SEBA Class 10 Voice Change Guide: Key Rules & Examples
This guide is structured based on the types of questions that frequently appear in the SEBA HSLC (Class 10) Examination.
Part 1: The Basics of Voice Change
1. What is Active Voice?
The Subject (S) performs the action (Verb – V) on the Object (O).
Structure: Subject + Verb + Object
Example: The cat (S) killed (V) the mouse (O).
2. What is Passive Voice?
The Object (O) of the active sentence becomes the new Subject. It receives the action.
Structure: Object + (be verb) + V3 (Past Participle) + by + Subject
Example: The mouse (O) was (be) killed (V3) by the cat (S).
3. The 3 Golden Rules for Changing Voice:
Rule 1: The Subject and Object swap places.
Rule 2: The main verb is always changed to its V3 (Past Participle) form. (e.g., eat -> eaten, write -> written, cut -> cut)
Rule 3: A “be” verb is always added before the V3.
4. What is the “be” verb?
The form of “be” you add depends on the tense of the original (Active) sentence.
Present Simple: is / am / are
Present Continuous: is / am / are + being
Present Perfect: has / have + been
Past Simple: was / were
Past Continuous: was / were + being
Past Perfect: had + been
Future Simple: will + be
Future Perfect: will + have been
Modals: (can/may/must) + be
Part 2: Tense-by-Tense Rules (Assertive Sentences)
This is the most common category in the exam.
A. Present Tense
5. Present Simple (V1 / V1+s/es)
Active: S + V1/V1s + O
Passive: O + is/am/are + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(6) Active: He plays football.
Passive: Football is played by him.
(7) Active: I write letters.
Passive: Letters are written by me.
(8) Active: She helps me.
Passive: I am helped by her.
9. Present Continuous (is/am/are + V-ing)
Active: S + is/am/are + V-ing + O
Passive: O + is/am/are + being + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(10) Active: He is playing football.
Passive: Football is being played by him.
(11) Active: They are building a house.
Passive: A house is being built by them.
(12) Active: I am reading the book.
Passive: The book is being read by me.
13. Present Perfect (has/have + V3)
Active: S + has/have + V3 + O
Passive: O + has/have + been + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(14) Active: He has played football.
Passive: Football has been played by him.
(15) Active: Someone has stolen my pen. (Very Common)
Passive: My pen has been stolen. (Agent “by someone” is omitted)
(16) Active: We have done the work.
Passive: The work has been done by us.
B. Past Tense
17. Past Simple (V2)
Active: S + V2 + O
Passive: O + was/were + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(18) Active: He played football.
Passive: Football was played by him.
(19) Active: The teacher gave me a book.
Passive: I was given a book by the teacher. (See Part 6 for two-object rule)
(20) Active: They wrote the letters.
Passive: The letters were written by them.
(21) Active: Columbus discovered America.
Passive: America was discovered by Columbus.
22. Past Continuous (was/were + V-ing)
Active: S + was/were + V-ing + O
Passive: O + was/were + being + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(23) Active: He was playing football.
Passive: Football was being played by him.
(24) Active: The boy was making a kite.
Passive: A kite was being made by the boy.
(25) Active: They were watching the match.
Passive: The match was being watched by them.
26. Past Perfect (had + V3)
Active: S + had + V3 + O
Passive: O + had + been + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(27) Active: He had played football.
Passive: Football had been played by him.
(28) Active: The patient had died before the doctor arrived. (No change, this is a complex sentence, not a simple SVO)
(29) Active: They had finished the project.
Passive: The project had been finished by them.
C. Future Tense
30. Future Simple (will/shall + V1)
Active: S + will/shall + V1 + O
Passive: O + will/shall + be + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(31) Active: He will play football.
Passive: Football will be played by him.
(32) Active: I shall do the work.
Passive: The work will be done by me.
(33) Active: She will write a novel.
Passive: A novel will be written by her.
34. Future Perfect (will/shall + have + V3)
Active: S + will/shall + have + V3 + O
Passive: O + will/shall + have been + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(35) Active: He will have played football.
Passive: Football will have been played by him.
(36) Active: They will have completed the assignment.
Passive: The assignment will have been completed by them.
37. Tenses That CANNOT Be Changed
You will not be asked to change these tenses in the SEBA exam.
(38) Present Perfect Continuous
(39) Past Perfect Continuous
(40) Future Continuous
(41) Future Perfect Continuous
Part 3: Voice Change with Modals (A SEBA Favourite)
Modals: (can, could, may, might, must, should, would, ought to)
42. Rule:
Active: S + Modal + V1 + O
Passive: O + Modal + be + V3 + by + S
Examples:
(43) Active: I can do this sum.
Passive: This sum can be done by me.
(44) Active: You must write the answer.
Passive: The answer must be written by you.
(45) Active: We should respect our elders.
Passive: Our elders should be respected by us.
(46) Active: He may help you.
Passive: You may be helped by him.
(47) Active: We ought to obey our parents.
Passive: Our parents ought to be obeyed by us.
Part 4: Interrogative Sentences (Questions)
This is a very common and important section.
Type 1: Yes/No Questions (Start with a helping verb)
48. Rule: The Passive Voice sentence must also start with the helping verb.
(49) For do/does -> Start with is/am/are.
(50) For did -> Start with was/were.
