The three-step method
- Find the object of the active sentence. It becomes the new subject.
- Keep the tense and write the matching form of "be" (is/are, was/were, will be, has been…).
- Add the past participle (V3) of the main verb, then "by + the old subject" if it matters.
✓Riya writes a letter. → A letter is written by Riya.
Object a letter → subject; simple present → is; write → written.
Tense-wise conversion table
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Simple present | She cooks food. | Food is cooked by her. |
| Present continuous | She is cooking food. | Food is being cooked by her. |
| Present perfect | She has cooked food. | Food has been cooked by her. |
| Simple past | She cooked food. | Food was cooked by her. |
| Past continuous | She was cooking food. | Food was being cooked by her. |
| Past perfect | She had cooked food. | Food had been cooked by her. |
| Simple future | She will cook food. | Food will be cooked by her. |
| Future perfect | She will have cooked food. | Food will have been cooked by her. |
| Modals | She can/should/must cook food. | Food can/should/must be cooked by her. |
Pronoun changes
| Active subject | After "by" |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| we | us |
| he / she | him / her |
| they | them |
| you / it | you / it |
Questions
✓Did he finish the work? → Was the work finished by him?
Yes/no questions start with the form of "be". Wh- questions keep the question word: "Who wrote this?" → "By whom was this written?"
Imperative sentences
- "Close the door." → "Let the door be closed."
- "Please help me." → "You are requested to help me."
- "Do not touch the wire." → "Let the wire not be touched." or "You are warned not to touch the wire."
Verbs with two objects
"The teacher gave me a book" has two passives: "I was given a book by the teacher" and "A book was given to me by the teacher." Both are correct; SSC options usually offer one of them.
Common traps
- Changing the tense — "is written" for an active past sentence.
- Wrong participle — "was wrote", "has been broke".
- Wrong agreement — "The letters was written": the new subject is plural.
- Intransitive verbs (sleep, arrive, die) have no object and so no passive.
Frequently asked questions
Does the tense change when converting to passive voice?
No. The tense stays the same; only the form of 'be' changes to show it — 'writes' becomes 'is written', 'wrote' becomes 'was written', 'will write' becomes 'will be written'.
What is the passive of 'Let me do it'?
'Let it be done by me.'
Which tenses have no passive voice?
Present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future continuous and future perfect continuous do not have standard passive forms. Exam options that build them are wrong.