SSC CGL 2027 Active and Passive Voice Question Practice

Active and Passive Voice is an important topic in English grammar for SSC CGL 2027. Questions on voice transformation test your understanding of sentence structure, tenses, helping verbs and the relationship between the subject and the object. Learning the rules of active and passive voice can help you solve grammar questions more accurately in SSC CGL Tier 1 and Tier 2.

In this article, you will learn the basic concepts, tense-wise transformation rules, important examples, common mistakes and practice MCQs with answers for SSC CGL 2027 English preparation.

1. What Is Active Voice?

In active voice, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb. The sentence focuses on the person or thing doing the action.

Structure: Subject + Verb + Object

Examples:

• Riya writes a letter.
• The teacher explains the lesson.
• The police arrested the thief.

In these sentences, Riya, the teacher and the police perform the actions.

2. What Is Passive Voice?

In passive voice, the sentence focuses on the person or thing receiving the action. The object of an active sentence generally becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

Basic Structure: Object + appropriate form of be + Past Participle (V3) + by + Agent

Examples:

• Active: Riya writes a letter.
• Passive: A letter is written by Riya.
• Active: The teacher explains the lesson.
• Passive: The lesson is explained by the teacher.

The agent introduced by by can be omitted when it is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context.

3. Important Rules for Changing Active Voice into Passive Voice

• Identify the object: Find the object of the active sentence. Only suitable transitive constructions can normally be changed into passive voice.
• Make the object the subject: Move the object to the beginning of the passive sentence.
• Use the correct form of be: Select am, is, are, was, were, be, been or being according to the tense and structure.
• Use the past participle: The main verb must be in its third form (V3).
• Change pronouns where necessary: For example, he becomes him when used as an object, while him becomes he when used as a subject.
• Maintain the tense: The tense and meaning of the original sentence should remain unchanged.
• Use by + agent when needed: Include the doer when it is relevant to the meaning.

4. Tense-Wise Active and Passive Voice Rules

Understanding tense patterns is essential for solving voice transformation questions. Study the following structures and examples.

Simple Present Tense

Active: Subject + V1/V1-s or es + Object

Passive: Object + am/is/are + V3

Active: She cleans the room.

Passive: The room is cleaned by her.

Present Continuous Tense

Active: Subject + am/is/are + V-ing + Object

Passive: Object + am/is/are + being + V3

Active: They are repairing the road.

Passive: The road is being repaired by them.

Present Perfect Tense

Active: Subject + has/have + V3 + Object

Passive: Object + has/have + been + V3

Active: He has completed the project.

Passive: The project has been completed by him.

Simple Past Tense

Active: Subject + V2 + Object

Passive: Object + was/were + V3

Active: The manager approved the proposal.

Passive: The proposal was approved by the manager.

Past Continuous Tense

Active: Subject + was/were + V-ing + Object

Passive: Object + was/were + being + V3

Active: The workers were painting the wall.

Passive: The wall was being painted by the workers.

Past Perfect Tense

Active: Subject + had + V3 + Object

Passive: Object + had + been + V3

Active: She had submitted the form.

Passive: The form had been submitted by her.

Simple Future Tense

Active: Subject + will + V1 + Object

Passive: Object + will + be + V3

Active: The company will launch the product.

Passive: The product will be launched by the company.

Future Perfect Tense

Active: Subject + will have + V3 + Object

Passive: Object + will have been + V3

Active: They will have completed the work by Monday.

Passive: The work will have been completed by Monday.

Important note: Continuous perfect forms and future continuous forms can produce lengthy passive constructions and are generally less common in basic exam exercises. Focus first on the standard patterns above and follow the exact sentence given in the question.

5. Passive Voice with Modal Verbs

Modal verbs include can, could, may, might, must, should and ought to. When converting a sentence containing a modal verb into passive voice, use modal + be + V3.

Structure: Object + Modal + be + V3

Examples:

• Active: You must follow the rules.
• Passive: The rules must be followed by you.
• Active: She can solve this problem.
• Passive: This problem can be solved by her.
• Active: We should respect our elders.
• Passive: Our elders should be respected by us.

Common mistake: Do not use V2 after a modal verb in a passive construction. The correct structure is modal + be + V3.

6. Passive Voice in Interrogative Sentences

When changing a question into passive voice, retain the interrogative meaning and use the correct helping verb at the beginning of the sentence.

Examples:

Active: Does she write letters?

Passive: Are letters written by her?

Active: Did the police arrest the suspect?

Passive: Was the suspect arrested by the police?

Active: Has he completed the task?

Passive: Has the task been completed by him?

Active: Who wrote this poem?

Passive: By whom was this poem written?

Active: When will they announce the results?

Passive: When will the results be announced?

For questions beginning with who, what, when, why or how, preserve the original question word and construct the rest of the passive sentence correctly.

7. Passive Voice in Imperative Sentences

Imperative sentences express commands, requests, advice or instructions. In many exam-style transformations, an imperative sentence can be changed using let + object + be + V3.

Examples:

• Active: Open the door.
• Passive: Let the door be opened.
• Active: Complete the assignment.
• Passive: Let the assignment be completed.
• Active: Do not waste water.
• Passive: Let water not be wasted.

