How can I change active sentences to passive?

In one line

The rule

In passive voice, the object of an active sentence becomes the subject, and the verb is changed to show that something is done to it.

Formula: Subject + verb + object (active) → Object + form of "be" + past participle + by + subject (passive)

Let's understand it simply

Imagine you are playing cricket. In the active voice, you say, "Rahul hit the ball." Rahul (subject) does the action. The ball (object) receives it. In the passive voice, the ball comes first: "The ball was hit by Rahul." Now, the ball is the focus. The action is done to it.

How it works

1. Find the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
2. Move the object to the start (it becomes the new subject).
3. Change the verb to a form of "be" (is, am, are, was, were, etc.) plus the past participle (third form) of the main verb.
4. Add "by" before the old subject (optional if the doer is not important).
5. Adjust the tense to match the original sentence.

The story behind it

The idea of active and passive voice comes from Latin and old English grammar. It helped people show who is doing an action or who is receiving it. Teachers used it to make writing clearer or to hide the doer when it is not needed.

Where you see it in real life

• News reports: "The thief was caught by the police." (Focus on the thief, not the police)
• Instructions: "The rice should be washed before cooking." (Who washes is not important)
• Science experiments: "The solution was heated." (Focus on the process)
• Cricket commentary: "The ball was bowled by Bumrah." (Focus on the ball)
• School notices: "The meeting will be held tomorrow." (Who holds it is not important)

Why it matters

• Used in formal writing, newspapers, and science reports.
• Helps when you do not know who did the action.
• Makes writing less direct, which can sound more polite.
• Needed for English exams and grammar questions.

Worked example

Given:  Active: The chef cooks the food.
Step 1: Find subject (The chef), verb (cooks), object (the food)
Step 2: Move object to start: The food
Step 3: Change verb: is cooked (present simple passive)
Step 4: Add "by" and subject: by the chef
Step 5: Final sentence: The food is cooked by the chef.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting to change the verb to the correct "be" form ("is", "was", etc.).
• Using the wrong past participle ("eaten" not "ate").
• Keeping the old subject at the start ("The chef the food is cooked by" is wrong).
• Adding "by" when it is not needed ("The food is cooked" is fine if we do not care who cooked it).

Remember it

Object comes first, verb changes, "by" shows who did it.