100 Examples of Active and Passive Voice
Are you confused about when to use active voice and when to use passive voice? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many English learners struggle with this issue. But don’t despair, there is hope! With a little practice, you can master the difference between active and passive voice.
To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of 100 examples of active and passive voice. Study these examples carefully and soon you’ll be using active and passive voice like a pro!
Table of Contents
Difference Between Active and Passive Voice
The active voice is used when the subject of a sentence is the one doing the action.
For example, “The boy caught the ball.”
In this sentence, “the boy” is the subject and “caught” is the verb.
The passive voice is used when the subject of a sentence is not doing the action.
For example, “The ball was caught by the boy.”
In this sentence, “the ball” is the subject and “caught” is the verb.
The difference between these two voices is that in the active voice, the subject is doing the action, while in the passive voice, the subject is not doing the action.
Active Voice
In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. For example:
- The cashier counted the money.
In this sentence, “The cashier” is the subject, and “Here are some more examples of active voice:” is the verb. We know this because we can ask the question, “Who counted the money?” The answer to that question is “The cashier.”
Here are some more examples of active voice:
- I painted the garage.
- She baked a cake for her brother’s birthday.
- They will plant trees in front of the school.
- We have cleaned up our room.
- You should study for your test tonight.
Passive Voice
In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon. For example:
- The money was counted by the cashier.
In this sentence, “The money” is the subject, and “counted” is the verb.
Here are some more examples of passive voice:
- The garage was painted by me.
- A cake was baked for her brother’s birthday by her.
- Trees will be planted in front of the school by them.
- Our room has been cleaned up by us.
- Your test should be studied for tonight by you.
Active Voice and Passive Voice, 100 Examples
| Active | The cashier counted the money. |
| Passive | The money was counted by the cashier. |
| Active | I am painting the garage. |
| Passive | The garage is being painted by me. |
| Active | He planted a tree in the yard. |
| Passive | A tree was planted in the yard by him. |
| Active | They are cleaning the room. |
| Passive | The room is being cleaned by them. |
| Active | She is writing a letter to her parents. |
| Passive | A letter is being written to her parents by her. |
| Active | You are studying for your test. |
| Passive | Your test is being studied for by you. |
| Active | I am going to the store. |
| Passive | I am going to be taken to the store by a friend. |
| Active | He is going to pick up his sister from school. |
| Passive | His sister is going to be picked up from school by him. |
| Active | She is going to the movies with her friends. |
| Passive | She is going to be taken to the movies by her friends. |
| Active | We are eating lunch at the park. |
| Passive | Lunch is being eaten by us at the park. |
| Active | They are playing soccer in the field. |
| Passive | Soccer is being played by them in the field. |
| Active | I am doing my homework. |
| Passive | My homework is being done by me. |
| Active | He is taking a shower. |
| Passive | A shower is being taken by him. |
| Active | She is sleeping. |
| Passive | Sleep is being had by her. |
| Active | The baby is eating solid food. |
| Passive | Solid food is being eaten by the baby. |
| Active | I am reading a book. |
| Passive | A book is being read by me. |
| Active | He is driving to work. |
| Passive | Work is being driven to by him. |
| Active | They are walking to school. |
| Passive | School is being walked to by them. |
| Active | I am talking on the phone. |
| Passive | The phone is being talked on by me. |
| Active | He is sleeping in his bed. |
| Passive | His bed is being slept in by him. |
| Active | I am taking a nap. |
| Passive | A nap is being taken by me. |
| Active | She is making dinner. |
| Passive | Dinner is being made by her. |
| Active | He is watching TV. |
| Passive | TV is being watched by him. |
| Active | The ball was thrown by the boy. |
| Passive | The ball was caught by the boy. |
| Active | He hit the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was hit by him. |
| Active | She kicked the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was kicked by her. |
| Active | They passed the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was passed to them. |
| Active | I threw the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was thrown to me. |
| Active | You passed the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was passed to you. |
| Active | The catcher caught the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was caught by the catcher. |
| Active | The center fielder threw the ball to the second baseman. |
| Passive | The ball was thrown to the second baseman by the center fielder. |
| Active | Rebecca will hit the ball. |
| Passive | The ball will be hit by Rebecca. |
| Active | Kaitlyn and James are playing catch. |
| Passive | Catch is being played by Kaitlyn and James. |
| Active | Josh is throwing the football. |
| Passive | The football is being thrown by Josh. |
| Active | We were tackling runner on the play. |
| Passive | Runner was being tackled by us on the play. |
| Active | They will be blocking for the quarterback. |
| Passive | The quarterback will be being blocked for by them. |
| Active | Is he going to punt the ball? |
| Passive | Is the ball going to be punted by him? |
| Active | Jennifer caught the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was caught by Jennifer. |
| Active | John and Rebecca are playing soccer. |
| Passive | Soccer is being played by John and Rebecca. |
| Active | Are you going to shoot the basketball? |
| Passive | Is the basketball going to be shot by you? |
| Active | She kicked the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was kicked by her. |
| Active | They passed the ball. |
| Passive | The ball was passed to them. |
| Active | The runner was tagged by the baseman. |
| Passive | The baseman tagged the runner. |
| Active | He hit the ball with his bat. |
| Passive | The ball was hit by him with his bat. |
| Active | It is being thrown by me. |
| Passive | The ball is being thrown by me. |
| Active | They are playing baseball. |
| Passive | Baseball is being played by them. |