(51) For others (is, are, has, have, will, can) -> Start with the same verb, adjusted for the new subject.
Examples:
(52) Active: Do you play football?
Passive: Is football played by you?
(53) Active: Does he write poems?
Passive: Are poems written by him?
(54) Active: Did you see the bird? (Very Common)
Passive: Was the bird seen by you?
(55) Active: Are you reading the book?
Passive: Is the book being read by you?
(56) Active: Have you done the work?
Passive: Has the work been done by you? (Object “work” is singular, so “has”)
(57) Active: Will she help him?
Passive: Will he be helped by her?
(58) Active: Can anyone solve this problem?
Passive: Can this problem be solved (by anyone)?
Type 2: ‘Wh-‘ Questions (Start with What, When, Why, Where, How)
59. Rule: The ‘Wh-‘ word stays at the beginning. The rest follows the Yes/No question pattern.
Examples:
(60) Active: Why do you like him?
Passive: Why is he liked by you?
(61) Active: What are you doing?
Passive: What is being done by you?
(62) Active: When did you buy the car?
Passive: When was the car bought by you?
(63) Active: How have you solved the sum?
Passive: How has the sum been solved by you?
Type 3: ‘Who’ and ‘Whom’ (Special Cases)
64. Rule (Who): Who (Subject) changes to By whom (Object).
Examples:
(65) Active: Who wrote this letter?
Passive: By whom was this letter written?
(66) Active: Who broke the glass?
Passive: By whom was the glass broken?
(67) Active: Who is calling me?
Passive: By whom am I being called?
68. Rule (Whom): Whom (Object) changes to Who (Subject).
Examples:
(69) Active: Whom did you see?
Passive: Who was seen by you?
(70) Active: Whom has he invited?
Passive: Who has been invited by him?
Part 5: Imperative Sentences (Commands, Requests, Advice)
71. Rule 1: For Commands/Orders
Structure: Let + object + be + V3
Examples:
(72) Active: Do the work.
Passive: Let the work be done.
(73) Active: Shut the door.
Passive: Let the door be shut.
(74) Active: Post the letter.
Passive: Let the letter be posted.
75. Rule 2: For Requests (Sentences with “Please” or “Kindly”)
Structure: You are requested to + (rest of the sentence)
(76) Remove “Please” or “Kindly”.
Examples:
(77) Active: Please help me.
Passive: You are requested to help me.
(78) Active: Kindly grant me leave.
Passive: You are requested to grant me leave.
79. Rule 3: For Advice
Structure: You are advised to… OR Object + should be + V3
Examples:
(80) Active: Obey your elders.
Passive: You are advised to obey your elders.
OR Passive: Your elders should be obeyed.
(81) Active: Help the poor.
Passive: You are advised to help the poor.
OR Passive: The poor should be helped.
82. Rule 4: For Negative Commands
Structure: Let + object + not + be + V3
Examples:
(83) Active: Do not waste time.
Passive: Let time not be wasted.
(84) Active: Do not insult the weak.
Passive: Let the weak not be insulted.
(85) Alternatively (for advice): You are advised not to waste time.
Part 6: Special Cases & Common SEBA Patterns
86. Sentences with Two Objects (Direct & Indirect)
(An indirect object is usually a person: me, him, her). You can make two passive sentences.
Example:
(87) Active: He gave me (Indirect) a book (Direct).
Passive 1: I was given a book by him. (More common)
Passive 2: A book was given to me by him.
88. Prepositional Verbs (e.g., laugh at, look after, knock at)
Rule: The preposition MUST stay with the verb. Do not remove it.
Examples:
(89) Active: The boy laughed at the beggar.
Passive: The beggar was laughed at by the boy.
(90) Active: He looks after his parents.
Passive: His parents are looked after by him.
(91) Active: Someone is knocking at the door.
Passive: The door is being knocked at.
92. Quasi-Passive Voice (Active verb, Passive meaning)
Structure: Subject + tastes/smells/feels…
Rule: Subject + is/was + V3 (adjective) + when it is + V3 (tasted/smelt)
Examples:
(93) Active: Honey tastes sweet.
Passive: Honey is sweet when it is tasted.
(94) Active: The rose smells sweet.
Passive: The rose is sweet when it is smelt.
(95) Active: The stone feels rough.
Passive: The stone is rough when it is felt.
96. Impersonal Subjects (People, Someone, They, Everyone)
Rule: The agent (by people, by someone) is usually omitted in the passive voice.
Examples:
(97) Active: People speak English all over the world.
Passive: English is spoken all over the world.
(98) Active: Someone has stolen my watch.
Passive: My watch has been stolen.
Rule 2: For “People say that…”, use “It is said that…”
(99) Active: People say that he is a spy.
Passive: It is said that he is a spy.
100. “It is time…”
Active: It is time to + V1 + O.
Passive: It is time for + O + to be + V3.
Example:
(101) Active: It is time to ring the bell.
Passive: It is time for the bell to be rung.
(102) Active: It is time to do our homework.
Passive: It is time for our homework to be done.
Part 7: Pronoun Change Table
When swapping Subject and Object, pronouns change.
(103) I -> me
(104) We -> us
(105) He -> him
(106) She -> her
(107) They -> them
(108) You -> You (no change)
(109) It -> It (no change)