What Is Voice? Active vs Passive: WASSCE English Language

Look at these two sentences. They describe the same event.

Aminata wrote the letter.
The letter was written by Aminata.

Both are correct. Both mean the same thing. But the focus is different. In the first sentence, Aminata is at the start — she is the subject, and we are telling a story about her. In the second, the letter is at the start — it is now the subject, and we are telling a story about it. The grammatical device that lets you flip the same idea between these two forms is called voice.

This topic covers voice from start to finish: what active and passive mean, how to transform one into the other, when to use which, and the errors that drop marks in WAEC objectives and essays.

This lesson is the opener. It defines voice, shows the basic active and passive patterns, and walks through why English bothers having two voices at all.

Definition

Voice is the grammatical form of a verb that shows whether the subject of the sentence is doing the action or receiving it.

In the active voice, the subject does the action: Aminata wrote the letter. The subject (Aminata) is the doer.
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action: The letter was written by Aminata. The subject (the letter) is the receiver.

The basic transformation

Take any active sentence with a direct object. The transformation to passive follows three steps.

Active: Aminata wrote the letter.

Subject of active: Aminata
Verb of active: wrote
Object of active: the letter

Step 1. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

The letter ...

Step 2. The verb shifts to be (in the same tense) + the past participle of the main verb.

The letter was written ...

Step 3. The subject of the active sentence becomes optional — added at the end with by, or dropped entirely.

The letter was written by Aminata. (full passive)
The letter was written. (passive with the agent dropped — often preferred when the agent is unknown or unimportant)

The pattern in one table

Active	Passive
Subject	(moves to end with by or is dropped)
Verb	be + past participle (same tense)
Object	becomes the new subject

Apply this pattern to any sentence in the active voice and you get the passive version.

Why English has two voices

The active voice is the default. It is more direct, usually shorter, and gives a clear picture of who did what. So why does English bother with the passive?

Five reasons. WAEC tests when each applies.

1. When the doer is unknown

If you do not know who did the action, the passive lets you describe what happened without inventing a subject.

My phone was stolen last night. (I do not know who stole it)
The window has been broken. (I do not know who broke it)
Mistakes were made. (a classic political non-answer — using the passive to avoid naming who is at fault)

2. When the doer is unimportant

Sometimes you know who did the action, but the listener does not care. The passive lets you focus on the result, not the actor.

The road was repaired last year. (we know contractors did it, but who specifically is not the point)
The school was built in 1958. (the builders are not the focus; the date is)
Rice is grown in many parts of West Africa. (farmers grow it — but the agent is generic)

3. When the doer is generic — people, they, everyone

When the agent is just people in general, the passive is more elegant than naming a vague subject.

Krio is spoken throughout Sierra Leone. (instead of People speak Krio throughout Sierra Leone)
Football is played in every country. (instead of Everyone plays football)
English is taught at every school. (instead of Teachers teach English at every school)

4. When the receiver is more important than the doer

If the focus of the sentence is the thing that received the action, the passive lets you put it first.

The bridge was opened by the president. (the bridge is the topic; the president is just there)
The Nobel Prize was awarded to Wole Soyinka in 1986. (the prize is the topic)
The thief was caught by the police. (the focus is on the thief, not the police)

5. In formal, scientific, and official writing

Reports, lab notes, and official documents prefer the passive because it sounds objective and impersonal.

The experiment was conducted in June. (rather than We conducted the experiment in June)
Applications must be submitted by Friday. (rather than You must submit applications by Friday)
Three samples were collected from each site.

WAEC formal-letter and report-writing tasks often reward correct use of the passive in this style.

Why students should NOT overuse the passive

Despite its uses, the passive is not automatically a sign of good writing. Many students think more passive = more formal = better essay. That is wrong.

The passive is harder to read. It hides who did what. It often takes more words. Use it when the meaning calls for it — not as a default.

❌ A letter was written by Aminata to her mother on the day before the journey.
✓ Aminata wrote a letter to her mother the day before the journey.

The active version is shorter, clearer, and more natural. Use the active voice by default; switch to passive only when one of the five reasons above applies.

In Sierra Leone

A short paragraph showing both voices working together, each used where it fits:

Last week, Aminata visited Bo for her cousin's wedding. The ceremony was held at the local church, and the reception was organised by the bride's family. Mariama cooked the jollof rice — three large pots of it, enough for two hundred guests. The food was served in the courtyard, where tables had been set up under the mango trees. By eight o'clock, everyone had eaten and the music had started. Aminata danced with her cousins until midnight.

