Voice and Narration

What is a Voice?

The term "voice" refers to the form or structure of a sentence that indicates whether the subject is the doer of the action or the receiver of the action.

There are two types of Voices in the English language:

1. Active Voice
2. Passive Voice

Active Voice: The subject performs the action stated by the verb. The structure of an active voice sentence is usually Subject-Verb-Object.

Example: The chef (subject) prepared (verb) a delicious meal (object). Here, the chef (subject) is acting as preparing the meal.

Passive Voice: The subject receives the action of the verb. The structure of a passive voice sentence is usually: Object + helping verb + V3 + by + subject.

Example: A delicious meal (object) was prepared (verb) by the chef (subject). Here, the meal (object) receives the action, and the chef (subject) is mentioned later.

Key Differences:

→ Active voice is generally more direct.
→ Passive voice is often used when the focus is on the action or the receiver of the action rather than the doer.
→ In active voice, the subject is more prominent and comes before the verb.
→ In passive voice, the object or the receiver of the action is more prominent and comes before the verb.

Rules to Change Active into Passive Voice in Each Tense Categorization

1. Simple Present Tense

If the subject is in the simple present tense, the helping verb 'is/ am/ are' is used in the passive voice.

Active Voice: The teacher teaches the students.
Passive Voice: The students are taught by the teacher.

2. Simple Past Tense

If the subject is in the simple past tense, we use 'was/ were + v3' in the passive voice.

Active Voice: She wrote a letter to her parents.
Passive Voice: A letter was written by her to her parents.

3. Present Continuous Tense

If the subject is in the present continuous tense, we use 'is/am/are + being' in the passive voice.

Active Voice: You are not taking the exam seriously.
Passive Voice: The exam is not being taken seriously by you.

4. Past Continuous Tense

If the subject is in the past continuous tense, we use 'was/were + being' in the passive voice.

Active Voice: They were studying when the power went out.
Passive Voice: Studying was being done by them when the power went out.

5. Present Perfect Tense

If the subject is in the present perfect tense, we use 'has/ have +been' in the passive voice.

Active Voice: The jury has given its verdict.
Passive Voice: Its verdict has been given by the jury.

6. Past Perfect Tense

If the subject is in the past perfect tense, we use 'had + been' in the passive voice.

Active Voice: She had already left when I arrived.
Passive Voice: The departure had already occurred when I arrived.

NOTE: Some verbs take fixed prepositions. With these verbs, we cannot use 'by'. These are known to, be surprised at, engulfed in, amazed at, vexed at, annoyed at something, annoyed with somebody, contained in, tired of, filled with and decorated with.

Examples of Active and Passive Voice

Direct and Indirect Speech

There are two types of Speech:

→ Direct Speech
→ Indirect Speech

Direct Speech

Direct speech, also known as quoted speech, is when the exact words spoken by a person are quoted and placed within quotation marks.

Example: Shelly said, "I am going to the library" (Here, Shelly directly conveyed her statement that she is going to Oxford.)

Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)

Indirect speech involves reporting what someone has said without quoting their exact words. It is often used to convey the speaker's message in a more summarized or paraphrased form.

Example: Shelly said that she was going to the library.

In the above-mentioned example, we noticed the change when converting from direct to indirect speech:

→ The pronoun "I" changes to "she."
→ The verb "am" changes to "was."
→ "That" was added before the indirect statement.
→ The quotation marks are removed.

Rules to Change Direct into Indirect Speech in Each Tense Categorization

1. Present Simple Tense

Direct Speech: "I play football," he said.
Indirect Speech: He said that he played football.

2. Present Continuous Tense

Direct Speech: "I am studying," she said.
Indirect Speech: She said that she was studying.

3. Present Perfect Tense

Direct Speech: "I have completed my work," he said.
Indirect Speech: He said that he had completed his work.

4. Past Simple Tense

Direct Speech: "I visited the museum," she said.
Indirect Speech: She said that she had visited the museum.

