Changing active to passive voice in Present continuous tense

Sentences in English are either written in the active voice or the passive voice. In this post, we learn how to write sentences of the Present Continuous tense in active and passive voice, and how to change the active voice into passive voice.

The Present Continuous tense, also known as the Present progressive tense, talks about actions that are taking place in the present.

Active and passive voice of the Present Continuous tense

A sentence in the Present Continuous tense active voice indicates that someone is doing something in the present. But in the passive voice, the sentence indicates that something/someone is being acted upon in the present. In the passive voice, the object (the receiver of the action) is what the speaker focuses on.

• She is judging the act. (active voice)

The subject (doer of the action) = she
The verb phrase = is judging
The object (receiver of the action) = the act

• The act is being judged (by her). (Passive voice)

The object (new subject) = the act (receiver of the action)
The verb phrase = is being judged
The doer of the action = her

Both sentences are in the Present Continuous tense but focus on different things. The sentence in the active voice focuses on the person performing the action (the subject), and the sentence in the passive voice focuses on the receiver of the action (the object of the verb).

Study the following structures to understand how to write sentences in the active and passive voice of the Present Continuous tense:

Active voice	Subject (doer of the action)	is/am/are	V1+ing (present participle)	object
Passive voice	Object (receiver of the action)	is/am/are + being	past participle (V3)	By + the doer of the action (optional)

Notice that the object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice as it is what the writer focuses on in the passive voice. Who has done the action is not important in the passive voice, it is the object that the focus is placed on.

In the active voice of the Present Continuous tense, we focus on the person who is doing an action currently in the present.

In the passive voice of the Present continuous tense, we focus on the object (the receiver of the action) that is receiving the action in the present. The verb tense, here, is formed using “is/am/are + being + V3.”

Examples:

• Active voice: Ashish is teaching English at this university.
• Passive voice: English is being taught by Ashish at this university.
  
• Active voice: They are making a movie about me.
• Passive voice: A movie about me is being made (by them).

• Active voice: Robots are serving food here.
• Passive voice: Food is being served by robots here.

• Active voice: They are taking interviews for different posts.
• Passive voice: Interviews for different posts are being taken (by them).

• Active voice: The police are interrogating him right now.
• Passive voice: He is being interrogated (by the police) right now.

• Active voice: Everybody is watching the final match.
• Passive voice: The final match is being watched by everyone.

• Active voice: Who is helping you with your project?
• Passive voice: Whom are you being helped by in this project?

• Active voice: Ron is not training the kids.
• Passive voice: The kids are not being trained (by Ron).

• Active voice: Are they playing cricket right now?
• Passive voice: Is cricket being played by them right now?

• Active voice: Why is he not helping us?
• Passive voice: Why are we not being helped by him?

In the passive voice, the doer of the action, generally, is not mentioned as the focus is on the receiver of the action. It happens as the subject is either less important, understood, or unnecessary to mention.

Examples:

• His interview is being taken.
• The employees are being trained on emotional intelligence in the meeting room.
• The final match is being played at Wankhede Stadium.
• The next video is being recorded.
• Students are being punished for tricking the class teacher.
• Some people are being arrested on the road.
• Why am I being punished for a mistake I didn’t even make?

Note that in the above examples, we haven’t added the doer of the action as it is not what we are focusing on.

Change the active voice of the Present continuous tense into the passive voice!

Sentences in the active voice:

1. She is cooking food.
2. My parents are making budget plans.
3. The school is organizing a picnic.
4. Everyone is praising your work.
5. How are they doing it?
6. I am not doing anything these days.
7. Whom are you dating now?
8. Is he not doing anything?
9. Where are you giving classes?
10. Jon is discussing something important.

Answers:

1. Food is being cooked (by her).
2. Budget plans are being made (by my parents).
3. A picnic is being organized (by the school).
4. Your work is being praised (by everyone).
5. How is it being done (by them)?
6. Nothing is being done these days (by me).
7. Who is being dated (by you now)?
8. Is nothing being done (by him)?
9. Where are classes being given by you?
10. Something important is being discussed (by Jon).

Use of IS/AM/ARE

IS	he, she, it & singular noun names (Jon, Roxy, mother, doctor, chair, etc.)
AM	I (first-person pronoun)
ARE	you, we, they & plural noun names (people, friends, parents, doctors, chairs, etc.)

FAQs