Active and Passive Voice for SSC Stenographer: Download Free PDF

If you are preparing for the SSC Stenographer exam, you already know that the English Language section is your ultimate game-changer. Unlike other SSC exams, English carries a massive 100 marks here! Out of this huge section, “Active and Passive Voice” alone will give you around 10 direct marks. Many students, especially those from a Hindi medium background, feel scared when they look at long English sentences. They try to translate the whole sentence into Hindi to understand the meaning, which wastes a lot of time. But here is a big secret: the SSC board does not want you to translate anything. They just want to check if you know a simple 2-second trick to spot the right verb. If you just look at the helping verbs, you can solve these 10 questions in less than 2 minutes. To make your preparation super easy, we have explained this topic in the simplest words and provided real exam-level questions below.

What is Active and Passive Voice? (Explained in Simple Words)

You do not need to read thick, boring grammar books to pass this section. Let us understand it with a very simple daily-life example.

• Active Voice: Here, the main hero (Subject) does the action. Example: Ram eats an apple. (Ram is the hero, and he is doing the eating).
• Passive Voice: Here, the object becomes the hero, and the action is done to it. Example: An apple is eaten by Ram. (The apple comes first, but the meaning is exactly the same).

The Biggest Magic Trick of this Chapter: In Active and Passive Voice, the Tense NEVER changes! If the Active sentence is talking about today (Present), the Passive sentence will also talk about today. If it happened yesterday (Past), it will stay in the past.

You just need to remember these 3 golden rules for Passive Voice:

1. The object comes first.
2. The verb is ALWAYS in the 3rd form (V3). Example: eat becomes eaten, write becomes written.
3. Add a helping word like by, is, are, was, were, been, or being depending on the tense.

Important Active & Passive Voice Questions for SSC Stenographer

Now you know the basic trick. But reading rules is not enough. To score full marks in the exam, you must practice real questions. Grab a pen and solve these top repeated questions below to check your speed.

Q1. Choose the correct passive voice: “He paints the wall.”

(A) The wall painted by him.
(B) The wall is painted by him.
(C) The wall was painted by him.
(D) The wall has painted by him.

Answer: (B) The wall is painted by him.

Explanation: The active sentence is in the simple present tense (“paints”). So, we use “is/am/are + V3”. The correct answer is “is painted”.e

Q2. Choose the correct passive voice: “The police caught the thief.”

(A) The thief is caught by the police.
(B) The thief had caught by the police.
(C) The thief was caught by the police.
(D) The thief catch by the police.

Answer: (C) The thief was caught by the police.

Explanation: The active sentence is in the simple past tense (“caught”). So, we use “was/were + V3”. The correct answer is “was caught”.

Q3. Choose the correct passive voice: “She is writing a letter.”

(A) A letter was written by her.
(B) A letter is written by her.
(C) A letter is being written by her.
(D) A letter has been written by her.

Answer: (C) A letter is being written by her.

Explanation: When you see an “-ing” word (writing) in active voice, the passive voice MUST have the word “being”. Option C is the only one with “being”.

Q4. Choose the correct passive voice: “They have completed the project.”

(A) The project has been completed by them.
(B) The project was completed by them.
(C) The project is completed by them.
(D) The project had been completed by them.

Answer: (A) The project has been completed by them.

Explanation: When you see “has/have” in the active voice, you just need to add the word “been” in the passive voice. Since “project” is singular, we use “has been completed”.

Q5. Choose the correct passive voice: “You must obey the rules.”

(A) The rules must obey you.
(B) The rules will be obeyed by you.
(C) The rules must be obeyed by you.
(D) The rules are obeyed by you.

Answer: (C) The rules must be obeyed by you.

Explanation: For modal verbs like must, should, can, will, we simply add “be + V3” in the passive voice. So, “must obey” becomes “must be obeyed”.

Q6. Choose the correct passive voice: “The boys were playing cricket.”

(A) Cricket was played by the boys.
(B) Cricket is being played by the boys.
(C) Cricket was being played by the boys.
(D) Cricket had been played by the boys.

