50 Sentences of Active and Passive Voice! In the English language, there are two types of voice: active and passive. In a sentence with an active voice, the subject of the sentence is doing the verb. For example: “I am writing an article.” In a sentence with passive voice, the subject of the sentence is having the verb done to them. For example: “An article is being written by me.”
There are certain situations when it’s better to use one type of voice over the other. In general, active voice is more direct and concise, and passive voice is more formal.
Here are 50 sentences—half in active voice and half in passive voice—to help you understand when to use each:
50 Sentences of Active and Passive Voice PDF
Active: I am writing a paper.
Passive: A paper is being written by me.
Active: I read the book.
Passive: The book was read by me.
Active: John is calling his brother.
Passive: His brother is being called by John.
Active: We saw a movie last night.
Passive: A movie was seen by us last night.
Active: The teacher is writing on the board.
Passive: The board is being written on by the teacher.
Active: They organized a demonstration.
Passive: A demonstration was organized by them.
Active: The cat killed the rat.
Passive: The rat was killed by the cat.
Active: The police caught the thief.
Passive: The thief was caught by the police.
Active: The teacher taught the lesson.
Passive: The lesson was taught by the teacher.
Active: We were given a gift.
Passive: A gift was given to us.
Active: The dog bit the cat’s tail.
Passive: The cat’s tail was bitten by the dog.
Active: It is necessary to work hard.
Passive: Hard work is necessary.
Active: The man was arrested for stealing a book from the library.
Passive: For stealing a book from the library, the man was arrested.
Active: The farmer killed the pig.
Passive: The pig was killed by the farmer.
Active: A letter was written by me to my friend yesterday.
Passive: Yesterday, a letter written by me to my friend.
Active: He made a pencil case for his sister who is in the first form of elementary school.
Passive: For his sister who is in the first form of elementary school, he made a pencil case.
Active: We were given a new room by the students’ association.
Passive: A new room was given to us by the students’ association.
Active: The man was blamed for stealing a book from the library.
Passive: For stealing a book from the library, the man was blamed.
Active: The boy was trained to become a good student.
Passive: To become a good student, the boy was trained.
Active: Some people take a lot of exercise to keep fit.
Passive: To keep fit, some people take a lot of exercise.
Active: The woman was admired for her outstanding performance as an actress.
Passive: For her outstanding performance as an actress, the woman was admired.
Active: The two boys were blamed for breaking the window.
Passive: For breaking the window, the two boys were blamed.
Active: I was told by my teacher to write a composition on “The First Day of School.
Passive: “The First Day of School,” my teacher told me to write a composition on it.
Active: The doctor was consulted by the patient about his illness.
Passive: About his illness, the doctor was consulted by the patient.
Active: All students are required to hand in their compositions by Monday.
Passive: By Monday, all students are required to hand in their compositions.
Active: Please let me know as soon as you have received the letter.
Passive: As soon as you have received the letter, please let me know.
Active: The teacher asked me a question about American history.
Passive: A question about American history was asked by the teacher.
Active: The little girl wanted to know how to make a kite.
Passive: How to make a kite was wanted to be known by the little girl.
Active: We have invited ten students to attend the meeting.
Passive: Ten students have been invited by us to attend the meeting.
Active: The secretary will type the letters tomorrow.
Passive: The letters will be typed by the secretary tomorrow.
Active: Has anybody seen my dog this morning?
Passive: This morning, has anybody seen my dog?
Active: Somebody stole my wallet when I was shopping in the supermarket.
Passive: When I was shopping in the supermarket, my wallet was stolen by somebody.
Active: They will announce the winner of the competition at eight o’clock tonight.
Passive: At eight o’clock tonight, the winner of the competition will be announced by them.
Active: Somebody is knocking at the door.
Passive: The door is being knocked on by somebody.
Active: Will you please turn off the radio?
Passive: Would you please turn the radio off?
Active: Somebody has left his umbrella in this room.
Passive: In this room, somebody has left his umbrella.
Active: Somebody is making a lot of noise outside.
Passive: A lot of noise is being made by somebody outside.
Active: They have found the missing child.
Passive: The missing child has been found by them.
Active: We use electricity to run the machine.
Passive: The machine is run by electricity.
Active: They are going to repair the road next week.
Passive: Next week, the road is going to be repaired by them.
Active: They have arrested the man.
Passive: The man has been arrested by them.
Active: Somebody is ringing the doorbell.
Passive: The doorbell is being rung by somebody.
Active: The police are looking for the missing child.
Passive: The missing child is being looked for by the police.
Active: Somebody has stolen my bike.
Passive: My bike has been stolen by somebody.
Active: They are going to hold a meeting next week.
Passive: Next week, a meeting is going to be held by them.
Active: They have decided to award him the scholarship.
Passive: He has been decided to be awarded the scholarship by them.
Active: They are going to discuss the problem at the meeting.
Passive: The problem is going to be discussed at the meeting by them.
Active: Somebody is knocking at the door.
Passive: The door is being knocked on by somebody.
Active: They have put up a new building.
Passive: A new building has been put up by them.
Active: Somebody is making a lot of noise outside.
Passive: A lot of noise is being made by somebody outside.
