You are currently viewing Change the voice in Past Continuous Tense

In English grammar, the past continuous tense can be changed from active voice to passive voice. Certainly! Here’s a guide on how to change sentences from active to passive voice in the Past Continuous Tense:

Structure 1:

Positive Form 

Active Voice Structure:

Subject + was/were + verb + ing + Object + Remaining Part of the sentence (If have).

To change the voice from active to passive voice, structure of passive voice should be,

Passive Voice Structure:

Subject form of the Object (Active Voice) + was/were + being + past participle form of the verb + by + object form of the subject (Active Voice) + Remaining part of the sentence (if have)

Example:

  • Active Voice: I was eating rice.

    Passive Voice: Rice was being eaten by me.

  • Active Voice: They were arranging a meeting.

    Passive Voice: A meeting was being arranged by them.

Structure 2:

Negative Form 

Active Voice Structure:

Subject + was/were + not + verb + ing + Object + Remaining Part of the sentence (If have).

To change the voice from active to passive voice, structure of passive voice should be,

Passive Voice Structure:

Subject form of the Object (Active Voice) + was/were not + being + past participle form of the verb + by + object form of the subject (Active Voice) + Remaining part of the sentence (if have)

Example:

  • Active Voice: He was not watching the movie.

    Passive Voice: Food was being eaten by him.

  • Active Voice: He was not receiving this invitation.

    Passive Voice: This invitation was not being received by him.

Structure 3:

Active Voice Structure:

Was/Were + subject + verb + ing + Object + Remaining Part of the sentence (If have)?

To change the voice from active to passive voice, structure of passive voice should be,

Passive Voice Structure:

Was/Were not + Subject form of the Object (Active Voice) + being + past participle form of the verb + by + object form of the subject (Active Voice) + Remaining part of the sentence (if have)?

Example:

  • Active Voice: Were you finishing this work?

    Passive Voice: Was this work being finished by you?

  • Active Voice: Was he reading this book?

    Passive Voice: Was this book being read by him?

  • Active Voice: Were not they crossing that river?

    Passive Voice: Was not that river being crossed by them?

  • Active Voice: Was not he finishing this project?

   Passive Voice: Was not this project being finished by him?

Structure 4:

Active Voice Structure:

Wh Word (What/Who/Which etc.) + was/were/was not/were not + subject + verb + ing + Object + Remaining Part of the sentence (If have)?

To change the voice from active to passive voice, structure of passive voice should be,

Passive Voice Structure:

Wh Word (What/Who/Which etc.) + was/were/was not/were not + Subject form of the Object (Active Voice) + being + past participle form of the verb + by + object form of the subject (Active Voice) + Remaining part of the sentence (if have)?

Example:

  • Active Voice: How were they accepting this proposal?

    Passive Voice: How was this proposal being accepted by them?

  • Active Voice: What were you focusing this project?

    Passive Voice: What was this project being focused by you?

  • Active Voice: Why were not you doing this work?

    Passive Voice: Why was not this work being done by you?

  • Active Voice:  Why was not he attending the meeting?

   Passive Voice: Why was not the meeting being attended by him?

Structure 5:

Active Voice Structure:

Wh Word (What/Who/Which etc.) + Noun + Preposition + Noun + was/were/was not/were not + subject + verb + ing + Object + Remaining Part of the sentence (If have)?

To change the voice from active to passive voice, structure of passive voice should be,

Passive Voice Structure:

Wh Word (What/Who/Which etc.) + Noun + Preposition + Noun + was/were/was not/were not + Subject form of the Object (Active Voice) + being + past participle form of the verb + by + object form of the subject (Active Voice) + Remaining part of the sentence (if have)?

Example:

  • Active Voice: What kind of tools were you selecting?

    Passive Voice: What kind of tools were being selected by you?

  • Active Voice: What types of foods were you buying?

    Passive Voice: What types of foods were being eaten by you?

  • Active Voice: Which types of foods was not he buying?

    Passive Voice: Which types of foods was not being eaten by him?

Structure 6:

Active Voice Structure:

Wh Word (What/Who/Which etc.) + was/were/was not/were not + verb + ing + Object + Remaining Part of the sentence (If have)?

To change the voice from active to passive voice, structure of passive voice should be,

Passive Voice Structure:

By whom + was/were/was not/were not + Subject form of the Object (Active Voice) + being + past participle form of the verb + Remaining part of the sentence (if have)?

Example:

  • Active Voice: Who were making noise?

    Passive Voice: By whom was noise being made?

  • Active Voice: Who were singing songs?

    Passive Voice: By whom were songs being sung?

  • Active Voice: Who were not joining?

    Passive Voice: By whom were not being joined?

Structure 7:

Active Voice Structure:

Wh Word (What/Who/Which etc.) + was/were/was not/were not + object + verb + ing + Remaining Part of the sentence (If have)?

To change the voice from active to passive voice, structure of passive voice should be,

Passive Voice Structure:

Who + was/were/was not/were not + being + past participle form of the verb + by + Subject form of the Object (Active Voice) + Remaining part of the sentence (if have)?

Example:

  • Active Voice: Whom was John inviting?

    Passive Voice: Who was being invited by John?

  • Active Voice: Whom were they teaching?

    Passive Voice: Who were being taught by them?

  • Active Voice: Whom was not she requesting for a job?

    Passive Voice: Who were not being requested by her for a job?

We hope this structure will be helpful to change the voice from active to passive voice in past continuous tense. To improve your skill, you must practice it to change this type of voice. 

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