2. Voice Conversion Across All 12 Tenses

For each tense, this section gives the active formula, the passive formula, two fully worked original examples drawn from different everyday contexts, a short explanatory note, and a spot-the-correct-passive drill so you can test yourself immediately. Read every note carefully — several tenses (particularly the perfect continuous group in the future) are grammatically possible but almost never used in real English, and exams occasionally test awareness of this rather than mechanical conversion.

Throughout, S = subject, O = object, V1 = base verb, V3 = past participle.

2.1 Simple Present

• Active formula: S + V1/V1(s/es) + O
• Passive formula: O + is/am/are + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The night guard locks the main gate every evening. Passive: The main gate is locked by the night guard every evening.

Active (Example 2): The branch manager verifies every high-value cheque before it is cleared. Passive: Every high-value cheque is verified by the branch manager before it is cleared.

Note: Straightforward and extremely common in exams — this is usually the first tense taught and the easiest to get right, so examiners often hide the trap in subject–verb agreement ("is" vs "are") rather than in the tense itself.

Spot the correct passive: "The conductor checks every ticket before the train leaves the platform." A) Every ticket is checked by the conductor before the train leaves the platform. B) Every ticket was checked by the conductor before the train leaves the platform. C) Every ticket is being checked by the conductor before the train leaves the platform. D) Every ticket checks by the conductor before the train leaves the platform. Answer: A — habitual simple present passive, no continuous marker needed.

2.2 Present Continuous

• Active formula: S + is/am/are + V-ing + O
• Passive formula: O + is/am/are + being + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The technicians are repairing the elevator on the third floor. Passive: The elevator on the third floor is being repaired by the technicians.

Active (Example 2): The surgeons are operating on the accident victim in Ward Three at this moment. Passive: The accident victim in Ward Three is being operated on by the surgeons at this moment.

Note: The word "being" is the single most frequently dropped word by aspirants in this tense. Without "being," the sentence silently slides into simple present passive, which changes the meaning from "in progress right now" to "as a general rule." Notice also, in the second example, that the preposition "on" (from the phrasal verb "operate on") is carried through into the passive — dropping it is a separate, equally common error.

Spot the correct passive: "The cashier is counting the day's collection at the till." A) The day's collection is counted by the cashier at the till. B) The day's collection is being counted by the cashier at the till. C) The day's collection was being counted by the cashier at the till. D) The day's collection has been counted by the cashier at the till. Answer: B — present continuous passive requires "is/are being + V3."

2.3 Present Perfect

• Active formula: S + has/have + V3 + O
• Passive formula: O + has/have + been + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The auditors have flagged three irregularities in the accounts. Passive: Three irregularities have been flagged in the accounts by the auditors.

Active (Example 2): The judge has dismissed the petitioner's plea for want of evidence. Passive: The petitioner's plea has been dismissed by the judge for want of evidence.

Note: "Been" is non-negotiable here. "Has flagged" → "has been flagged," never "has flagged" left unchanged or "has being flagged" (a very common wrong hybrid — "being" is only for continuous tenses, "been" is only for perfect tenses; the two must never be swapped).

Spot the correct passive: "The umpire has awarded the visiting team six penalty runs." A) Six penalty runs are awarded to the visiting team by the umpire. B) Six penalty runs have been awarded to the visiting team by the umpire. C) Six penalty runs had been awarded to the visiting team by the umpire. D) Six penalty runs have being awarded to the visiting team by the umpire. Answer: B — present perfect passive needs "have been + V3"; D confuses "being" with "been."

2.4 Present Perfect Continuous

• Active formula: S + has/have + been + V-ing + O
• Passive formula: Grammatically constructible but almost never used

Active (Example 1, rare passive): The workers have been repainting the boundary wall since Monday. Awkward passive: The boundary wall has been being repainted by the workers since Monday.

Active (Example 2, rare passive): The HR team has been screening résumés for the new opening since last week. Awkward passive: Résumés for the new opening have been being screened by the HR team since last week.

Note: This is the tense most exams flag as a "trick" — the technically correct passive doubles up "being" and "been" ("has been being repainted" / "have been being screened"), which is grammatically valid but so clumsy that fluent English almost never produces it. If you see this active sentence in an MCQ, the expected "correct" passive answer is often simply the closest grammatically valid option, but be alert: some question sets consider "no natural passive exists" the intended teaching point, and ask you to identify that the sentence should stay active, or restructure with "since work began."

Spot the correct passive: "The regulator has been investigating the brokerage for market manipulation since March." A) The brokerage has been investigated by the regulator for market manipulation since March. B) The brokerage has been being investigated by the regulator for market manipulation since March. C) (No natural, commonly-used passive — best paraphrased or left active.) D) The brokerage is investigated by the regulator for market manipulation since March. Answer: C — B is technically derivable but essentially never used in real writing; exams testing this tense usually want recognition of the limitation, not production of the awkward form.

