Active and Passive Voice: TN Board 12th English Grammar PYQs
Welcome to the most crucial grammar topic for your TN Board 12th English Exam! In the Transformation of Sentences section (Part II - Do as Directed), Active and Passive Voice carries a guaranteed 2 marks. TN Board examiners love to test your ability to handle complex structures, especially Interrogative sentences, Imperative requests, and sentences with double objects. Master our advanced grammar cheat sheet below, practice the top 20 Previous Year Questions (PYQs) from the past 10 years, and challenge yourself with the interactive Self-Test!
🔥 Exam Tip & The Advanced Voice Cheat Sheet:
- The Core Rule: Subject becomes Object, Object becomes Subject. The main verb ALWAYS changes to its V3 form (Past Participle).
- The "Be" Verb Trick: The tense never changes; you just add a 'Be' verb.
👉 Continuous (ing) → add being
👉 Perfect (has/have/had) → add been
👉 Modals (will/can/must) → add be- Imperative Sentences (Orders/Requests):
👉 Order: Open the door. → Let the door be opened.
👉 Request: Please help me. → You are requested to help me.- The 'Who' Trap: If a question starts with "Who", the passive voice must start with "By whom".
Example: Who wrote this? → By whom was this written?- Exceptions to 'by': Not all passive sentences use 'by'.
👉 I know him → He is known to me. (NOT by me)
👉 Smoke filled the room → The room was filled with smoke.
Top 20 Board Exam Questions: Active & Passive Voice
Part 1: Assertive Sentences (Basic & Continuous Tenses)
Change the voice of the following assertive sentences based on TN Board patterns.
- Question: The manager is reviewing the new project report. (Present Continuous)
Answer: The new project report is being reviewed by the manager. - Question: Shakespeare wrote the famous play 'Hamlet'. (Simple Past)
Answer: The famous play 'Hamlet' was written by Shakespeare. - Question: They are building a new bridge across the river.
Answer: A new bridge is being built across the river by them. - Question: People speak English all over the world. (Universal Fact - Omit Agent)
Answer: English is spoken all over the world. - Question: The company awarded him a gold medal. (Double Object Trap)
Answer: He was awarded a gold medal by the company.
(Or) A gold medal was awarded to him by the company.
Part 2: Perfect Tenses & Modal Auxiliaries
Transform sentences containing has, have, had, or modals (will, shall, can, must).
- Question: The students have completed the practical assignments. (March 2019)
Answer: The practical assignments have been completed by the students. - Question: The government had launched the scheme before the elections.
Answer: The scheme had been launched by the government before the elections. - Question: We must preserve our natural resources.
Answer: Our natural resources must be preserved by us. - Question: The teacher will give you a surprise test tomorrow.
Answer: You will be given a surprise test tomorrow by the teacher. - Question: No one has seen the missing documents. (Negative Pronoun Trap)
Answer: The missing documents have not been seen by anyone.
Part 3: Interrogative Sentences (Questions)
TN Board highly favors interrogative transformations. Maintain the question format!
- Question: Who broke this beautiful glass window? (March 2022)
Answer: By whom was this beautiful glass window broken? - Question: Did the watchman lock the gate?
Answer: Was the gate locked by the watchman? - Question: Why have you bought this expensive ticket?
Answer: Why has this expensive ticket been bought by you? - Question: Are they playing cricket in the stadium?
Answer: Is cricket being played by them in the stadium? - Question: When will she announce the results?
Answer: When will the results be announced by her?
Part 4: Imperatives, Exceptions & Reverse (Passive to Active)
Master commands, requests, prepositional exceptions, and reversing the voice.
- Question: Please assemble in the main ground. (Request)
Answer: You are requested to assemble in the main ground. - Question: Do not insult the poor. (Negative Command)
Answer: Let not the poor be insulted. - Question: I know the truth about the incident. (Preposition Exception)
Answer: The truth about the incident is known to me. - Question: My pocket has been picked. (Passive to Active - Missing Agent)
Answer: Someone has picked my pocket. - Question: The prizes were distributed by the Chief Guest. (Passive to Active)
Answer: The Chief Guest distributed the prizes.
📝 Test Yourself: Voice Transformation Challenge!
Have you mastered the rules? Try solving these 5 tricky 12th board-level voice questions. Click on "Show Answer" to check your accuracy!
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Question: Change the voice: Who teaches you English?
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: By whom are you taught English?
(Rule: 'Who' becomes 'By whom', and the auxiliary verb must come before the subject in a question.) -
Question: Change the voice: Let the doors be closed.
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: Close the doors.
(Rule: This is a reverse transformation from Passive to Active for an imperative order.) -
Question: Change the voice: Tears filled her eyes.
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: Her eyes were filled with tears.
(Rule: 'Filled' takes the preposition 'with' instead of 'by'.) -
Question: Change the voice: They have not caught the thief yet.
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: The thief has not been caught by them yet.
(Rule: Ensure subject-verb agreement. 'Thief' is singular, so 'have' changes to 'has'.) -
Question: Change the voice: Someone has stolen my bicycle.
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: My bicycle has been stolen.
(Rule: When the active subject is a vague pronoun like 'someone', you can omit 'by someone' in the passive voice.)
The ultimate trick to scoring full marks in Voice Transformation is identifying the correct tense and the type of sentence before applying the rule. Keep our 'Be' verb trick and 'Who/By whom' rules in mind. Bookmark this page, practice thoroughly, and secure your 2 marks in the TN Board English Exam!