Transformation of sentences refers to changing the form or structure of a sentence without altering its meaning. It’s a common concept in grammar and writing, used to improve style, clarity, or meet specific grammatical goals.
Common Types of “Transformation of Sentences“:
- Affirmative ⇄ Negative: Example (She is very rich. → She is not poor.)
- Assertive ⇄ Interrogative : Example (He is a good player. → Isn’t he a good player? क्या वह एक अच्छा खिलाड़ी नहीं है?)
- Active ⇄ Passive voice: Example (She wrote a letter. → A letter was written by her.)
- Direct ⇄ Indirect speech: Example (He said, “I am tired.” → He said that he was tired)
- Exclamatory ⇄ Assertive: Example (What a beautiful painting it is! → It is a very beautiful painting.)
- Simple ⇄ Complex ⇄ Compound sentences: Example (Being tired, he slept early. “थक जाने के कारण वह जल्दी सो गया।” (Simple) → Because he was tired, he slept early. “क्योंकि वह थक गया था, इसलिए वह जल्दी सो गया।” (Complex)
- Degrees of Comparison: She is the tallest girl in the class. “वह कक्षा की सबसे लंबी लड़की है।”→ No other girl in the class is as tall as she is. “कक्षा में कोई भी लड़की उससे इतनी लंबी नहीं है।”
Interchange of Active and Passive Voices
What is Active Voice?
The active voice is used when the agent , or actor, is to be made prominent; the Passive, when the thing acted upon is to be made prominent. Hence the passive Voice may be used when the agent is unknown, or when we do not care to name the agent; as ” The ship was wrecked.” जब कर्ता (कार्य करने वाला) को प्रमुख बनाना होता है, तब Active Voice का प्रयोग किया जाता है;
और जब जिस पर कार्य हो रहा है उसे प्रमुख बनाना होता है, तब Passive Voice का प्रयोग किया जाता है।
इसलिए, Passive Voice तब भी प्रयोग किया जाता है जब कर्ता अज्ञात हो, या जब हम कर्ता का नाम लेना आवश्यक न समझें।
जैसे: “जहाज नष्ट हो गया था।”
(अर्थात – हमें नहीं पता कि किसने जहाज नष्ट किया, या हम बताना नहीं चाहते।)
Active Voice : When the subject of the sentence does the action, the sentence is said to be in Active Voice.
Examples- Ram plays football.
(Ram is doing the action — playing)
If the subject is doing the action → Active Voice
If the subject is receiving the action → Passive Voice
While changing from Active to Passive Voice: “The object is made the subject, and the subject is moved to the object’s place.”
Also, we usually add “by” before the subject in passive voice.
Object to Subject
| me – I | her – she | us – we | it – it | you – you | them – they | him – he | whom – who |
“Change the subject to object, and place ‘by’ before the object.”
| I – by me | You – by you | She – by her | We – by us | It – by it | They – by them | He – by him | Who – by whom |
🕒 Tense-wise Rules:
| Tense | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| Simple Present | He eats an apple. | An apple is eaten by him. |
| Present Continuous | He is eating an apple. | An apple is being eaten by him. |
| Present Perfect | He has eaten an apple. | An apple has been eaten by him. |
| Simple Past | He ate an apple. | An apple was eaten by him. |
| Past Continuous | He was eating an apple. | An apple was being eaten by him. |
| Past Perfect | He had eaten an apple. | An apple had been eaten by him. |
| Simple Future | He will eat an apple. | An apple will be eaten by him. |
| Future Perfect | He will have eaten an apple. | An apple will have been eaten by him. |
👉 Note: Some tenses cannot be changed into Passive Voice, such as: Present Perfect Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Continuous Tense, Future Continuous Tense, Future Perfect Continuous Tense.
Simple Present Tense (also called Present Indefinite Tense) is used to show: Daily routine, Habits, Universal truths, Facts etc.
Present Indefinite (Active to Passive)
- Positive Sentence ->
- Active : (Subject + V₁ (s/es) + Object)
- Passive : (Object + is/am/are + V₃ + by + Subject)
- Negative Sentence ->
- Active : (Subject + do/does + not + V₁ + Object)
- Passive : (Object + is/am/are + not + V₃ + by + Subject)
- Interrogative Sentence ->
- Active : (Do/Does + Subject + V₁ + Object?)
