In English grammar, Voice describes the relationship between the action expressed by a transitive verb and the participants identified by its arguments (subject and object). Voice indicates whether the subject of the sentence performs the action or receives the action.
There are two primary voices in the English language:
Understanding the conversion between active and passive voice improves reading comprehension, formal writing skills, and performance in standardized grammar examinations.
To convert an Active Voice sentence into Passive Voice, keep the following five fundamental rules in mind:
Active Formula: Subject + V1 (s/es) + Object
Passive Formula: Object + is/am/are + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: She writes a letter.
• Passive: A letter is written by her.
• Active: They play football.
• Passive: Football is played by them.
Active Formula: Subject + is/am/are + V-ing + Object
Passive Formula: Object + is/am/are + being + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: Ali is reading a book.
• Passive: A book is being read by Ali.
• Active: We are cooking food.
• Passive: Food is being cooked by us.
Active Formula: Subject + has/have + V3 + Object
Passive Formula: Object + has/have + been + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: He has completed the project.
• Passive: The project has been completed by him.
• Active: They have won the match.
• Passive: The match has been won by them.
Active Formula: Subject + V2 + Object
Passive Formula: Object + was/were + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: Sara bought a car.
• Passive: A car was bought by Sara.
• Active: The teacher called the students.
• Passive: The students were called by the teacher.
Active Formula: Subject + was/were + V-ing + Object
Passive Formula: Object + was/were + being + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: He was driving a bus.
• Passive: A bus was being driven by him.
• Active: They were painting the wall.
• Passive: The wall was being painted by them.
Active Formula: Subject + had + V3 + Object
Passive Formula: Object + had + been + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: She had cleaned the room.
• Passive: The room had been cleaned by her.
• Active: I had finished my work.
• Passive: My work had been finished by me.
Active Formula: Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object
Passive Formula: Object + will/shall + be + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: He will write an essay.
• Passive: An essay will be written by him.
• Active: We will help them.
• Passive: They will be helped by us.
Active Formula: Subject + will/shall + have + V3 + Object
Passive Formula: Object + will/shall + have + been + V3 + by + Subject
Examples:
• Active: She will have delivered the message.
• Passive: The message will have been delivered by her.
Note: Future Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, and Future Perfect Continuous tenses generally do not have standard passive forms in modern English.
انگریزی اور اردو گرامر میں، جملے کی ساخت کے اعتبار سے فعل کی دو اہم اقسام ہوتی ہیں: فعل معروف (Active Voice) اور فعل مجہول (Passive Voice)۔
فعل معروف (Active Voice): اس جملے میں فاعل (Subject) خود کام کر رہا ہوتا ہے۔ یعنی کام کرنے والے پر زیادہ توجہ دی جاتی ہے۔
فعل مجہول (Passive Voice): اس جملے میں مفعول (Object) پر کام کا اثر ہوتا ہے یا کام کرنے والے (فاعل) کو ظاہر نہیں کیا جاتا یا اس کی اہمیت کم ہوتی ہے۔
1۔ مفعول (Object) کو فاعل (Subject) کی جگہ دیا جاتا ہے۔
2۔ فاعل (Subject) کو مفعول کی جگہ منتقل کیا جاتا ہے اور اس سے پہلے 'by' کا استعمال ہوتا ہے۔
3۔ ہمیشہ فعل کی تیسری فارم (3rd Form / V3) استعمال ہوتی ہے۔
4۔ امدادی افعال (Helping Verbs) کا استعمال زمانے (Tense) کے لحاظ سے تبدیل ہوتا ہے۔
معروف: علی خط لکھتا ہے۔ (Ali writes a letter.)
مجہول: خط علی کے ذریعہ لکھا جاتا ہے۔ (A letter is written by Ali.)
معروف: وہ کھانا کھا رہے ہیں۔ (They are eating food.)
مجہول: کھانا ان کے ذریعہ کھایا جا رہا ہے۔ (Food is being eaten by them.)
معروف: اس نے کام مکمل کر لیا ہے۔ (He has completed the work.)
مجہول: کام اس کے ذریعہ مکمل کیا جا چکا ہے۔ (The work has been completed by him.)
معروف: انہوں نے میچ جیتا۔ (They won the match.)
مجہول: میچ ان کے ذریعہ جیتا گیا۔ (The match was won by them.)
معروف: لڑکی گانا گا رہی تھی۔ (The girl was singing a song.)
مجہول: گانا لڑکی کے ذریعہ گایا جا رہا تھا۔ (A song was being sung by the girl.)
معروف: استاد نے سبق پڑھا دیا تھا۔ (The teacher had taught the lesson.)
مجہول: سبق استاد کے ذریعہ پڑھایا جا چکا تھا۔ (The lesson had been taught by the teacher.)
معروف: میں ایک کتاب خریدوں گا۔ (I will buy a book.)
مجہول: ایک کتاب میرے ذریعہ خریدی جائے گی۔ (A book will be bought by me.)
معروف: وہ خط بھیج چکے ہوں گے۔ (They will have sent the letter.)
مجہول: خط ان کے ذریعہ بھیجا جا چکا ہو گا۔ (The letter will have been sent by them.)
Mastering active and passive voice helps students and writers diversify their sentence structure. Active voice makes writing direct, clear, and engaging, which is preferred in narrative and creative writing. On the other hand, passive voice is widely used in scientific reports, journalism, official documentation, and legal texts where the action or result is more critical than the actor.
By understanding both forms along with their English and Urdu structures, students preparing for exams like Matric, Intermediate, CSS, PMS, and IELTS can easily avoid syntax errors and articulate their thoughts with greater clarity.