Grade by Grade
B. Foundations of Language · Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

Active and Passive Voice

B3.2 A3.1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell whether a sentence is in the active voice or the passive voice.
  • I can convert a sentence from active to passive, and from passive to active, keeping the same tense.
  • I can explain when the passive voice is useful, like in science procedures, and when active voice is clearer.
  • I can notice when passive voice hides who did something.

Words to know

active voice
The subject does the action: The beaver built the dam.
passive voice
The subject receives the action: The dam was built by the beaver.
past participle
The verb form used after has/have or be in the passive: built, eaten, seen, cleaned.
doer
The person or thing doing the action (sometimes called the agent).

Remember from Grades 4 and 5

You know how to find the subject and the verb, and in Grade 5 you found direct objects (The beaver chewed the branch). In Grade 4 you used past participles like gone, seen and written in the perfect tense.

In Grade 6 you'll use all of that to understand voice: is the subject doing the action, or receiving it?

Two voices

Active voice: the subject does the action.

  • The beaver built the dam. Who built? The beaver (the subject).

Passive voice: the subject receives the action. The doer may come after by, or may be left out.

  • The dam was built by the beaver.
  • The dam was built. (We don't know who built it.)

How to spot the passive: look for a form of be (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being) + a past participle (built, made, eaten, cleaned).

The moose test: if you can add by a moose after the verb and it still makes sense (in a silly way), it's probably passive. The dam was built by a moose. ✓ Passive! The beaver built by a moose the dam. ✗ Active.

A beaver dam of piled sticks and mud across a stream, with a beaver swimming in the pond and gnawed stumps on the bank.
The beaver built the dam (active). The dam was built by the beaver (passive). Notice the chewed stumps: more clues about who did the work! AI-generated image
ACTIVEThe beaverbuiltthe dam.PASSIVEThe damwas built bythe beaver.
In the passive, the receiver (the dam) moves to the front, and the doer (the beaver) moves to the end after by.

Converting active to passive

  1. Find the direct object (the receiver). It becomes the new subject.
  2. Change the verb to a form of be + the past participle. Keep the same tense.
  3. Move the old subject (the doer) to a by phrase, or leave it out.

Only sentences with a direct object can become passive. The geese flew south has no direct object, so it can't be passive.

Has a direct object?The class planted trees.trees = the direct objectTrees were planted by the class.The geese flew south.no direct object (south tells where)cannot be passive
Only a sentence with a direct object (a receiver) can be turned into the passive, because the receiver becomes the new subject.
TenseActivePassive
PresentThe class plants trees.Trees are planted by the class.
PastThe class planted trees.Trees were planted by the class.
FutureThe class will plant trees.Trees will be planted by the class.
Present progressiveThe class is planting trees.Trees are being planted by the class.
Present perfectThe class has planted trees.Trees have been planted by the class.
The passive keeps the same tense as the active sentence
Worked example

Let's convert active to passive

Change to passive: Volunteers cleaned the shoreline on Saturday.

  1. Direct object (the receiver): the shoreline. It becomes the subject: The shoreline...
  2. The verb cleaned is past tense. Past passive = was/were + past participle: was cleaned (shoreline is singular).
  3. The doer volunteers moves to a by phrase.
  4. Check the moose test: was cleaned by a moose ✓.

The shoreline was cleaned by volunteers on Saturday.

Worked example

Let's convert passive to active

Change to active: The samples will be tested by the scientists.

  1. Find the doer in the by phrase: the scientists. It becomes the subject.
  2. The verb will be tested is future. Future active: will test.
  3. The old subject the samples becomes the direct object.

The scientists will test the samples.

When is the passive useful?

Active voice is usually clearer and more lively, so use it most of the time. The passive is useful when:

  • The doer is unknown: My bike was stolen.
  • The doer isn't important, especially in science procedures and reports: The water was heated to 40°C. The temperature was recorded every minute. (What matters is what happened, not who did it.)
  • You want to focus on the receiver: The new library was opened by the mayor. (The story is about the library.)

Be a critical reader: the passive can hide who is responsible. Mistakes were made. Who made them? Ask that question when you read!

Just for fun

Riddle: Why do some science reports love the passive voice?

Because "The beaker was dropped" sounds a lot better than "I dropped the beaker." (Be a critical reader: ask who did it!)

Hands-on activity

Kitchen science report in two voices

You need: a clear cup, water, a spoon, salt or sugar, a measuring spoon, paper and a pencil. (Use cold or room-temperature tap water. No heating needed.)

  1. Do a mini experiment: stir 1 teaspoon of salt or sugar into a cup of water and time how long it takes to dissolve.
  2. Write 4 sentences about what you did in the active voice: I measured one teaspoon of sugar. I stirred the water...
  3. Rewrite the same 4 sentences in the passive voice, like a science report: One teaspoon of sugar was measured. The water was stirred...
  4. Underline the form of be and circle the past participle in each passive sentence.
  5. Talk with a grown-up: which version sounds more like a scientist's report? Which sounds more like a story? Why?
  6. Clean up and wash the cup and spoon.

Your turn

1

Active or passive? The snowplow cleared the road.

2

Active or passive? The road was cleared by the snowplow.

3

Change to passive: Maya wrote the poem.

4

Change to active: The game was won by the Badgers.

5

Change to passive (keep the tense): The students will paint a mural.

6

Can The baby slept be changed to passive? Why or why not?

7

Why might a science report say The plant was watered every day?

More practice: warm-up

1

In the active voice, does the subject do or receive the action?

2

Which helping verb do passive sentences use: a form of be or have?

3

Find the past participle: The cookies were eaten.

4

Active or passive? Dad fixed the sink.

5

Active or passive? The sink was fixed.

More practice: on your own

1

Change to passive: Our neighbour shovels our driveway. (Keep the present tense.)

2

Change to active: The museum has been visited by thousands of students.

3

Change to active, adding a sensible doer: The cake was decorated.

4

Which is clearer and more lively for a story? (a) The puck was shot into the net by Jordan. (b) Jordan shot the puck into the net.

5

Change to passive: The scientists are studying the caribou herd.

Challenge

1

Rewrite this science procedure in the passive voice: First, I filled a jar with soil. Then I planted three bean seeds. I measured the plants every two days.

2

A company says, The river was polluted. What important question should a critical reader ask? Rewrite the sentence in the active voice with a possible doer.

3

Explain why The geese were flown south sounds wrong, but The plane was flown north is fine.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which sentence is in the passive voice?

2.

What is the passive of The chef cooks the soup?

3.

What is the active form of The window was broken by the ball?

4.

When is the passive voice most useful?

5.

Which sentence cannot be made passive?

6.

Which is the passive form of Students will clean the yard?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (B3.2): The Grade 6 curriculum asks students to distinguish and convert between active and passive voice. Knowing when the passive is useful (science procedures) and when it hides responsibility supports both writing and critical reading (A3.1).

How to help at home:

  • Read news headlines together and ask: "Active or passive? Who did it?"
  • When your child writes a science report, discuss why the passive voice is common there.
  • Play the moose test: add by a moose to sentences. It's silly, but it works!

Common difficulties:

  • Changing the tense by accident (cleans → was cleaned). Check the tense of the original verb.
  • Thinking any sentence with was is passive. She was happy isn't passive: there's no past participle showing an action done to her.
  • Overusing the passive. In stories and persuasive writing, active voice is usually stronger.