- Passive : (Is/Am/Are + Object + V₃ + by + Subject?)
- ‘Wh’ type ->
- Active : (WH-word + do/does + Subject + V₁ + Object?)
- Passive: (WH-word + is/am/are + Object + V₃ + by + Subject?)
Examples:
- He helps me. वह मेरी मदद करता है।
- Passive: I am helped by him. मेरी मदद उसके द्वारा की जाती है।
- He does not fly kites. वह पतंगें नहीं उड़ाता है।
- Passive: Kites are not flown by him. पतंगें उसके द्वारा नहीं उड़ाई जाती हैं।
- Do you scold me? क्या तुम मुझे डांटते हो?
- Passive: Am I scolded by you? क्या मुझे तुम्हारे द्वारा डांटा जाता है?
- How does she make coffee? वह कॉफी कैसे बनाती है?
- Passive: How is coffee made by her? कॉफी उसके द्वारा कैसे बनाई जाती है?
- Which trousers do you like? तुम्हें कौन सी पैंट पसंद है?
- Passive: Which trousers are liked by you? तुम्हारे द्वारा कौन सी पैंट पसंद की जाती है?
- What do you eat? तुम क्या खाते हो?
- Passive: What is eaten by you? तुम्हारे द्वारा क्या खाया जाता है?
- You see that bird. तुम उस पक्षी को देखते हो।
- Passive: That bird is seen by you. वह पक्षी तुम्हारे द्वारा देखा जाता है।
- We help the poor. हम गरीबों की मदद करते हैं।
- Passive: The poor are helped by us. गरीबों की मदद हमारे द्वारा की जाती है।
- Does he buy a book? क्या वह एक किताब खरीदता है?
- Passive: Is a book bought by him? क्या एक किताब उसके द्वारा खरीदी जाती है?
- Who teaches you? तुम्हें कौन पढ़ाता है?
- Passive: By whom are you taught? तुम्हें किसके द्वारा पढ़ाया जाता है?
- (When “Who” is the subject in active voice, in passive we use “By whom”.)
- Passive: By whom are you taught? तुम्हें किसके द्वारा पढ़ाया जाता है?
- Why do they punish him? वे उसे सज़ा क्यों देते हैं?
- Passive: Why is he punished by them? उनके द्वारा उसे सज़ा क्यों दी जाती है?
- She sings a song. वह एक गीत गाती है।
- Passive: A song is sung by her. एक गीत उसके द्वारा गाया जाता है।
Present Continuous (Active to Passive)
- Positive Sentences:
- Active: (Subject + is/am/are + V₁+ing + object)
- Passive: (Object + is/am/are + being + V₃ + by + subject)
- Negative Sentences:
- Active: (Subject + is/am/are + not + V₁+ing + object)
- Passive: (Object + is/am/are + not being + V₃ + by + subject)
- Interrogative Sentences:
- Active: (Is/Am/Are + Subject + V₁+ing + Object?)
- Passive: (Is/Am/Are + Object + being + V₃ + by + Subject?)
- ‘Wh’ type Interrogative Sentences:
- Active: WH-word + is/am/are + Subject + V₁+ing + Object?
- Passive: WH-word + is/am/are + Object + being + V₃ + by + Subject?
Examples:
- He is playing hockey.
- Passive: Hockey is being played by him.
- You are not solving sums.
- Passive: Sums are not being solved by you.
- Is he teaching me?
- Passive: Am I being taught by him?
- Whom are you abusing?
- Passive: Who is being abused by you?
- Why are you telling lies?
- Passive: Why are lies being told by you?
- Who is disturbing her?
- Passive: By whom is she being disturbed?
- Is she not helping you?
- Passive: Are you not being helped by her?
Present Perfect (Active Passive Voice)
- Positive Sentences:
- Active : Subject + has/have + V3 + object Example: She has written a letter. / उसने एक पत्र लिखा है।
- Passive: Object + has/have + been + V3 + by + Subject Example: A letter has been written by her. / पत्र उसके द्वारा लिखा गया है।
- Negative sentence:
- Active: Subject + has/have + not + V3 + object Example: They haven’t finished the work. / उन्होंने काम पूरा नहीं किया है।
- Passive: Object + has/have + not + been + V3 + by + subject Example: The work hasn’t been finished by them. / उनके द्वारा काम पूरा नहीं किया गया है।
- Interrogative sentence:
- Active: Has/Have + subject + V3 + object? Example: Have you seen this movie? / क्या आपने यह फिल्म देखी है?
