Master Guide: Voice Change (Active & Passive)

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Here is a comprehensive “Master Guide” to Voice Change (Active and Passive Voice), specifically designed for SEBA Class 10 students. This guide breaks down the concept with a simple formula, covers all the important tenses and sentence types, and uses examples from past papers in both English and Assamese for clear understanding.

Master Guide: Voice Change (Active & Passive)

(ইংৰাজী আৰু অসমীয়াত সম্পূৰ্ণ বুজনি)

Understanding the Core Concept (মূল ধাৰণাটো বুজা)

In English: Voice shows whether the subject of a sentence is performing the action (Active Voice) or receiving the action (Passive Voice).

  • Active Voice: The subject does the action. The focus is on the doer.
    • Formula: Subject + Verb + Object
    • Example: Columbus discovered America. (Here, Columbus is the subject and he is doing the action of discovering).
  • Passive Voice: The subject receives the action. The focus is on the action or the receiver of the action.
    • Formula: Object + Helping Verb + V3 + by + Subject
    • Example: America was discovered by Columbus. (Here, America is the subject, and it is receiving the action of being discovered).

In Assamese: Voice-এ দেখুৱায় যে বাক্যৰ কৰ্তা (Subject)-ই কামটো কৰিছে (Active Voice) নে কামটোৰ ফল ভোগ কৰিছে (Passive Voice)।

  • Active Voice (কৰ্তৃ বাচ্য): যেতিয়া কৰ্তাই নিজে কাম কৰে। ইয়াত কৰোঁতাজনৰ (doer) ওপৰত গুৰুত্ব দিয়া হয়।
    • গঠন: কৰ্তা (Subject) + ক্ৰিয়া (Verb) + কৰ্ম (Object)
    • উদাহৰণ: Columbus discovered America. (ইয়াত Columbus হ’ল কৰ্তা আৰু তেওঁ আৱিষ্কাৰ কৰা কামটো কৰিছে।)
  • Passive Voice (কৰ্ম বাচ্য): যেতিয়া কৰ্তাই কামটোৰ ফল গ্ৰহণ কৰে। ইয়াত কামটোৰ ওপৰত গুৰুত্ব দিয়া হয়।
    • গঠন: কৰ্ম (Object) + সহায়ক ক্ৰিয়া (Helping Verb) + V3 + by + কৰ্তা (Subject)
    • উদাহৰণ: America was discovered by Columbus. (ইয়াত America হ’ল কৰ্তা, আৰু ই আৱিষ্কাৰ হোৱা কামটো গ্ৰহণ কৰিছে।)

The Golden Rule of Voice Change (Voice Change-ৰ সোণালী নিয়ম)

The most important rule to remember is: In Passive Voice, the main verb is ALWAYS in its 3rd form (V3 / Past Participle).
(আটাইতকৈ গুৰুত্বপূৰ্ণ নিয়মটো হ’ল: Passive Voice-ত মূল ক্ৰিয়া (main verb) সদায় তাৰ 3rd form (V3 / Past Participle)-ত থাকে।)

The only thing that changes is the Helping Verb (am, is, are, was, were, being, been, has, have, had).
(কেৱল সহায়ক ক্ৰিয়া (Helping Verb)-টোহে সলনি হয়।)

Voice Change Across Tenses (বিভিন্ন Tense-ত Voice Change)

Let’s use one sentence, “He writes a letter,” to see how it changes across different tenses.
(এতিয়া “He writes a letter” বাক্যটো ব্যৱহাৰ কৰি বিভিন্ন Tense-ত কেনেকৈ সলনি হয় চাওঁ।)

1. Present Tense

  • Simple Present (V1 / V1+s/es)
    • Active: He writes a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + am/is/are + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter is written by him.
  • Present Continuous (am/is/are + V-ing)
    • Active: He is writing a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + am/is/are + being + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter is being written by him.
  • Present Perfect (has/have + V3)
    • Active: He has written a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + has/have + been + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter has been written by him.
    • Example (HSLC 2021): My pen has been stolen. (Passive) → Someone has stolen my pen. (Active)

2. Past Tense

  • Simple Past (V2)
    • Active: He wrote a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + was/were + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter was written by him.
    • Example (HSLC 2017): America was discovered by Columbus. (Passive) → Columbus discovered America. (Active)
  • Past Continuous (was/were + V-ing)
    • Active: He was writing a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + was/were + being + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter was being written by him.
  • Past Perfect (had + V3)
    • Active: He had written a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + had + been + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter had been written by him.

