Passive Voice: Purpose and Usage

Active learning helps students grasp the passive voice because transformation between voices requires immediate application of grammar rules. When learners shift focus from subject to object in real contexts, they internalise the purpose of passive constructions faster than through worksheets alone.

• Class 9
• English
• 4 activities
• 20 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze sentences to identify instances where the passive voice is used appropriately.
2. Compare the focus of sentences when transformed from active to passive voice.
3. Explain the stylistic reasons for preferring passive voice in news reports and scientific writing.
4. Evaluate the impact of passive voice on sentence emphasis and clarity in specific contexts.

Problem-Based Learning

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Pairs: Focus Shift Relay

Pairs write five active sentences from daily life on cards. They pass cards to another pair, who convert them to passive voice and note the focus change. Pairs then discuss and share one transformed pair with the class, explaining stylistic effects.

Prepare & details

When is it stylistically appropriate to use the passive voice, providing specific examples?

Facilitation Tip: During Focus Shift Relay, circulate and listen for students to explain the shift in emphasis while transforming sentences, not just completing the relay.

Setup: Standard classroom with movable furniture arranged for groups of 5 to 6; if furniture is fixed, groups work within rows using a designated recorder. A blackboard or whiteboard for capturing the whole-class 'need-to-know' list is essential.

Materials: Printed problem scenario cards (one per group), Structured analysis templates: 'What we know / What we need to find out / Our hypothesis', Role cards (recorder, researcher, presenter, timekeeper), Access to NCERT textbooks and any supplementary reference materials, Individual reflection sheets or exit slips with a board-exam-style application question

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Problem-Based Learning

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Small Groups: News Text Analysis

Divide class into small groups and provide news clippings. Groups underline passive constructions, rewrite select sentences in active voice, and list reasons for original passive use. Groups present findings on a class chart.

Prepare & details

Differentiate how changing from active to passive voice alters the focus of a sentence.

Facilitation Tip: For News Text Analysis, provide highlighters in two colours so students mark agents and recipients separately.

Setup: Standard classroom with movable furniture arranged for groups of 5 to 6; if furniture is fixed, groups work within rows using a designated recorder. A blackboard or whiteboard for capturing the whole-class 'need-to-know' list is essential.

Materials: Printed problem scenario cards (one per group), Structured analysis templates: 'What we know / What we need to find out / Our hypothesis', Role cards (recorder, researcher, presenter, timekeeper), Access to NCERT textbooks and any supplementary reference materials, Individual reflection sheets or exit slips with a board-exam-style application question

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Problem-Based Learning

⏱ 25 min·Whole Class

Whole Class: Context Debate

Display sentences on the board from science or news. Class votes on active or passive for given contexts, then justifies choices in a guided discussion. Teacher tallies votes to reveal patterns.

Prepare & details

Justify why news reports or scientific writing often prefer the passive voice in certain contexts.

Facilitation Tip: In Context Debate, assign roles like ‘scientist,’ ‘police officer,’ or ‘journalist’ to push students to defend voice choices based on audience needs.

Setup: Standard classroom with movable furniture arranged for groups of 5 to 6; if furniture is fixed, groups work within rows using a designated recorder. A blackboard or whiteboard for capturing the whole-class 'need-to-know' list is essential.

Materials: Printed problem scenario cards (one per group), Structured analysis templates: 'What we know / What we need to find out / Our hypothesis', Role cards (recorder, researcher, presenter, timekeeper), Access to NCERT textbooks and any supplementary reference materials, Individual reflection sheets or exit slips with a board-exam-style application question

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Problem-Based Learning

⏱ 20 min·Individual

Individual: Paragraph Rewrite

Students receive a textbook paragraph in active voice. They rewrite passages using passive where suitable, annotating reasons for changes. Collect and review select rewrites next class.

Prepare & details

When is it stylistically appropriate to use the passive voice, providing specific examples?

Setup: Standard classroom with movable furniture arranged for groups of 5 to 6; if furniture is fixed, groups work within rows using a designated recorder. A blackboard or whiteboard for capturing the whole-class 'need-to-know' list is essential.

Materials: Printed problem scenario cards (one per group), Structured analysis templates: 'What we know / What we need to find out / Our hypothesis', Role cards (recorder, researcher, presenter, timekeeper), Access to NCERT textbooks and any supplementary reference materials, Individual reflection sheets or exit slips with a board-exam-style application question

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Teach passive voice by starting with real-world texts students encounter daily, such as notices or news snippets. Research shows that comparing parallel sentences in pairs builds metalinguistic awareness better than rule-giving alone. Avoid overloading students with jargon; instead, use questions like ‘Who benefits from this focus?’ to guide their thinking.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students confidently selecting passive voice to highlight actions or recipients in formal writing. They should articulate why active voice shifts attention and justify their choices during discussions and rewrites.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Pairs: Focus Shift Relay, watch for students who assume passive voice is always wrong in formal writing.

What to Teach Instead

Use the sentence pairs from the relay to ask, ‘Which version sounds more objective in a police report?’ Guide them to see passive voice’s role in neutral tone.

Common Misconception

During Small Groups: News Text Analysis, watch for students who believe active and passive sentences convey identical meaning.

What to Teach Instead

Have groups compare ‘The government announced the policy’ with ‘The policy was announced.’ Ask them to note what changes in reader focus and why journalists might choose passive.

Common Misconception

During Whole Class: Context Debate, watch for students who think formal writing must use passive voice exclusively.

What to Teach Instead

Use the mixed-voice texts from the debate to highlight how variety keeps writing engaging, then ask groups to revise a dull paragraph by balancing active and passive sentences.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After Pairs: Focus Shift Relay, give students two passive sentences from their relay. Ask them to rewrite one with the agent included and one without, explaining how focus changes in each.

Discussion Prompt

During News Text Analysis, present two versions of the same news headline. Ask groups to discuss which version sounds more formal and why, then share their reasoning with the class.

Peer Assessment

After Whole Class: Context Debate, have students exchange their rewritten paragraphs from the Individual: Paragraph Rewrite activity. Peers check if passive voice is used to highlight the action or recipient and provide one sentence explaining their feedback.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students finishing early to rewrite a short news article using only passive voice sentences, then compare it to the original.
• Scaffolding for struggling learners: Provide sentence stems with blanks for the verb and agent, e.g., ‘The experiment ____ by the team.’
• Deeper exploration: Ask students to analyse a famous speech or advertisement to find instances where passive voice creates tone or emphasis.

Key Vocabulary

Passive Voice	A grammatical construction where the subject of the sentence receives the action, rather than performing it. It typically uses a form of the verb 'to be' followed by the past participle.
Active Voice	The standard sentence construction where the subject performs the action of the verb. It is generally more direct and concise than the passive voice.
Past Participle	The form of a verb that is used in the past tense and in perfect tenses, and also as an adjective. For passive voice, it follows the auxiliary verb 'to be'.
Agent	In a passive sentence, the agent is the person or thing performing the action, often introduced by the preposition 'by'. It is sometimes omitted in passive constructions.