- Passive: Has/Have + Object + been + V3 + by + subject? Example: Has this movie been seen by you? / क्या यह फिल्म आपके द्वारा देखी गई है?
- ‘Wh’ type Interrogative Sentence:
- Active: WH-word + has/have + subject + V3 + object? Example: Why has he left the office early? / उसने ऑफिस जल्दी क्यों छोड़ा है?
- Passive: WH-word + has/have + subject + been + V3 + by + agent? Example: Why has the office been left early by him? उसके द्वारा ऑफिस जल्दी क्यों छोड़ा गया है?
More Example:
- Active: He has stolen my purse.
- Passive: My purse has been stolen by him. उसके द्वारा मेरा पर्स चुराया गया है।
- Active: She has not solved the sums.
- Passive: The sums have not been solved by her. सवाल उसके द्वारा हल नहीं किए गए हैं।
- Active: Has Sharda polished her shoes?
- Passive: Have her shoes been polished by Sharda? क्या उसके जूते शारदा द्वारा पॉलिश किए गए हैं?
- Active: Who has abused you?
- Passive: By whom have you been abused? (OR) Who have you been abused by? आपको किसके द्वारा गाली दी गई है?
- Active: Where have you hidden my books?
- Passive: Where have my books been hidden by you? मेरी किताबें तुम्हारे द्वारा कहाँ छिपाई गई हैं?
- Active: When has she helped us?
- Passive: When have we been helped by her? हमारी उसके द्वारा कब मदद की गई है?
- Active: What have they purchased?
- Passive: What has been purchased by them? उनके द्वारा क्या खरीदा गया है?
- Active: Somebody has put out the light.
- Passive: The light has been put out.
- Active: I have kept the money in the safe.
- Passive: The money has been kept in the safe.
- Active: They have punished the offender.
- Passive: The offender has been punished.
Past Indefinite (Active to Passive)
The Past Indefinite Tense (Simple Past) shows actions that happened in the past.
In passive voice, the focus shifts from the doer (subject) to the action or the receiver of the action.
- Affirmative Sentences:
- Active : Subject + V2 + Object Ex- Edison invented the first gramophone.
- Passive : Object + was/were + V3 + by + Subject Ex- The First gramophone was invented by Edison.
- Negative Sentences:
- Active:
Subject + did not + V1 + ObjectEx- We did not sing songs. - Passive:
Object + was/were + not + V3 + by + SubjectEx- Songs were not sung by us.
- Active:
- Interrogative Sentences: (yes/no)
- Active:
Did + Subject + V1 + Object?Ex- Did they complete the project? - Passive:
Was/Were + Object + V3 + by + Subject?Ex- Was the project completed by them?
- Active:
- Interrogative Sentence (Wh-type)
- Active:
Wh-word + did + Subject + V1 + Object?Ex- Who solved the problem? - Passive:
Wh-word + was/were + Object + V3 + by + Subject?By whom was the problem solved?
- Active:
More Examples:
- Active: I took tea yesterday.
- Passive: Tea was taken by me yesterday.
- Active: Tom killed the snake.
- Passive: The snake was killed by Tom.
- Active: He did not open the door.
- Passive: The door was not opened by him.
- Active: Did the boys clean the ground?
- Passive: Was the ground cleaned by the boys?
- Active: When did he send the letter?
- Passive: When was the letter sent by him?
- Active: Who cursed the old lady?
- Passive: By whom was the old lady cursed?
Past Continuous (Active to Passive)
- Positive Sentences
- Active: Subject + was/were + v1 + ing + Object Ex – The Cat was drinking milk.
- Passive: object + was/ were + being + v3 + by + Subject Ex- Milk was being drunk by the Cat.
- Negative Sentences
- Active: Subject + was/were + not + v4 + Object Ex- They were not writing letters.
- Passive: Object + was/were + not + being + v3 + by + Subject Ex- Letters were not being written by them.
- Interrogative Sentence (Yes/ No)
- Active: Was/ Were + Subject + v4 +object Ex- Were they teaching us?
- Passive: Object + was/were + being + V3 + by + Subject Ex-Were we being taught by them?