2.5 Simple Past

• Active formula: S + V2 + O
• Passive formula: O + was/were + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The volunteers distributed blankets to the flood victims. Passive: Blankets were distributed to the flood victims by the volunteers.

Active (Example 2): The ticket examiner checked every passenger's reservation before Howrah Junction. Passive: Every passenger's reservation was checked by the ticket examiner before Howrah Junction.

Note: One of the two or three most-tested tenses. Errors here usually involve confusing "was" and "were" with the new (plural or singular) subject rather than the old one.

Spot the correct passive: "The teller processed forty withdrawal slips before the lunch break." A) Forty withdrawal slips are processed by the teller before the lunch break. B) Forty withdrawal slips were processed by the teller before the lunch break. C) Forty withdrawal slips was processed by the teller before the lunch break. D) Forty withdrawal slips had processed by the teller before the lunch break. Answer: B — simple past passive, plural new subject → "were processed."

2.6 Past Continuous

• Active formula: S + was/were + V-ing + O
• Passive formula: O + was/were + being + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The inspector was questioning the shopkeeper about the missing stock. Passive: The shopkeeper was being questioned by the inspector about the missing stock.

Active (Example 2): The professor was grading term papers when the fire alarm went off. Passive: Term papers were being graded by the professor when the fire alarm went off.

Note: Same "being" trap as present continuous, but now paired with "was/were" — a double point of failure, and therefore a favourite for exam distractors.

Spot the correct passive: "The nurses were monitoring the newborn's vitals when the machine beeped." A) The newborn's vitals were monitored by the nurses when the machine beeped. B) The newborn's vitals are being monitored by the nurses when the machine beeped. C) The newborn's vitals were being monitored by the nurses when the machine beeped. D) The newborn's vitals had been monitored by the nurses when the machine beeped. Answer: C — past continuous passive requires "was/were being + V3."

2.7 Past Perfect

• Active formula: S + had + V3 + O
• Passive formula: O + had + been + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The organisers had already cancelled the outdoor event before the storm hit. Passive: The outdoor event had already been cancelled by the organisers before the storm hit.

Active (Example 2): The vendor had already dispatched the consignment before the purchase order was cancelled. Passive: The consignment had already been dispatched by the vendor before the purchase order was cancelled.

Note: Useful for testing understanding of sequence-of-tense in complex sentences — the passive clause must retain "had," matching the past-perfect (earlier-of-two-past-actions) sense of the original.

Spot the correct passive: "The bench had reserved its judgment before the counsel could file the additional affidavit." A) Its judgment was reserved by the bench before the counsel could file the additional affidavit. B) Its judgment has been reserved by the bench before the counsel could file the additional affidavit. C) Its judgment had been reserved by the bench before the counsel could file the additional affidavit. D) Its judgment had reserved by the bench before the counsel could file the additional affidavit. Answer: C — past perfect passive: had been + V3.

2.8 Past Perfect Continuous

• Active formula: S + had + been + V-ing + O
• Passive formula: Grammatically constructible but almost never used

Active (Example 1, rare passive): The engineers had been monitoring the bridge for cracks for six months before the collapse. Awkward passive: The bridge had been being monitored for cracks by the engineers for six months before the collapse.

Active (Example 2, rare passive): The internal auditors had been reviewing the branch's loan files for a fortnight before the fraud surfaced. Awkward passive: The branch's loan files had been being reviewed by the internal auditors for a fortnight before the fraud surfaced.

Note: Just like present perfect continuous, the passive stacks "been" and "being" back to back and native speakers almost universally avoid it, preferring to rephrase with a noun ("The bridge had been under monitoring for six months...") or simply leaving the sentence active. Treat this as a recognition skill for exams rather than a construction you will ever be asked to produce freely.

Spot the correct passive: "The compliance officer had been auditing the vendor's invoices for weeks before the discrepancy came to light." A) The vendor's invoices had been audited by the compliance officer for weeks before the discrepancy came to light. B) The vendor's invoices had been being audited by the compliance officer for weeks before the discrepancy came to light. C) The vendor's invoices have been audited by the compliance officer for weeks before the discrepancy came to light. D) The vendor's invoices were audited by the compliance officer for weeks before the discrepancy came to light. Answer: A — natural usage collapses the awkward double-auxiliary form into a simple past perfect passive; B is derivable but avoided in practice.

2.9 Simple Future

• Active formula: S + will/shall + V1 + O
• Passive formula: O + will/shall + be + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The board will announce the results on the fifteenth of next month. Passive: The results will be announced on the fifteenth of next month by the board.

Active (Example 2): The railway authority will commission the new signalling system next year. Passive: The new signalling system will be commissioned next year by the railway authority.

Note: A high-frequency, low-error tense once "will be + V3" is internalised as a fixed unit — don't insert "being" here; simple future passive never carries a continuous marker.

