mpt · CSS study notes
Active & Passive Voice
MPT English revision hub · Understand the pattern, preserve the tense, and move the object correctly.
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Golden formula
Active: Subject + Verb + Object
Passive: Object + correct form of be + V3 + optional by + subject
Detailed study pages
One simple conversion
Active
Ali writes a letter.
Passive
A letter is written by Ali.
The active object a letter becomes the passive subject.
Five-step conversion method
- Find the object by asking what? or whom?
- Move the object to the beginning.
- Identify the tense.
- Add the correct form of be and V3.
- Add by + doer only when it is useful.
Master table — all tenses and sentence forms
Each grammatical case has one column.
Inside every cell:
- A means Active.
- P means Passive.
- The divider separates the original active sentence from its passive conversion.
| Tense | Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative | Negative interrogative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | A: She writes the letter. ──────── P: The letter is written by her. | A: She does not write the letter. ──────── P: The letter is not written by her. | A: Does she write the letter? ──────── P: Is the letter written by her? | A: Does she not write the letter? ──────── P: Is the letter not written by her? |
| Present continuous | A: She is writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter is being written by her. | A: She is not writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter is not being written by her. | A: Is she writing the letter? ──────── P: Is the letter being written by her? | A: Is she not writing the letter? ──────── P: Is the letter not being written by her? |
| Present perfect | A: She has written the letter. ──────── P: The letter has been written by her. | A: She has not written the letter. ──────── P: The letter has not been written by her. | A: Has she written the letter? ──────── P: Has the letter been written by her? | A: Has she not written the letter? ──────── P: Has the letter not been written by her? |
| Present perfect continuous | A: She has been writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter has been being written by her. | A: She has not been writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter has not been being written by her. | A: Has she been writing the letter? ──────── P: Has the letter been being written by her? | A: Has she not been writing the letter? ──────── P: Has the letter not been being written by her? |
| Simple past | A: She wrote the letter. ──────── P: The letter was written by her. | A: She did not write the letter. ──────── P: The letter was not written by her. | A: Did she write the letter? ──────── P: Was the letter written by her? | A: Did she not write the letter? ──────── P: Was the letter not written by her? |
| Past continuous | A: She was writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter was being written by her. | A: She was not writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter was not being written by her. | A: Was she writing the letter? ──────── P: Was the letter being written by her? | A: Was she not writing the letter? ──────── P: Was the letter not being written by her? |
| Past perfect | A: She had written the letter. ──────── P: The letter had been written by her. | A: She had not written the letter. ──────── P: The letter had not been written by her. | A: Had she written the letter? ──────── P: Had the letter been written by her? | A: Had she not written the letter? ──────── P: Had the letter not been written by her? |
| Past perfect continuous | A: She had been writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter had been being written by her. | A: She had not been writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter had not been being written by her. | A: Had she been writing the letter? ──────── P: Had the letter been being written by her? | A: Had she not been writing the letter? ──────── P: Had the letter not been being written by her? |
| Future simple | A: She will write the letter. ──────── P: The letter will be written by her. | A: She will not write the letter. ──────── P: The letter will not be written by her. | A: Will she write the letter? ──────── P: Will the letter be written by her? | A: Will she not write the letter? ──────── P: Will the letter not be written by her? |
| Going-to future | A: She is going to write the letter. ──────── P: The letter is going to be written by her. | A: She is not going to write the letter. ──────── P: The letter is not going to be written by her. | A: Is she going to write the letter? ──────── P: Is the letter going to be written by her? | A: Is she not going to write the letter? ──────── P: Is the letter not going to be written by her? |
| Future continuous | A: She will be writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter will be being written by her. | A: She will not be writing the letter. ──────── P: The letter will not be being written by her. | A: Will she be writing the letter? ──────── P: Will the letter be being written by her? | A: Will she not be writing the letter? ──────── P: Will the letter not be being written by her? |
| Future perfect | A: She will have written the letter. ──────── P: The letter will have been written by her. | A: She will not have written the letter. ──────── P: The letter will not have been written by her. | A: Will she have written the letter? ──────── P: Will the letter have been written by her? | A: Will she not have written the letter? ──────── P: Will the letter not have been written by her? |
| Modal | A: She can write the letter. ──────── P: The letter can be written by her. | A: She cannot write the letter. ──────── P: The letter cannot be written by her. | A: Can she write the letter? ──────── P: Can the letter be written by her? | A: Can she not write the letter? ──────── P: Can the letter not be written by her? |
| Perfect modal | A: She should have written the letter. ──────── P: The letter should have been written by her. | A: She should not have written the letter. ──────── P: The letter should not have been written by her. | A: Should she have written the letter? ──────── P: Should the letter have been written by her? | A: Should she not have written the letter? ──────── P: Should the letter not have been written by her? |
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Rare passive forms
Present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, and future continuous create awkward passive structures such as has been being written.
They are theoretically possible but normally avoided in MPT English.
Formula table
| Tense | Active formula | Passive formula |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | S + V1(s/es) + O | O + am/is/are + V3 |
| Present continuous | S + am/is/are + V-ing + O | O + am/is/are + being + V3 |
| Present perfect | S + has/have + V3 + O | O + has/have + been + V3 |
| Present perfect continuous | S + has/have been + V-ing + O | O + has/have been being + V3 — avoided |
| Simple past | S + V2 + O | O + was/were + V3 |
| Past continuous | S + was/were + V-ing + O | O + was/were + being + V3 |
| Past perfect | S + had + V3 + O | O + had been + V3 |
| Past perfect continuous | S + had been + V-ing + O | O + had been being + V3 — avoided |
| Future simple | S + will + V1 + O | O + will be + V3 |
| Going-to future | S + am/is/are going to + V1 + O | O + am/is/are going to be + V3 |
| Future continuous | S + will be + V-ing + O | O + will be being + V3 — avoided |
| Future perfect | S + will have + V3 + O | O + will have been + V3 |
| Modal | S + modal + V1 + O | O + modal + be + V3 |
| Perfect modal | S + modal + have + V3 + O | O + modal + have been + V3 |
Special-case conversion table
| Case | Active example | Passive conversion | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| WH-question | Why did they cancel the match? | Why was the match cancelled? | Keep the question word first. |
| Who as doer | Who wrote the letter? | By whom was the letter written? | Formal MPT structure uses by whom. |
| Whom as object | Whom did the teacher praise? | Who was praised by the teacher? | Object whom becomes subject who. |
| Command | Close the door. | Let the door be closed. | Let + object + be + V3. |
| Negative command | Do not open the door. | Let the door not be opened. | Natural alternative: The door must not be opened. |
| Request | Please help the poor. | You are requested to help the poor. | Use a request expression. |
| Advice | Follow the instructions. | You are advised to follow the instructions. | Use advised to. |
| Two objects | He gave her a book. | She was given a book. / A book was given to her. | Either object may become the subject. |
| Phrasal verb | The nurse looked after him. | He was looked after by the nurse. | Keep the preposition. |
| Make + infinitive | They made him work. | He was made to work. | Add to in passive voice. |
| Passive infinitive | I want someone to finish it. | I want it to be finished. | Use to be + V3. |
| Passive gerund | She dislikes people criticizing her. | She dislikes being criticized. | Use being + V3. |
| Reporting verb | People say that he is honest. | He is said to be honest. | Personal reporting passive. |
| Earlier reported action | People believe that he stole it. | He is believed to have stolen it. | Use to have + V3. |
| No object | The baby slept. | No ordinary passive. | Intransitive verbs do not form normal passives. |