- Interrogative Sentence (Wh Type)
- Active: Wh-word + was/were + Subject + V1 + ing + Object ? Ex- Who was disturbing you?
- Pasive: Wh-word + was/were + Object + being + V3 + (by + Subject) ? Ex- By whom were you being disturbed?
More Examples:
- Active: They were repairing the house.
- Passive: The house was being repaired by them.
- Active: The Principal was watching the match.
- Passive: The match was being watched by the Principal.
- Active : When were they playing cricket?
- Passive: When was cricket being played by them?
- Active: Why was she writing a letter?
- Passive: Why was a letter being written by her?
- Active: Was she writing a letter?
- Passive: Was a letter being written by her?
Past Perfect (Active to Passive)
- Positive Sentences (Affirmative )
- Active: Subject + had + V3 + Object Ex- She had completed the work.
- Passive: Object + had + been + V3 + by + Subject Ex- The work had been completed by her.
- Negative Sentences
- Active: Subject + had not + V3 + Object Ex- The mason had not built the house.
- Passive: Object + had not + been + V3 + by + Subject Ex- The house had not been built by the masons.
- Interrogative Sentences
- Active: Had + Subject + V3 + Object? Ex- Had they solved the problem?
- Passive: Had + Object + been + V3 + by + Subject? Ex- Had the problem been solved by them?
- Interrogative Sentence (Wh Type)
- Active: Wh-word + had + Subject + V3 + Object? Ex- Who had written this book?
- Passive: Wh-word + had + Object + been + V3 + by + Subject? By whom had this book been written?
More Examples
- Active: The teacher had called the rolls.
- Passive: The rolls had been called by the teacher.
- Active: Had she not ironed her clothes?
- Passive: Had her clothes not been ironed by her?
- Active: Had she not ironed her clothes?
- Passive: Had her clothes not been ironed by her?
- Active: Where had he hidden his toys?
- Passive: Where had his toys been hidden by him?
- Active: How had they solved those sums?
- Passive: How had they solved those sums?
Simple Future / Future Indefinite (Active to Passive)
- Positive Sentence
- Active Voice : Subject + will/shall + V1 + object Ex- She will help me.
- Passive Voice: Object + will/shall + be + V3 + by + subject Ex- I will be helped by her.
- Negative Sentence:
- Active Voice : Subject + will/shall + not + V1 + object Ex- They will not invite us.
- Passive Voice: Object + will/shall + not + be + V3 + by + subject Ex- We will not be invited by them.
- Interrogative (Yes/No)
- Active Voice: Will/shall + subject + V1 + object? Ex- Will she complete the work?
- Passive Voice: Will/shall + object + be + V3 + by + subject? Ex-Will the work be completed by her?
- Interrogative (Wh Type)
- Active Voice: Wh-word + will/shall + subject + V1 + object? Ex- When will they announce the results?
- Passive Voice: Wh-word + will/shall + object + be + V3 + by + subject? Ex- When will the results be announced by them?
More Examples
- Active: I shall write many letters.
- Passive: Many letters will be written by me.
- Active: We shall not sing two songs.
- Passive: Two songs will not be sung by us.
- Active: Will she snatch my books?
- Passive: Will my books be snatched by her?
- Active: Why will she not pay the fine?
- Passive: Why will the fine not be paid by her?
- Active: What will you eat tonight?
- Passive: What will be eaten by you tonight?
Future Perfect (Active to Passive)
- Affirmative Sentence:
- Active: Subject + will/shall + have + V³ (past participle) + object Ex- She will have completed the project.
- Passive: Object + will/shall + have + been + V³ + by + subject Ex-The project will have been completed by her.
- Negative Sentence:
- Active: Subject + will/shall + not + have + V³ + object Ex- He will not have written the report.
- Passive : Object + will/shall + not + have + been + V³ + by + subject Ex- The report will not have been written by him.
- Interrogative Sentence:
- Active: Will/Shall + subject + have + V³ + object? Ex- Will she have finished the work?
- Passive: Will/Shall + object + have + been + V³ + by + subject? Ex- Will the work have been finished by her?
- Interrogative Sentence (Wh Type)
- Active: Wh-word + will/shall + subject + have + V³ + object?
- Passive:
- If Wh-word = object →Wh-word + will/shall + have + been + V³ + by + subject?
