How do I change passive voice to active voice?

In one line

The rule

In active voice, the subject does the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action.

Let's understand it simply

Imagine you are playing cricket. If you say, "The ball was hit by Virat," the ball is the main focus. But if you say, "Virat hit the ball," Virat is doing the action. The first is passive voice, the second is active voice. In active voice, the person or thing doing the action comes first.

How it works

1. Find the subject, verb, and object in the passive sentence.
2. The object of the passive sentence becomes the subject in the active sentence.
3. The verb changes to match the new subject and tense.
4. The subject of the passive sentence (often after "by") becomes the object in the active sentence.
5. Remove "by" and any unnecessary words.

The story behind it

The idea of active and passive voice comes from Latin and Greek grammar, where people wanted to show who was doing the action. English grammar books have used these terms for hundreds of years to help people write clearly.

Where you see it in real life

• News headlines: "The thief was caught by the police" (passive) → "The police caught the thief" (active).
• School announcements: "The prizes were distributed by the principal" → "The principal distributed the prizes."
• Cricket commentary: "The match was won by India" → "India won the match."
• Kitchen: "The tea was made by Amma" → "Amma made the tea."

Why it matters

• Active voice makes sentences clearer and shorter.
• It helps you write better essays and letters.
• Many exams ask you to change passive to active voice.
• Good for job interviews and speaking confidently.

Worked example

Given: The sweets were eaten by the children.
Step 1: Find subject, verb, object: subject = sweets, verb = were eaten, object = children (by the children)
Step 2: Make object the new subject: Children
Step 3: Change verb to match new subject and tense: ate
Step 4: Make old subject the object: the sweets
Step 5: Write the active sentence: Children ate the sweets.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting to change the verb tense ("was eaten" should become "ate").
• Leaving out the real subject (who did the action).
• Keeping "by" in the active sentence (it is not needed).

Remember it

Active voice: Who did it? Passive voice: What happened to it?