Polite requests may also be expressed using structures such as You are requested to follow the instructions, depending on the original sentence and the options provided.

8. Verbs That Cannot Normally Be Changed into Passive Voice

Passive voice generally requires a verb that takes an object. Intransitive verbs, which do not take a direct object, usually cannot be converted into passive voice.

Examples:

• The baby sleeps peacefully.
• The sun rises in the east.
• He arrived late.
• The audience laughed loudly.

These sentences do not have direct objects that can become the subjects of passive constructions.

Exam Tip: Before changing a sentence into passive voice, check whether the verb has an object. Do not force a passive construction where one is not grammatically possible.

9. Common Active and Passive Voice Mistakes

• Using the base form or past form instead of the past participle in passive voice.
• Forgetting being in present or past continuous passive structures.
• Forgetting been in perfect passive structures.
• Changing the tense while converting the sentence.
• Using an incorrect helping verb for a singular or plural subject.
• Changing a question into a statement and losing its interrogative structure.
• Attempting passive voice transformation with a verb that has no object.
• Including the agent with by when it is unnecessary, or omitting it when it is important to the meaning.

10. Practice Questions for SSC CGL 2027

Choose the correct passive voice form for each active sentence.

Question 1: The teacher explains the lesson.

• A) The lesson explained by the teacher.
• B) The lesson is explained by the teacher.
• C) The lesson was explained by the teacher.
• D) The lesson has explained by the teacher.

Question 2: They are building a new bridge.

• A) A new bridge is built by them.
• B) A new bridge has been built by them.
• C) A new bridge is being built by them.
• D) A new bridge was being built by them.

Question 3: The police arrested the thief.

• A) The thief is arrested by the police.
• B) The thief was arrested by the police.
• C) The thief has arrested by the police.
• D) The thief had been arrest by the police.

Question 4: She has completed the assignment.

• A) The assignment has been completed by her.
• B) The assignment had been completed by her.
• C) The assignment is completed by her.
• D) The assignment has completed by her.

Question 5: You must obey the instructions.

• A) The instructions must obey by you.
• B) The instructions must be obeyed by you.
• C) The instructions are obeyed by you.
• D) The instructions must have obeyed by you.

Question 6: Did he write this letter?

• A) Did this letter written by him?
• B) Was this letter written by him?
• C) Is this letter written by him?
• D) Has this letter been written by him?

Question 7: The workers were repairing the road.

• A) The road was repaired by the workers.
• B) The road is being repaired by the workers.
• C) The road was being repaired by the workers.
• D) The road had been repaired by the workers.

Question 8: The company will announce the results tomorrow.

• A) The results will announce by the company tomorrow.
• B) The results will be announced by the company tomorrow.
• C) The results are announced by the company tomorrow.
• D) The results were announced by the company tomorrow.

Question 9: Open the window.

• A) The window is opened.
• B) Let the window be opened.
• C) The window was opening.
• D) Let the window opened.

Question 10: The baby sleeps peacefully.

• A) Peacefully is slept by the baby.
• B) The baby is slept peacefully.
• C) The sentence cannot normally be changed into passive voice.
• D) Peacefully was slept by the baby.

11. Answers with Explanations

1. B) The lesson is explained by the teacher.
The active sentence is in the simple present tense. The passive structure is is + V3.

2. C) A new bridge is being built by them.
The active sentence is in the present continuous tense. Use is being + V3 in the passive voice.

3. B) The thief was arrested by the police.
The active sentence is in the simple past tense. Use was + V3 for the singular subject thief.

4. A) The assignment has been completed by her.
The active sentence is in the present perfect tense. Use has been + V3.

5. B) The instructions must be obeyed by you.
With a modal verb, the passive structure is modal + be + V3.

6. B) Was this letter written by him?
The active question is in the simple past tense. The passive question begins with was, followed by the subject and V3.

7. C) The road was being repaired by the workers.
The active sentence is in the past continuous tense. Use was being + V3.

8. B) The results will be announced by the company tomorrow.
The simple future passive structure is will + be + V3.

9. B) Let the window be opened.
This is a standard exam-style passive transformation of an imperative sentence.

10. C) The sentence cannot normally be changed into passive voice.
The verb sleeps is intransitive in this sentence and does not take a direct object.

12. Preparation Tips for SSC CGL 2027

• Memorise the passive structures for simple, continuous and perfect tenses.
• Practise identifying the subject, verb and object in each sentence.
• Revise the third forms of common irregular verbs, such as write-written, speak-spoken and take-taken.
• Practise questions containing modal verbs and interrogative sentences.
• Learn when passive voice is not possible because the verb has no object.
• Solve timed practice sets and review every incorrect answer.

Conclusion

Active and Passive Voice is a useful grammar topic for SSC CGL 2027 English preparation. Understanding tense-wise structures, modal verbs, interrogative transformations and imperative sentences can help candidates solve voice questions accurately.

Revise the rules regularly and practise a variety of sentence transformations to improve your confidence in SSC CGL Tier 1 and Tier 2.