted by him.

III. Interrogative Sentences (Questions)

• Do/Does: Change to Is/Am/Are.
• Did: Change to Was/Were.
• Who: Change to By whom.
Example:
Active: Who wrote this letter?
Passive: By whom was this letter written?

IV. Two Objects (Direct & Indirect)

If a sentence has two objects, either can become the subject. Usually, the living object (person) is preferred.
Example:
Active: He gave me a pen.
Passive (1): I was given a pen by him.
Passive (2): A pen was given to me by him.

V. Verbs with Fixed Prepositions (No “By”)

Some verbs take specific prepositions instead of ‘by’.
• Known to, Surprised at, Satisfied with, Interested in.
Example:
Active: I know him.
Passive: He is known to me. (Not “by me”)

Master your exams with more guides at oneenglish.in!

Advanced Passive Voice Exceptions

Mastering Quasi-Passive, Verbs of Perception, and Infinitives

1. Quasi-Passive Verbs (Verbs that Sense)

Some verbs look active but have a passive sense. Their transformation is unique:

Active: Honey tastes sweet.
Passive: Honey is sweet when it is tasted.

Active: The rose smells sweet.
Passive: The rose is sweet when it is smelt.

2. Passive with “To + V1” (Infinitives)

Structure	Active Example	Passive Change (to be + V3)
Standard	I have to finish it.	It has to be finished by me.
“It is time”	It is time to take tea.	It is time for tea to be taken.
There is…	There is no money to buy.	There is no money to be bought.

3. Specialized Passive Scenarios

I. Passive of “Let” (Permission vs. Suggestion)

Rule: When “Let” implies a suggestion, use “should be”.
Active: Let us help him. → Passive: He should be helped.
Active: Let me do this. → Passive: Let this be done by me.

II. Implied Subjects (Omitting ‘By Someone’)

If the subject is obvious, unknown, or unimportant (People, Someone, Police), omit the “by” phrase in passive.
Active: People speak English all over the world.
Passive: English is spoken all over the world. (No need for “by people”)
Active: Someone stole my watch.
Passive: My watch was stolen.

III. Verbs of Perception (See, Hear, Watch)

When these verbs are followed by a bare infinitive (V1 without “to”) in active voice, they take “to + V1” in passive.
Active: I saw him cross the road.
Passive: He was seen to cross the road by me.

IV. Prepositional Verbs (Keep the preposition!)

If a verb is attached to a preposition, do not drop it when moving to passive.
Active: She is looking after the kids.
Passive: The kids are being looked after by her.

V. “It is said/believed that…” (Reported Passive)

Used for general opinions or rumors.
Active: People say that he is a spy.
Passive (1): It is said that he is a spy.
Passive (2): He is said to be a spy.

VI. Double Passive (Avoid it!)

Avoid making two verbs passive in the same clause if it sounds unnatural.
Wrong: The work was ordered to be done.
Correct: He was ordered to do the work.

Practice these advanced rules with our Daily Exercises on oneenglish.in!

Master Level Voice & Verb Rules

Causative Verbs, Bare Infinitives, and Logical Transformations

1. Passive of Causative Verbs

Causative verbs (when someone else does the work) follow a specific pattern in Passive Voice:

The “Get/Have” Rule: Subject + Get/Have + Object + V3

Active: I am having the mechanic repair my car.
Passive: I am having my car repaired.

The “Make” Rule: (Active uses V1, Passive uses to + V1)

Active: She made me wash the dishes.
Passive: I was made to wash the dishes by her.

2. Verbs that drop “To” in Active but keep it in Passive

Certain verbs like Help, Bid, Feel, Hear, Watch, and See use a “Bare Infinitive” (V1 without ‘to’) in Active voice. In Passive, you must add ‘to’.

Verb	Active (No ‘To’)	Passive (Add ‘To’)
Help	He helped me cook.	I was helped to cook by him.
Bid	I bade him go.	He was bidden to go.

3. The “Expert-Level” Final Rules

I. Passive of “Suggest/Recommend” + Gerund

When “Suggest” is followed by a gerund (-ing), use “that… should be + V3”.
Active: He suggested buying a new car.
Passive: He suggested that a new car should be bought.

II. Transformation of “Need” / “Want”

When ‘Need’ or ‘Want’ is followed by a gerund, it has a passive meaning already, but can be written formally.
Active: This room needs painting.
Passive: This room needs to be painted.

III. Reflexive Pronouns (Self-Verbs)

Verbs like kill, hurt, or prepare with ‘self’ pronouns don’t swap subject and object positions.
Active: He killed himself.
Passive: He was killed by himself. (Subject remains ‘He’)

IV. Verbs followed by Adjectives

Advanced If a verb is followed by an adjective, use the “When” structure.
Active: This surface feels rough.
Passive: This surface is rough when it is felt.

V. No Passive for Intransitive Verbs

Remember: Verbs like Go, Come, Die, Sleep, and Happen have no object and therefore **CANNOT** be changed into Passive Voice. This is a common trap in exams!

You’ve officially mastered Grammar Voice! Explore more at oneenglish.in.