Spot the correct passive: "The store will restock the festive-season inventory by next Tuesday." A) The festive-season inventory will restock by next Tuesday. B) The festive-season inventory will be restocked by next Tuesday. C) The festive-season inventory is restocked by next Tuesday. D) The festive-season inventory will be being restocked by next Tuesday. Answer: B — simple future passive: will be + V3.

2.10 Future Continuous

• Active formula: S + will/shall + be + V-ing + O
• Passive formula: Grammatically constructible but almost never used

Active (Example 1, rare passive): The technicians will be servicing the generator throughout the power cut. Awkward passive: The generator will be being serviced by the technicians throughout the power cut.

Active (Example 2, rare passive): The night staff will be monitoring the ICU patients throughout the scheduled power outage. Awkward passive: The ICU patients will be being monitored by the night staff throughout the scheduled power outage.

Note: "Will be being serviced/monitored" is textbook-correct but sounds foreign to a native ear; almost no published or spoken English actually uses it. Most style guides recommend recasting the sentence entirely (e.g., "The generator will undergo servicing...", "The ICU patients will remain under observation...") rather than forcing this construction. Exams sometimes include it purely so you can recognise it as technically derivable even though you would never choose to write it.

Spot the correct passive: "The ground staff will be resurfacing the pitch throughout next week." A) The pitch will be resurfaced throughout next week. B) The pitch will be being resurfaced throughout next week by the ground staff. C) The pitch is resurfaced throughout next week by the ground staff. D) The pitch will resurface throughout next week. Answer: A — in practice, the simple future passive is preferred over the technically-correct but unnatural future continuous passive; most exams accept the simplified form as the "best" answer when the awkward form isn't among the options, and even when it is, it is rarely the intended answer.

2.11 Future Perfect

• Active formula: S + will/shall + have + V3 + O
• Passive formula: O + will/shall + have + been + V3 + (by + agent)

Active (Example 1): The contractor will have completed the flyover by the end of this fiscal year. Passive: The flyover will have been completed by the contractor by the end of this fiscal year.

Active (Example 2): The university will have published the revised syllabus by the end of August. Passive: The revised syllabus will have been published by the university by the end of August.

Note: Manageable and reasonably common in exams — "will have been + V3" is a fixed chunk worth memorising as a unit, since it recurs identically for every subject and every agent.

Spot the correct passive: "The registry will have processed all pending appeals by the next hearing date." A) All pending appeals will have processed by the next hearing date. B) All pending appeals will have been processed by the next hearing date. C) All pending appeals will be processed by the next hearing date. D) All pending appeals would have been processed by the next hearing date. Answer: B — future perfect passive: will have been + V3.

2.12 Future Perfect Continuous

• Active formula: S + will/shall + have + been + V-ing + O
• Passive formula: Not used in practice — no natural passive exists

Active (Example 1, no natural passive): By next year, the company will have been exporting spare parts for two full decades.

Active (Example 2, no natural passive): By the time she retires, the manager will have been supervising this branch for twenty-two years.

Note: This is the tense where passive voice essentially breaks down. The theoretical construction ("spare parts will have been being exported...", "this branch will have been being supervised...") stacks three auxiliary elements ("have," "been," "being") plus a participle, which is not attested in ordinary usage at all. If an exam question presents a future perfect continuous active sentence and asks for "the correct passive form," the safest exam strategy is to check whether one of the options simply restructures the sentence (e.g., using a different verb or converting to future perfect passive) rather than forcing the triple-auxiliary form — and if no option does that, to recognise that this sentence type is usually used precisely to test whether you know passive voice has real limits, not to produce a monster sentence.

Spot the correct passive: "By March, the ministry will have been implementing the new pension scheme for five years." A) By March, the new pension scheme will have implemented for five years. B) By March, the new pension scheme will have been being implemented for five years. C) (No natural passive exists for this tense — the sentence is best left active.) D) By March, the new pension scheme is implemented for five years. Answer: C — future perfect continuous simply has no workable passive form in real usage; recognising this is the actual skill being tested.

Quick-reference table: the "be" auxiliary by tense

Tense	Active auxiliary pattern	Passive "be" form
Simple Present	V1(s/es)	is / am / are + V3
Present Continuous	is/am/are + V-ing	is/am/are + being + V3
Present Perfect	has/have + V3	has/have + been + V3
Present Perfect Continuous	has/have + been + V-ing	(avoid — rare) has/have + been + being + V3
Simple Past	V2	was/were + V3
Past Continuous	was/were + V-ing	was/were + being + V3
Past Perfect	had + V3	had + been + V3
Past Perfect Continuous	had + been + V-ing	(avoid — rare) had + been + being + V3
Simple Future	will/shall + V1	will/shall + be + V3
Future Continuous	will/shall + be + V-ing	(avoid — rare) will/shall + be + being + V3
Future Perfect	will/shall + have + V3	will/shall + have + been + V3
Future Perfect Continuous	will/shall + have + been + V-ing	(not used) — no natural passive

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