3. Future Tense

  • Simple Future (will/shall + V1)
    • Active: He will write a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + will/shall + be + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter will be written by him.
  • Future Perfect (will/shall + have + V3)
    • Active: He will have written a letter.
    • Passive Rule: Object + will/shall + have + been + V3 + by + Subject
    • Passive: A letter will have been written by him.

Note: The continuous forms of Future Tense (Future Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous) and Present/Past Perfect Continuous are generally not used in Passive Voice.
(টোকা: Future Tense-ৰ continuous form-বোৰ আৰু Present/Past Perfect Continuous Tense সাধাৰণতে Passive Voice-ত ব্যৱহাৰ নহয়।)

Voice Change for Other Sentence Types (অন্যান্য বাক্যৰ Voice Change)

1. Interrogative Sentences (প্ৰশ্নবোধক বাক্য)

The question word (What, Why, When) or the helping verb (Is, Are, Did, Have) remains at the beginning of the sentence.
(প্ৰশ্নবোধক শব্দ (What, Why, When) বা সহায়ক ক্ৰিয়া (Is, Are, Did, Have) বাক্যৰ আৰম্ভণিতে থাকে।)

  • Active: Did you do the work?
  • Passive: Was the work done by you?
  • Active: Why did your father refuse such an honourable job? (HSLC 2015)
  • Passive: Why was such an honourable job refused by your father?
  • Active: Whom did you call? (HSLC 2023)
  • Passive: Who was called by you?

2. Imperative Sentences (অনুজ্ঞা-সূচক বাক্য)

These sentences (commands, requests) usually start with a verb.
(এই বাক্যবোৰ (আদেশ, অনুৰোধ) সাধাৰণতে verb-ৰে আৰম্ভ হয়।)

  • Rule: Use Let or You are requested/ordered/advised to.
    (Let বা You are requested/ordered/advised to ব্যৱহাৰ কৰা হয়।)
  • Command (আদেশ):
    • Active: Do the work.
    • Passive: Let the work be done. (or) You are ordered to do the work.
  • Request (অনুৰোধ):
    • Active: Please help me.
    • Passive: You are requested to help me.
  • Example (HSLC 2024 Mock): “Let the door be closed.” (Passive)
  • Active: Close the door.

3. Sentences without a “by + Agent” (এজেণ্ট নথকা বাক্য)

Sometimes, the doer of the action is not important. In such cases, we use an impersonal subject like Someone, People, They in the Active Voice.
(কেতিয়াবা কামটো কৰোঁতাজন গুৰুত্বপূৰ্ণ নহয়। তেনে ক্ষেত্ৰত, Active Voice-ত Someone, People, They আদি ব্যৱহাৰ কৰা হয়।)

  • Passive: My pen has been stolen. (HSLC 2021)
    • Logic: Who stole it? We don’t know. So we use “Someone”.
    • Active: Someone has stolen my pen.
  • Passive: English is spoken all over the world. (HSLC 2017)
    • Logic: Who speaks it? “People”.
    • Active: People speak English all over the world.

Summary Table for Quick Revision (দ্ৰুত পুনৰীক্ষণৰ বাবে তালিকা)

TenseActive Voice StructurePassive Voice Helping Verb
Simple PresentV1 / V1+s/esam / is / are
Present Continuousam/is/are + V-ingam/is/are + being
Present Perfecthas/have + V3has/have + been
Simple PastV2was / were
Past Continuouswas/were + V-ingwas/were + being
Past Perfecthad + V3had + been
Simple Futurewill + V1will + be
ImperativeV1 + ObjectLet + Object + be
Modal Verbs (can, must, should)can/must + V1can/must + be

50 Practice Examples on Voice Change (Active & Passive)

Part 1: Present Tense (বৰ্তমান কাল)

  1. Active: He helps me.
    Passive: I am helped by him.
  2. Active: She is singing a song.
    Passive: A song is being sung by her.
  3. Active: They have bought a new car.
    Passive: A new car has been bought by them.
  4. Active: People speak English all over the world. (HSLC 2017)
    Passive: English is spoken all over the world.
  5. Active: The students are decorating the stage.
    Passive: The stage is being decorated by the students.
  6. Active: Someone has stolen my pen. (HSLC 2021)
    Passive: My pen has been stolen.
  7. Active: We do not know his brother.
    Passive: His brother is not known to us.
  8. Passive: The letters have been posted. (HSLC 2020)
    Active: Someone has posted the letters.
  9. Passive: Is tea prepared by her?
    Active: Does she prepare tea?
  10. Passive: A story is being written by the author.
    Active: The author is writing a story.

