Hello friends, my name is Akshay Bhardwaj. As you might know from my previous post, I recently cleared the SSC CPO prelims. Right now, my entire focus is on the CPO Mains and the upcoming SSC CGL 2026 exam.
In my last article, we discussed the advanced rules of the Verb chapter. Today, we are going to challenge another massive topic -Active and Passive Voice.
If you look at the previous year papers of SSC CGL Tier 2 or CPO Mains, you will see a huge number of voice questions. The best part of Voice is a “free marks” chapter. It is highly scoring. You do not need to understand complex word meanings. You just need to scan the helping verbs and eliminate the wrong options.
I am sharing my personal notes and the exact rules I use to solve Voice questions in 5 seconds. I have kept the language simple. No heavy grammar jargon. Let us clear this chapter together and learn Top 25 Rules of Active and Passive Voice.
Read More – Top 30 Advanced Verb Rules You Must Know for SSC CGL 2026 and SSC CPO Mains.
Table of Contents
Why Active and Passive Voice is a Game Changer
In SSC exams, they do not ask you to write the passive voice on a blank paper. They give you four options. This makes it a game of observation.
Many students confuse Voice with Narration (Direct/Indirect speech).
- In Narration –The tense changes. (Present becomes Past).
- In Voice –The tense never changes. Present stays present. Past stays past.
If you remember this single difference, you will avoid 50% of the traps set by the examiner.
The Golden Basics of Voice
Before we go to the advanced rules, keep these three basic steps in your mind always:
- Swap the Subject and Object –The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
- Use the 3rd Form of Verb (V3) –Passive voice is impossible without the Past Participle (V3).
- Add ‘By’ –Generally, the doer of the action is introduced with the preposition ‘by’. But SSC loves exceptions, which we will cover below.
Top 25 Rules of Active and Passive Voice for SSC CGL 2026
Here are the most important rules, categorized by tense and sentence type. I have provided clear examples for each.
Rule 1 -Present Indefinite Tense
Active -Subject + V1 (s/es) + Object
Passive -Object + is/am/are + V3 + by + Subject
- Active –He writes a letter.
- Passive –A letter is written by him.
Rule 2 -Past Indefinite Tense
Active -Subject + V2 + Object
Passive -Object + was/were + V3 + by + Subject
- Active –He wrote a letter.
- Passive –A letter was written by him.
- Exam Tip –This is the most asked tense in SSC. Look for V2 and immediately search for was/were in the options.
Rule 3 -Future Indefinite Tense
Active -Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object
Passive -Object + will/shall + be + V3 + by + Subject
- Active –He will write a letter.
- Passive –A letter will be written by him.
Rule 4 -Present Continuous Tense
Active -Subject + is/am/are + V1+ing + Object
Passive -Object + is/am/are + being + V3 + by + Subject
- Active –She is singing a song.
- Passive –A song is being sung by her.
- Exam Tip –Whenever you see an “ing” verb in Active, look for the word “being” in the Passive options.
Rule 5 -Past Continuous Tense
Active -Subject + was/were + V1+ing + Object
Passive -Object + was/were + being + V3 + by + Subject
- Active –They were playing cricket.
- Passive –Cricket was being played by them.
Rule 6 -Perfect Tenses (Present, Past, Future)
If the active voice has ‘has’, ‘have’, or ‘had’, the passive voice will always take “been”.
- Active (Present) –He has finished the work.
- Passive –The work has been finished by him.
- Active (Past) –He had finished the work.
- Passive –The work had been finished by him.
Rule 7 -Tenses with NO Passive Voice
You cannot make passive voice for these four tenses:
- Present Perfect Continuous
- Past Perfect Continuous
- Future Perfect Continuous
- Future Continuous
Rule 8 -Sentences with Modals
Active -Subject + Modal (can, could, should, may, etc.) + V1 + Object
Passive -Object + Modal + be + V3 + by + Subject
- Active –You must follow the rules.
- Passive –The rules must be followed by you.
Rule 9 -Sentences with Modal Perfects
Active -Subject + Modal + have + V3 + Object
Passive -Object + Modal + have been + V3 + by + Subject
- Active –He should have told the truth.
- Passive –The truth should have been told by him.
Rule 10 -Imperative Sentences (Orders and Commands)
Imperative sentences start directly with a verb. For orders, we use “Let”.
Structure -Let + Object + be + V3
- Active –Open the door.
- Passive -Let the door be opened.
Rule 11 -Imperative Sentences (Advice or Moral Duty)
When the sentence gives advice, we use “should be”.
Structure -Object + should be + V3
- Active –Help the poor.
- Passive –The poor should be helped.
Rule 12 -Imperative Sentences (Requests)
If the sentence starts with “Please” or “Kindly”, replace it with “You are requested to”.
- Active –Please bring me a glass of water.
- Passive -You are requested to bring me a glass of water.
Rule 13 -Sentences starting with ‘Who’
“Who” changes to “By whom” in the passive voice. The helping verb comes before the object.
- Active –Who broke the glass?
- Passive -By whom was the glass broken?
Rule 14 -Sentences starting with ‘Whom’
“Whom” changes to “Who” in the passive voice.
- Active –Whom did you see?
- Passive -Who was seen by you?
