Active voice to passive voice in the Present perfect tense

This post helps us understand the passive voice of the Present Perfect tense, when to write sentences in the Present Perfect tense passive voice, and how to change the active voice into the passive voice in this tense.

The passive voice of the Present Perfect tense

The Present Perfect tense is one of the most versatile tenses in the English language. Click on the Present Perfect tense to learn more about it.

Not just the passive voice of the Present Perfect tense, any sentence in the passive voice focuses on the object of the verb. When the speaker wants to focus on what’s been acted upon or that is more important than who has done it, we employ the use of the passive voice and write sentences in it.

Imagine being a management student. The teacher gave you and the other students an assignment a week ago. She expected the assignment to be done by March 6, and it is March 7 today.

She walks into the room, looks at you, and asks a question about the assignment.

“Has the assignment been done?”

Notice that she is focusing on the object of the verb. It is obvious that you are the doer here. The receiver (the assignment) is what she wants to focus on, and that’s why she has written the sentence in the passive voice of the Present Perfect tense.

If she wanted to focus on the doer, she would say, “Have you done the assignment?”

How to form a sentence in the passive voice of the Present Perfect tense?

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

Active voice	Subject + has/have + past participle (V3) + object
Passive voice	Object + has/have + been + past participle (V3) + (by + doer)

Notice that the object of the verb becomes the subject in the passive voice as it is what we focus on in the passive voice. Also, the doer of the action is not essential and often not mentioned in the passive voice.

• Jimmy has prepared the food (active voice).

• The food has been prepared (by Jimmy). (passive voice)

Both sentences are in the Present Perfect tense and render the same meaning. But they are focusing on different things. 

The first sentence, which is in the active voice, focuses on the doer of the action (subject): Jimmy. But the second sentence, which is in the passive voice, focuses on the receiver of the action (object): the food.

In the active voice, the speaker wants to focus on who (the doer) has prepared the food, and in the passive voice, the focus shifts to what (the object) has been prepared.

In the Present Perfect tense, we talk about completed actions, just to give an update on the action, or to talk about our life experiences. In the active voice of the Present Perfect tense, we talk about what someone has finished. The focus is on the doer of the action who has completed an action.

But in the passive voice of the Present Perfect tense, we talk about what has been completed or finished; who has finished it is not important in the passive voice of the Present Perfect tense.

Active to passive voice in Present Perfect tense

• Active voice: We have ordered new furniture for the guest.
• Passive voice: New furniture has been ordered for the guest (by us).

NOTE: when the entire focus is on the object of the verb, avoid adding the doer of the action to the sentence. In the sentences below, we have not added the doer of the action.

• Active voice: She has asked me not to touch the box.
• Passive voice: I have been asked not to touch the box.

• Active voice: No one has ever helped me in my studies.
• Passive voice: I have never been helped in my studies.

• Active voice: People have bought this model the most so far.
• Passive voice: This model has been bought the most so far (by people).

• Active voice: Nobody has done this before.
• Passive voice: This has never been done before (by anyone).

• Active voice: The company has fired a lot of people this year.
• Passive voice: A lot of people have been fired this year (by the company).

• Active voice: I have ordered food for everyone in the room.
• Passive voice: Food has been ordered for everyone in the room (by me).

• Active voice: Mangesh has bought a car recently.
• Passive voice: A car has been bought recently (by Mangesh).

• Active voice: They have launched the trailer of the movie.
• Passive voice: The trailer of the movie has been launched (by them).

• Active voice: The government has launched a new job portal.
• Passive voice: A new job portal has been launched (by the government).

• Active voice: They have cleared the interview.
• Passive voice: The interview has been cleared (by them).

• Active voice: The management has informed all the students about the upcoming contest.
• Passive voice: All the students have been informed about the upcoming contest.

• Active voice: You have changed something about your hair.
• Passive voice: Something about your hair has been changed.

Negative sentences

Active voice	Subject + has/have + not + past participle (V3) + object
Passive voice	Object + has/have + not + been + past participle (V3) + (by + subject/doer)

Examples:

• Active voice: I haven’t made that lesson.
• Passive voice: That lesson hasn’t been made by me.

• Active voice: She hasn’t invited me to the party.
• Passive voice: I haven’t been invited to the party by her.

• Active voice: India hasn’t lost the match yet.
• Passive voice: The match hasn’t been lost yet by India.

• Active voice: They haven’t aired the interview yet.
• Passive voice: The interview hasn’t been aired yet by them.

• Active voice: They haven’t finished the song.
• Passive voice: The song hasn’t been finished (by them).

• Active voice: The cops haven’t caught the terrorist yet.
• Passive voice: The terrorist hasn’t been caught yet.

Contractions

Have not = haven’t
Has not = hasn’t

Interrogative sentences

Active voice	Has/have +subject + past participle (V3) + object?
Passive voice	Has/have + object + been + past participle (V3) + (by + subject)?

Examples:

• Active voice: Have you called him yet?
• Passive voice: Has he been called yet?

• Active voice: Has Jyoti invited you to the party?
• Passive voice: Have you been invited to the party?

• Active voice: Have you made the plan?
• Passive voice: Has the plan been made?

• Active voice: Have they started the match?
• Passive voice: Has the match been started?

WH question words

Active voice: What have you done recently?
Passive voice: What has been done recently?

Active voice: How has she done it?
Passive voice: How has it been done?

Active voice: Where have you done it?
Passive voice: Where has it been done?

Active voice: Why has he bought this car?
Passive voice: Why has this car been bought?

Active voice: Whom have you taught?
Passive voice: Who has been taught?

Practice set!

Change the following sentences in the active voice into the passive voice of the Present Perfect tense:

1. We have adopted the dog.
2. Sam has never liked me.
3. Most people haven’t tasted this.
4. The teacher has started the lecture.
5. Have you seen him on campus?
6. My parents have supported me in whatever I do.
7. Has anyone kissed you yet?
8. Have they prepared the food?
9. Everyone has forgotten you already.
10. Your love has changed me completely.

Answers:

1. The dog has been adopted by us.
2. I have never been liked by Sam.
3. This hasn’t been tasted by most people.
4. The lecture has been started by the teacher.
5. Has he been seen on campus (by you)?
6. I have been supported in whatever I do by my parents.
7. Have you been kissed yet (by anyone)?
8. Has the food been prepared (by them)?
9. You have been forgotten by everyone already.
10. I have been changed completely by your love.