5. Past Continuous Tense

Direct Speech: "I was reading a book," he said.
Indirect Speech: He said that he had been reading a book.

6. Past Perfect Tense

Direct Speech: "I had finished my homework," she said.
Indirect Speech: She said that she had finished her homework.

7. Future Simple Tense

Direct Speech: "I will come tomorrow," he said.
Indirect Speech: He said that he would come the next day.

8. Future Continuous Tense

Direct Speech: "I will be working," she said.
Indirect Speech: She said that she would be working.

9. Future Perfect Tense

Direct Speech: "I will have completed the project," he said.
Indirect Speech: He said that he would have completed the project.

Some Additional Rules

1. Pronoun Changes: To change the pronouns in the indirect speech to fit the context. "I" becomes "he/she," "my" becomes "his/her," etc.

2. Time and Place Changes: To adjust the time expressions and place references to match the context of the reporting verb. The "today" becomes "that day," "here" becomes "there," etc.

3. Reporting Verb Changes: Should use reporting verbs like "said," "told," "asked," etc.

Changes in Modals

Modal verbs express the speaker's attitude towards the likelihood or necessity of an action. The key modals include 'can,' 'could,' 'will,' 'would,' 'shall,' 'should,' 'may,' 'might,' 'must,' and 'ought to.'

1. Changing 'Can' to 'Could'

Direct: He said, "I can play the guitar."
Indirect: He said that he could play the guitar.

2. Changing 'May' to 'Might'

Direct: She said, "I may go to the party."
Indirect: She said that she might go to the party.

3. Changing 'Must' to 'Had to'

Direct: He said, "I must finish my homework."
Indirect: He said that he had to finish his homework.

4. Changing 'Shall' to 'Should'

Direct: We said, "We shall support you."
Indirect: We said that we should support you.

Changes in Interrogative Sentences

→ 'Said to' is changed into 'asked'.
→ 'Question mark' is changed into a full stop.
→ Tenses and pronouns are changed accordingly.
→ If the reported begins with 'wh-family' words like what, where, why, when, etc., no conjunction is used.

Examples:

? Direct: She said, "Are you coming for the event?"
Indirect: She asked if I was coming for the event.

? Direct: He said, "Will you help me to lift these tanks?"
Indirect: He asked if I would help him to lift the tanks.

? Direct: She said, "Can you swim?"
Indirect: She asked if I could swim.

? Direct: He said, "Are you going to the party tomorrow?"
Indirect: He asked if I was going to the party the next day.

? Direct: She said, "Will it rain because I have an urgent meeting within an hour?"
Indirect: She asked whether it would rain or not because she had an urgent meeting.

? Direct: "Is he coming for trekking?" she asked.
Indirect: She asked if he was coming for trekking.

Changes in Imperative Sentences

→ 'Said to' is changed into 'ordered, requested, advised, etc.'
→ The conjunction 'to' is used.
→ 'To' is followed by V1.
→ Tenses and pronouns are changed accordingly.

Examples:

? Direct: He said, "Close the door."
Indirect: He told me to close the door.

? Direct: The teacher said, "Do your homework."
Indirect: The teacher told us to do our homework.

? Direct: She said, "Come here now."
Indirect: She told me to go there then.

? Direct: The manager said, "Submit the report tomorrow."
Indirect: The manager instructed that the report should be submitted the next day.

? Direct: She said, "Please help me."
Indirect: She requested me to help her.

Changes in Operative Sentences

→ 'Said' is changed into 'wished/ prayed'.
→ Conjunction 'that' is used.
→ Tense and pronoun are changed accordingly.

Examples:

→ Direct: The teacher said, "Open the window."
Indirect: The teacher ordered us to open the window.

→ Direct: He said, "Do your homework."
Indirect: He told me to do my homework.

→ Direct: She said, "Come here tomorrow."
Indirect: She told me to go there the next day.

→ Direct: The boss said, "Complete the report."
Indirect: The boss ordered us to complete the report.

→ Direct: She said, "Don't disturb me."
Indirect: She requested me not to disturb her.