- If Wh-word = subject →By whom/By which … + will/shall + object + have + been + V³?
- Example-
- Case 1: Wh-word = Object
- Ex- Active: What will she have written? वह क्या लिख चुकी होगी?
- Passive: What will have been written by her? उसके द्वारा क्या लिखा जा चुका होगा?
- Case 2: Wh-word = Subject
- Active: Who will have completed the task? कार्य किसने पूरा कर लिया होगा?
- Passive: By whom will the task have been completed? कार्य किसके द्वारा पूरा किया जा चुका होगा?
More Examples
- Active: The teacher will have checked the notebooks. अध्यापक कॉपियाँ जाँच चुका होगा।
- Passive: The notebooks will have been checked by the teacher. कॉपियाँ अध्यापक द्वारा जाँची जा चुकी होंगी।
- Active: She will not have cooked the dinner. वह रात का खाना नहीं बना चुकी होगी।
- Passive: The dinner will not have been cooked by her. रात का खाना उसके द्वारा नहीं बनाया जा चुका होगा।
- Active: Will the farmer have harvested the crops? क्या किसान फसल काट चुका होगा?
- Passive: Will the crops have been harvested by the farmer? क्या फसल किसान द्वारा काटी जा चुकी होगी?
- Active: Which song will he have sung? वह कौन-सा गीत गा चुका होगा? (wh type – object)
- Passive: Which song will have been sung by him? कौन-सा गीत उसके द्वारा गाया जा चुका होगा?
- Active: Who will have discovered the mistake? गलती किसने खोज ली होगी? (wh type-subject)
- Passive: By whom will the mistake have been discovered? गलती किसके द्वारा खोजी जा चुकी होगी?
Transitive Intransitive Verb Rules (Active to Passive)
Sentences that cannot be changed into Passive Voice
- Intransitive verbs sentences
- If a verb does not have an object, then passive voice is not possible.
- Example:
- He runs fast. (No object → cannot be made passive)
- She sleeps at night. (No object → cannot be passive)
- He is going to market (No object → cannot be passive)
- Impersonal or state-of-being sentences
- These are sentences where no clear “doer” (subject) of the action is present.
- They usually start with “It” or “There” just to begin the sentence, not as a real subject.
- Example:
- It is raining. (Who is raining? → no subject)
- There is a park near my house. (Park is not “being created” by someone, it just exists.)
- State-of-being Sentences: These sentences describe a condition, situation, or state rather than an action.
- They usually use verbs like be (is, am, are, was, were), seem, become, look, appear, remain etc.
- Example:
- He is happy. (It just describes condition, not an action done to him.)
- She seems tired. (Just a state, not action.)
- They are friends. (Relationship/state, not action.)
- Reflexive pronoun sentences (where subject = object)
- Example:
- She hurt herself.
- They enjoyed themselves.
- Example:
Modals (Active to Passive)
Rule for Active → Passive with Modals
Active: Subject + Modal + Verb (1st form) + Object
Passive: Object + Modal + be + Verb (3rd form) + by + Subject
Examples:
- Active: He can solve the problem.
- The problem can be solved by him.
- Active: She may write a letter.
- Passive: A letter may be written by her.
- Active: They must follow the rules.
- The rules must be followed by them.
- Active: We should respect our teachers.
- Passive: Our teachers should be respected by us.
Imperative Sentences (Active to Passive)
Imperative sentences are those sentences that give orders, requests, advice, instructions, or suggestions.
They usually begin with the base form of the verb (without subject).
💡 The subject “you” is understood, not written.
Example: Open the door. (It actually means You open the door.)
- Positive Sentence:
- Commands / Orders
- Active: Verb + Object Ex-Open the door.
- Passive: Let + Object + be + V³ Ex- Let the door be opened.
- Negative Sentence:
- Active: Do not + Verb + Object Ex- Do not touch this wire.
- Passive: Let + Object + not + be + V³ Ex- Let this wire not be touched
- Requests
- Active: Please + Verb + Object Ex-Please help me.
- Passive: You are requested to + Verb + Object Ex- You are requested to help me.
- Advice / Suggestions
- Active: Verb + Object (Suggestive) Ex- Take medicines regularly.
- Passive: You are advised to + Verb + Object Ex- You are advised to take medicines regularly.