Part 2: Past Tense (অতীত কাল)

  1. Active: Columbus discovered America. (HSLC 2017)
    Passive: America was discovered by Columbus.
  2. Active: He did the work alone. (HSLC 2020)
    Passive: The work was done by him alone.
  3. Active: The boy was reading a book.
    Passive: A book was being read by the boy.
  4. Active: She had finished her task.
    Passive: Her task had been finished by her.
  5. Active: The teacher gave the students some advice.
    Passive: The students were given some advice by the teacher.
  6. Active: The boy did not break the glass. (HSLC 2023)
    Passive: The glass was not broken by the boy.
  7. Active: They were playing cricket.
    Passive: Cricket was being played by them.
  8. Passive: The play, Hamlet, was written by Shakespeare. (HSLC 2021)
    Active: Shakespeare wrote the play, Hamlet.
  9. Passive: He was punished for his misconduct. (HSLC 2019)
    Active: His misconduct punished him. (or) They punished him for his misconduct.
  10. Passive: The thief had been caught by the police.
    Active: The police had caught the thief.

Part 3: Future Tense (ভৱিষ্যত কাল)

  1. Active: I shall do the work tomorrow.
    Passive: The work will be done by me tomorrow.
  2. Active: She will help you.
    Passive: You will be helped by her.
  3. Active: They will have completed the project by next month.
    Passive: The project will have been completed by them by next month.
  4. Active: The teacher will not punish the innocent students.
    Passive: The innocent students will not be punished by the teacher.
  5. Passive: The match will be won by our team.
    Active: Our team will win the match.

Part 4: Interrogative Sentences (প্ৰশ্নবোধক বাক্য)

  1. Active: Did you write this letter?
    Passive: Was this letter written by you?
  2. Active: Why did your father refuse such an honourable job? (HSLC 2015)
    Passive: Why was such an honourable job refused by your father?
  3. Active: Whom did you call? (HSLC 2023)
    Passive: Who was called by you?
  4. Active: Have you finished the task?
    Passive: Has the task been finished by you?
  5. Active: Who broke the window?
    Passive: By whom was the window broken?
  6. Active: When will you return the book?
    Passive: When will the book be returned by you?
  7. Active: Is he reading the newspaper?
    Passive: Is the newspaper being read by him?

Part 5: Imperative Sentences (অনুজ্ঞা-সূচক বাক্য)

  1. Active: Close the door. (HSLC 2024 Mock)
    Passive: Let the door be closed. (or) You are ordered to close the door.
  2. Active: Please do me a favour.
    Passive: You are requested to do me a favour.
  3. Active: Don’t insult the poor.
    Passive: Let not the poor be insulted. (or) You are advised not to insult the poor.
  4. Active: Post the letter immediately.
    Passive: Let the letter be posted immediately.
  5. Passive: You are requested to help the needy.
    Active: Please help the needy.

Part 6: Sentences with Modals & Other Structures (Modal Verb থকা বাক্য)

  1. Active: You must do this work.
    Passive: This work must be done by you.
  2. Active: One should keep one’s promises.
    Passive: Promises should be kept.
  3. Active: We can solve this problem.
    Passive: This problem can be solved by us.
  4. Active: His conduct surprised us. (HSLC 2015)
    Passive: We were surprised at his conduct. (Note: ‘at’ is used with ‘surprised’, not ‘by’)
  5. Active: The students elected him secretary. (HSLC 2016)
    Passive: He was elected secretary by the students.
  6. Active: I know the man.
    Passive: The man is known to me. (Note: ‘to’ is used with ‘known’, not ‘by’)
  7. Active: The news has greatly shocked us.
    Passive: We have been greatly shocked at the news.
  8. Passive: The stadium was filled with spectators.
    Active: Spectators filled the stadium.

Mixed Practice (মিহলি অনুশীলন)

  1. Active: The doctor is examining the patients.
    Passive: The patients are being examined by the doctor.
  2. Passive: The bridge was repaired last year.
    Active: They repaired the bridge last year.
  3. Active: Who taught you English?
    Passive: By whom were you taught English?
  4. Active: Let me do my homework.
    Passive: Let my homework be done by me.
  5. Passive: The case is being investigated by the police.
    Active: The police are investigating the case.

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