Voice choices:

Active: Aminata visited, Mariama cooked, everyone had eaten, the music had started, Aminata danced — the doer is named and worth mentioning.
Passive: The ceremony was held, the reception was organised, the food was served, tables had been set up — the doer is either unimportant (was held — who exactly held it?) or generic (workers, family — the focus is on the action and the receiver).

A paragraph entirely in the active would sound less natural. A paragraph entirely in the passive would feel cold and impersonal. The mix is what makes it read well.

A first look at voice across tenses

The passive uses the form of be that matches the tense of the active verb. Here is the preview — Lesson 3 covers the full table.

Active tense	Passive equivalent
Aminata writes letters. (simple present)	Letters are written by Aminata.
Aminata wrote the letter. (simple past)	The letter was written by Aminata.
Aminata will write the letter. (simple future)	The letter will be written by Aminata.
Aminata is writing the letter. (present continuous)	The letter is being written by Aminata.
Aminata has written the letter. (present perfect)	The letter has been written by Aminata.

The pattern is always be (in the right tense) + past participle. Once you can identify the tense of the active verb, you can build the passive form.

What CAN and CANNOT be made passive

Only transitive verbs can be made passive. A transitive verb has a direct object that can become the new subject. We covered this in the Verbs topic, Lesson 3.

✓ Aminata wrote the letter. (transitive — the letter is the direct object)
✓ The letter was written by Aminata. (passive)
✓ The baby slept. (intransitive — no direct object)
❌ Was slept by the baby. (cannot be made passive — nothing to be the new subject)
✓ Aminata is a student. (linking verb — a student is a complement, not an object)
❌ A student is been by Aminata. (linking verbs cannot be made passive)

If the active verb is intransitive or linking, the sentence cannot be made passive. WAEC sometimes tests this with a trick question: it asks for the passive form of an intransitive sentence, and the correct answer is cannot be made passive.

Worked example

For each sentence, identify it as active or passive. If active and possible, give the passive form. If passive, give the active.

Mariama cooked the food.
The food was eaten by everyone.
The baby is sleeping.
Foday is a doctor.
The letter has been posted.
Aminata will finish the essay tomorrow.

Work through:

Active. Passive: The food was cooked by Mariama.
Passive. Active: Everyone ate the food.
Active, but intransitive — sleep has no direct object. Cannot be made passive.
Active, but is is a linking verb. Cannot be made passive.
Passive (no agent given). Active: Someone has posted the letter. (or with a specific agent: Aminata has posted the letter.)
Active. Passive: The essay will be finished by Aminata tomorrow.

Common mistake

Three early errors to start watching for:

1. Treating every was + verb form as passive.

Aminata was cooking jollof rice. (this is past continuous active, NOT passive — cooking is the -ing form, not the past participle)
The rice was cooked by Aminata. (this is past passive — cooked is the past participle)

The key is the verb form after was / were: -ing form → active continuous; past participle → passive.

2. Forgetting to change the verb form.

❌ The letter was wrote by Aminata.
✓ The letter was written by Aminata.

The passive needs the past participle, not the past tense form.

3. Making linking and intransitive verbs passive.

❌ A student is been by Aminata. (be is linking — cannot passivise)
❌ Was arrived by Mariama. (arrive is intransitive — cannot passivise)

WAEC tests this

Voice appears in WAEC in two main early patterns (more in later lessons):

Identify the voice of a sentence: The letter was written yesterday. Is this active or passive? Answer: passive.
Transform active to passive (or passive to active): a sentence is given and you must write the equivalent in the other voice.
Recognise that a sentence cannot be passivised: when the verb is intransitive or linking.

Lesson 2 covers the transformation in full detail. Lesson 3 walks through every tense.

Quick self-check

Identify each sentence as active or passive. Answers below.

The food has been prepared.
Mariama prepared the food.
Foday is reading a novel.
The novel is being read by Foday.
Aminata will finish her essay tonight.
The essay will be finished tonight.
The baby slept for two hours.

Answers

Passive (has been prepared — have/has been + past participle)
Active (Mariama is the doer)
Active (past participle missing; reading is -ing, so this is continuous active)
Passive (is being read — being + past participle)
Active (Aminata is the doer)
Passive (no agent given, but will be finished is the pattern)
Active — and intransitive, so it has no passive form

What's next

In the next lesson we walk step-by-step through how to form the passive — the exact mechanics of moving the object to the subject position, changing the verb, and deciding what to do with the original subject. We cover every common transformation pattern with worked examples.

What Is Voice? Active vs Passive