Active and Passive Voice: Past Tenses

Welcome to an exciting journey into the active and passive voice in past tenses! In this lesson, we’ll explore the Simple Past, Past Continuous, and Past Perfect tenses, helping you master these essential grammar forms with clarity and confidence.

What Are Active and Passive Voice?

Active Voice

• The subject performs the action, while the object receives it.
• Use when: The focus is on who is performing the action.

Example:

• The chef cooked the meal. (Subject: The chef | Action: cooked | Object: the meal)

Passive Voice

• The object becomes the focus, and the subject may be omitted or de-emphasized.
• Use when: The doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.

Example:

• The meal was cooked by the chef. (Object: The meal | Action: was cooked | Subject: by the chef)

🔹 General Rule:

1. Simple Past Tense

🔹 Form:

Examples:

• 🖊️ Active: She wrote a letter.
• ➡️ Passive: A letter was written by her.
• 📖 Active: He read the book.
• ➡️ Passive: The book was read by him.
• 🎤 Active: They sang a song.
• ➡️ Passive: A song was sung by them.
• 📺 Active: I watched a movie.
• ➡️ Passive: A movie was watched by me.
• 💼 Active: She managed the project.
• ➡️ Passive: The project was managed by her.
• 🏀 Active: He played basketball.
• ➡️ Passive: Basketball was played by him.
• 🚗 Active: They drove the car.
• ➡️ Passive: The car was driven by them.
• 🎂 Active: I baked a cake.
• ➡️ Passive: A cake was baked by me.
• 📚 Active: She studied history.
• ➡️ Passive: History was studied by her.
• 🍎 Active: He ate an apple.
• ➡️ Passive: An apple was eaten by him.
• 🌟 Active: We taught English.
• ➡️ Passive: English was taught by us.
• ✈️ Active: They booked tickets.
• ➡️ Passive: Tickets were booked by them.
• 🖌️ Active: I painted the wall.
• ➡️ Passive: The wall was painted by me.
• 🎸 Active: She played the guitar.
• ➡️ Passive: The guitar was played by her.
• 🏠 Active: He cleaned the house.
• ➡️ Passive: The house was cleaned by him.
• 🎥 Active: They watched the show.
• ➡️ Passive: The show was watched by them.
• 📋 Active: I completed the task.
• ➡️ Passive: The task was completed by me.
• 🍳 Active: She cooked dinner.
• ➡️ Passive: Dinner was cooked by her.
• 📝 Active: He wrote the report.
• ➡️ Passive: The report was written by him.
• 📞 Active: They made the call.
• ➡️ Passive: The call was made by them.

2. Past Continuous Tense

🔹 Form:

Examples:

• 🖊️ Active: She was writing a letter.
  ➡️ Passive: A letter was being written by her.
• 📖 Active: He was reading the book.
  ➡️ Passive: The book was being read by him.
• 🎤 Active: They were singing a song.
  ➡️ Passive: A song was being sung by them.
• 📺 Active: I was watching a movie.
  ➡️ Passive: A movie was being watched by me.
• 💼 Active: She was managing the project.
  ➡️ Passive: The project was being managed by her.
• 🏀 Active: He was playing basketball.
  ➡️ Passive: Basketball was being played by him.
• 🚗 Active: They were driving the car.
  ➡️ Passive: The car was being driven by them.
• 🎂 Active: I was baking a cake.
  ➡️ Passive: A cake was being baked by me.
• 📚 Active: She was studying history.
  ➡️ Passive: History was being studied by her.
• 🍎 Active: He was eating an apple.
  ➡️ Passive: An apple was being eaten by him.
• 🌟 Active: We were teaching English.
  ➡️ Passive: English was being taught by us.
• ✈️ Active: They were booking tickets.
  ➡️ Passive: Tickets were being booked by them.
• 🖌️ Active: I was painting the wall.
  ➡️ Passive: The wall was being painted by me.
• 🎸 Active: She was playing the guitar.
  ➡️ Passive: The guitar was being played by her.
• 🏠 Active: He was cleaning the house.
  ➡️ Passive: The house was being cleaned by him.
• 🎥 Active: They were watching the show.
  ➡️ Passive: The show was being watched by them.
• 📋 Active: I was completing the task.
  ➡️ Passive: The task was being completed by me.
• 🍳 Active: She was cooking dinner.
  ➡️ Passive: Dinner was being cooked by her.
• 📝 Active: He was writing the report.
  ➡️ Passive: The report was being written by him.
• 📞 Active: They were making the call.
  ➡️ Passive: The call was being made by them.

3. Past Perfect Tense

🔹 Form:

Examples:

• 🖊️ Active: She had written a letter.
  ➡️ Passive: A letter had been written by her.
• 📖 Active: He had read the book.
  ➡️ Passive: The book had been read by him.
• 🎤 Active: They had sung a song.
• ➡️ Passive: A song had been sung by them.
• 📺 Active: I had watched a movie.
• ➡️ Passive: A movie had been watched by me.
• 💼 Active: She had managed the project.
• ➡️ Passive: The project had been managed by her.
• 🏀 Active: He had played basketball.
• ➡️ Passive: Basketball had been played by him.
• 🚗 Active: They had driven the car.
• ➡️ Passive: The car had been driven by them.
• 🎂 Active: I had baked a cake.
• ➡️ Passive: A cake had been baked by me.
• 📚 Active: She had studied history.
• ➡️ Passive: History had been studied by her.
• 🍎 Active: He had eaten an apple.
• ➡️ Passive: An apple had been eaten by him.
• 🌟 Active: We had taught English.
• ➡️ Passive: English had been taught by us.
• ✈️ Active: They had booked tickets.
• ➡️ Passive: Tickets had been booked by them.
• 🖌️ Active: I had painted the wall.
• ➡️ Passive: The wall had been painted by me.
• 🎸 Active: She had played the guitar.
• ➡️ Passive: The guitar had been played by her.
• 🏠 Active: He had cleaned the house.
• ➡️ Passive: The house had been cleaned by him.
• 🎥 Active: They had watched the show.
• ➡️ Passive: The show had been watched by them.
• 📋 Active: I had completed the task.
• ➡️ Passive: The task had been completed by me.
• 🍳 Active: She had cooked dinner.
• ➡️ Passive: Dinner had been cooked by her.
• 📝 Active: He had written the report.
• ➡️ Passive: The report had been written by him.
• 📞 Active: They had made the call.
• ➡️ Passive: The call had been made by them.

Key Differences Between Active and Passive Voice