Rule 15 -Sentences with Two Objects
Sometimes a verb has a direct object (non-living) and an indirect object (living). You can make passive voice using either object.
- Active –The teacher gave me a book.
- Passive 1 –I was given a book by the teacher. (Better option)
- Passive 2 –A book was given to me by the teacher.
Rule 16 -SSC’s Favorite – Prepositions other than ‘By’
This is where the examiner traps students. Certain verbs do not take ‘by’ in the passive voice. They take fixed prepositions. You must memorize these.
- Know / Oblige –Takes ‘to’.
- Active -I know him.
- Passive -He is known to me. (Not ‘by me’).
- Surprise / Astonish / Shock –Takes ‘at’.
- Active -His behavior surprised me.
- Passive -I was surprised at his behavior.
- Fill / Satisfy / Cover –Takes ‘with’.
- Active -Smoke filled the room.
- Passive -The room was filled with smoke.
- Contain / Embody / Interest –Takes ‘in’.
- Active -This box contains ten pens.
- Passive -Ten pens are contained in this box.
Rule 17 -Phrasal Verbs
When a verb has a preposition attached to it (like ‘laugh at’, ‘look after’), do not drop that preposition in the passive voice. It stays right next to the V3 form.
- Active –They laughed at the poor man.
- Passive –The poor man was laughed at by them.
- Exam Tip –Options will often drop “at”. Do not choose those options.
Rule 18 -Sentences with ‘To + V1’ (Infinitives)
When you see ‘to + V1’ in active voice, change it to ‘to be + V3’ in passive.
- Active –I have to finish this work.
- Passive –This work has to be finished by me.
Rule 19 -The “It is time to” Structure
This is a very specific structure. Learn it as a formula.
Active -It is time to + V1 + Object.
Passive -It is time for + Object + to be + V3.
- Active –It is time to take tea.
- Passive –It is time for tea to be taken.
Rule 20 -Verbs Followed by Adjectives
Some verbs describe how something tastes, feels, or smells. They follow a special passive structure.
- Active –Quinine tastes bitter.
- Passive –Quinine is bitter when it is tasted.
- Active –The rose smells sweet.
- Passive –The rose is sweet when it is smelt.
Rule 21 -Vague or General Subjects
When the subject is obvious or unknown (like people, someone, nobody, police, public), we usually drop “by + subject” in the passive voice.
- Active –The police arrested the thief.
- Passive –The thief was arrested. (We do not need to say ‘by the police’).
- Active –Someone has stolen my pen.
- Passive –My pen has been stolen.
Rule 22 -Causative Verbs (Make, Bid, Help)
As we discussed in the Verbs chapter, active sentences with ‘make’ or ‘help’ take a bare infinitive (V1 without ‘to’). But in passive voice, they take the full infinitive (‘to + V1’).
- Active –He made me wash the car.
- Passive –I was made to wash the car by him.
Rule 23 -The ‘Let’ Exception
Unlike other causative verbs, ‘let’ remains a bare infinitive even in the passive voice.
- Active –He let me go.
- Passive –I was let go by him. (Not ‘to go’).
Rule 24 -Verbs followed by Gerunds (V1+ing)
If the active voice has a verb followed by an object and a gerund, the passive voice uses ‘being + V3’.
- Active –I remember my father taking me to the zoo.
- Passive –I remember being taken to the zoo by my father.
Rule 25 -Sentences with ‘There is’
When a sentence starts with “There is no…”, we only change the infinitive part.
- Active –There is no time to waste.
- Passive –There is no time to be wasted.
My Personal Strategy – The “Option Elimination” Trick
As an aspirant preparing for CGL 2026 and CPO Mains, time is everything for me and you know this time SSC introduced sectional timing in the CGL and CPO both exams in pre and mains. You get very little time per question in the actual exam. Do not try to translate or write the passive sentence in your head. Use the elimination method.
Here is how I solve a question in 5 seconds:
- Spot the Verb –I read the active sentence and only look at the main verb and helping verb.
- Decide the Target –If I see V2 (past indefinite), my brain instantly knows the answer MUST have “was/were + V3”.
- Scan the Options:
- Option A has “is”. (Wrong)
- Option B has “has been”. (Wrong)
- Option C has “had been”. (Wrong)
- Option D has “was”. (Correct!)
- Verify –I quickly glance at Option D to ensure the subject/object are swapped correctly and there are no trap words dropped (like fixed prepositions). Click and move on.
This trick works 95% of the time. You only need to read the full sentence carefully if two options have the same helping verb.
Final Words for SSC Aspirants
Voice and Narration are the twin pillars of the SSC English section. Together, they carry a huge weightage. The best way to master them is through repetition.
Do not try to memorize all 25 rules in one hour. Take 5 rules daily. Open a previous year question book. Apply the option elimination trick. You will see how easily the answers pop out.
Grammar is not about translating Hindi to English. It is about recognizing patterns. Edquity repeats the same patterns every year. Focus on the special rules fixed prepositions, adjectives, and imperatives. That is where most students lose marks.
We are all in this race together. Keep your syllabus limited. Revise multiple times. Practice mock tests daily. Let’s give our best for SSC CGL 2026. Good luck with your studies.