Answer: (C) Cricket was being played by the boys.

Explanation: It is past continuous (“were playing”). We keep the past tense (“was”) and add “being” because of the “-ing” in playing.

Q7. Choose the correct passive voice: “Open the door.”

(A) The door is opened.
(B) Let the door be opened.
(C) The door should open.
(D) You open the door.

Answer: (B) Let the door be opened.

Explanation: For an order or command (Imperative sentence), we use the format: Let + Object + be + V3.

Q8. Choose the correct passive voice: “Did he break the window?”

(A) Is the window broken by him?
(B) Was the window broken by him?
(C) Had the window broken by him?
(D) Did the window break by him?

Answer: (B) Was the window broken by him?

Explanation: The question starts with “Did”, which means it is past tense. So, the passive voice must start with a past helping verb “Was/Were”.

Q9. Choose the correct passive voice: “I will help you.”

(A) You will help by me.
(B) You would be helped by me.
(C) You are helped by me.
(D) You will be helped by me.

Answer: (D) You will be helped by me.

Explanation: “Will help” is future tense. In passive voice, it becomes “will be + V3”. So, it changes to “will be helped”. (Never change “will” to “would” here; that happens in Direct/Indirect speech, not Passive voice).

Q10. Choose the correct passive voice: “Someone had stolen my purse.”

(A) My purse has been stolen.
(B) My purse was stolen.
(C) My purse had been stolen.
(D) My purse is stolen.

Answer: (C) My purse had been stolen.

Explanation: The active voice has “had stolen” (Past Perfect). To make it passive, we just add “been”. So, it becomes “had been stolen”. (We do not need to write “by someone”).

5 Simple Tips to Prepare Active & Passive Voice

You do not need to read full sentences to find the answer. Just use your brain smartly. Here are 5 easy tricks to master this topic quickly:

• Focus ONLY on the Verb: Look at the action word in the question. Is it past, present, or future? Then look at the options. You can easily cut out 2 or 3 wrong options in just 2 seconds.
• The Tense Never Changes: This is the biggest rule. If the question has “is/am/are”, the answer CANNOT have “was/were”. Never mix Active/Passive Voice with Direct/Indirect Speech.
• The “-ing” Trick: If the question has an “-ing” word (like eating, playing, going), the correct answer option MUST have the word “being“.
• The “Has/Have/Had” Trick: If the question has has, have, or had, the correct answer option MUST have the word “been“.
• Use the Elimination Method: Do not try to make the passive voice in your head. Just look at the 4 options and start crossing out the wrong ones.

Join our exclusive Telegram group for expert guidance, personalized tips, and real-time solutions to boost your SSC exam prep. [Click here to join now!]

Other Blogs Related To SSC Stenographer
SSC Stenographer Notification	SSC Stenographer Previous Year Question Paper
SSC Stenographer Selection Process	SSC Stenographer Eligibility Criteria
SSC Stenographer Syllabus	SSC Stenographer Cut Off

FAQs: Active & Passive Voice for SSC Stenographer Exam

1. Is Active and Passive Voice a difficult topic?

No, not at all! It is one of the most simple and highest-scoring topics in the entire English language section. You just need to follow 3 to 4 basic verb rules.

2. How many questions come from this topic in the SSC Stenographer exam?

Because the English section carries 100 marks, you can comfortably expect around 10 direct questions just from Active and Passive Voice!

3. Do I need to translate sentences to Hindi to solve them?

Absolutely not. Translating wastes a lot of time and confuses your brain. Just use the “Helping Verb Trick” to find the right option in 5 seconds.

4. Does the tense change in Passive voice?

No! This is the most common mistake students make. The tense never changes in Active/Passive voice. Changing tense (like “is” to “was”) only happens in Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration).

5. Is there a negative marking for wrong English answers?

Yes, there is a negative marking (usually 1/3rd or 0.25 marks depending on the latest notification) for every wrong answer in the SSC Stenographer exam. Do not guess blindly.