Speak English Like a Native: Master Active and Passive Voice Fast!

Hey there, guys, welcome back to the channel.

So today we're tackling a grammar

topic that confuses a lot of people active voice versus passive voice.

Don't worry, though, I'll make it super easy and maybe even a little fun.

We'll talk about what they are, how to form them in

different tenses and throw in some real life examples,

because who doesn't love relatable grammar, right?

OK, so

the active voice is straightforward.

The subject of the sentence is doing the action,

like I ate pizza. easy, right?

I'm the subject and I'm doing the

best action ever eating pizza.

Now in the passive voice, it's like

the pizza is the star, the focus shifts.

The pizza was eaten by me. Same

idea, but we’re flipping the focus.

It sounds a little like I'm confessing something at a crime scene.

Right?

So why do we even use passive voice?

Well, sometimes it's because we don't know who did the action.

Or because we want a sound fancy, using

passive voice will make you sound more natural and even sophisticated in certain contexts.

Native speakers often use passive voice to emphasize

the action or outcome rather than the doer

of the action, and they often use it without thinking.

Especially when the subject is unknown or unimportant,

which helps with a natural flow of conversations.

Passive voice allows you to avoid repeating

the subject in a sentence, which can feel redundant in English.

Also, passive voice adds a formal tone

to your language, which can make you sound more refined and professional.

All right, here's the fun part how to

actually form these sentences in different tenses,

and don't worry it's easier than it looks, so let's break it down.

Let's start with the present simple and the active voice.

I eat pizza, and this is how we

form it subject plus base verb.

I eat pizza.

I is the subject and the verb eat is in its base form.

Now in the passive voice, this sentence sounds like

this,- Pizza is eaten by me, object

plus am/is/are and plus past participle.

past participle is the third form of the verb.

Here pizza is our object, and the verb

eaten is in its past participle form.

See, you're basically just adding is or are and flipping the focus.

Now let's take a look at the examples in the past simple tense.

We have a sentence in the active voice

she fixed the car, and this is how we form it subject plus past tense verb.

She is the subject and

fix is in its past tense form, which is fixed.

And in the passive voice, this sentence sounds like this

the car was fixed by her, so we

take the object we put it first, then we add was

or were. plus past participle.

The car is the object, then we added was because there was only one car.

And then we added the verb in its past participle form.

At the end we add by and the subject

to let the listener know who performed the action.

However, we could also drop it and simply

say the car was fixed. if the doer is not important.

Or if you don't want to say who did the action, like

in the first example, you could just say,- pizza was eaten, and we don't know who did it.

Although you might know, but you just don't want to say it.

Now let's take a look at the examples in the future simple tense,

so we have the active voice,- we will finish the

project, and we have the passive voice.

The project will be finished by us.

Or adjust the project will be finished.

All right, so in the active voice we have the subject,

which is we, then we add will for the future tense and

And then we have the verb finish in its base form,

and then we add the object.

For the passive voice again we put the object first,

which is the project, and then we add will be

it's easy here, and then the verb in its

past participle form, which is finished here.

Passive voice in the future is all

about adding will be.

It's like saying, relax, this will get done! Eventually!

One little side note, of course, to be able to

form the passive voice in different tenses you need to know your tenses.

However, this video will also help you with that.

All right on to the present continuous.

And here's the example sentence in the active voice,

They are painting the house.

And here's the formula we have the subject, which

is they, and then we add am/is/are

In our case it's are, and then a verb with the -ing ending.

In our case it's painting.

And then the object, which is the house in our case.

And for the passive voice we put the object first,

and then we add am/is/are plus

being and plus past participle.

And this is what we get the house is being

painted by them or just the house is being painted. Right now.

Adding being here is important and

this is what makes it sound like the action is happening right now.

Now let's take a look at the past continuous,

so we have a sentence in the active voice.

He was cleaning the room, so

we have the subject which is he then we add was or were depending on

the subject's number, and then we add a verb with the -ing ending.

In our case it's cleaning.

And now let's take a look at the passive voice.

The room was being cleaned by him,

so again we have the object first which is the room, and then

we add was or were. plus being, which is

important here, and then past participle.

Same deal as the present continuous.

Now as dive into the present perfect, our favorite tense.

So lets take a look at our example in the active

voice she has written a book. So

we have a subject again which is she then we add has

or have in our case it’s has.

And then we add the past participle.

In our case it's the verb written.

is the third form of the verb write- write, wrote, written.

In the passive voice, of course we put the object first,

which is a book, and we say a book has

been written by her.

So here's the formula: object plus has been

or have been, and plus past participle.

The magic words here are has been or have been.

A book has been written by her.

It's perfect for sounding fancy when talking about accomplishments.

All right, now let's take a look at the past perfect

tense so we have a sentence in the active voice

he had solved the problem.

And this is our formula so we have the subject which

is he, and then we add the auxiliary verb had

And then we add the verb in the past participle form,

which is solved, and then the object, which is the problem.

He had solved the problem.

And in the passive voice this sentence sounds like this

The problem had been solved by him, so

we have our object and then we add had been.

and then we add the verb in the past participle form.

Past perfect passive is all about using had been.

It works great when describing something that was

already completed before another action.

And lastly, let's break down the passive and active

voices in the future perfect tense.

So here is our example sentence of the future perfect and the active voice.

They will have completed the task.

Our formula for the active voice stays the same except we add will have.

Now I look at the example in the passive voice.

The task will have been completed by them, so

we have our object which as the task then we add will have been.

And then we have our verb in the past participle form.

Adding been in the passive voice indicates that the

action is passive, meaning the subject of

the sentence is receiving the action rather than performing it.

Not going to lie, future perfect passive sounds very

professional, like something you'd say in a business meeting.

Now that we've covered how to form them, let's

take a look at some real life examples for everyday use

because grammar is way more fun when it feels relatable.

I wash the dishes.

The dishes are being washed by me.

Sounds like I'm trying too hard to impress my mom.

He broke the vase, the vase was

broken by him, which is classic and wasn't me defense.

We will plan the party.

The party will be planned by us.

She is reading the book.

The book is being read by her.

Doesn't the sound so dramatic?

They were fixing the car.

The car was being fixed by them.

I have eaten the cookies. The cookies

have been eaten by me. No regrets though!

or The cookies have been eaten! Who did that?

Okay, so when do we use passive voice?

We use it when we don't know who did the action.

The wallet was stolen. Or the doer isn't important.

The packages were delivered,

or you want to sound fancy or official.

The report has been submitted.

So yeah, passive voice has its place, but don't overdo it.

Otherwise you'll sound like a robot or someone reading off a police report.

Well, that's it for active and passive voice.

Remember, use active voice for everyday stuff.

It's direct, it's clear, it's you in charge.

Save the passive voice.

For when you want to focus on the action or sound a little more formal.

But don't overthink it if it sounds awkward or like

a courtroom statement, switch to active.

Practice a few examples and you'll be pro in no time

and hey, if you have any funny passive voice moments, drop them in the comments.

I need a good laugh.

See you next time.