Active Voice: Structure and Identification for CMAT

2026-06-27

In the Verbal Ability section of the CMAT exam, understanding voice is crucial for solving sentence correction, spot-the-error, and voice conversion questions. Active Voice is the default, most direct way of constructing sentences in English. Mastering its structure helps you write clearly and solve exam questions with high accuracy.

What is Active Voice?

In the Active Voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb. This structure is direct, concise, and dynamic.

$$\text{Subject (Doer)} + \text{Verb} + \text{Object (Receiver)}$$

• Example: "The manager approved the budget."
  • Subject (Doer): The manager
  • Verb (Action): approved
  • Object (Receiver): the budget

Active Voice Structures Across Major Tenses

In CMAT questions, you must quickly recognize tense structures in the active voice. Here is a summary of active structures across different tenses:

1. Present Tense

• Simple Present: $\text{Subject} + \text{V}_1/\text{V}_5 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She coordinates the project."
• Present Continuous: $\text{Subject} + \text{is/am/are} + \text{V}_4 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She is coordinating the project."
• Present Perfect: $\text{Subject} + \text{has/have} + \text{V}_3 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She has coordinated the project."

2. Past Tense

• Simple Past: $\text{Subject} + \text{V}_2 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She coordinated the project."
• Past Continuous: $\text{Subject} + \text{was/were} + \text{V}_4 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She was coordinating the project."
• Past Perfect: $\text{Subject} + \text{had} + \text{V}_3 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She had coordinated the project."

3. Future Tense

• Simple Future: $\text{Subject} + \text{will/shall} + \text{V}_1 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She will coordinate the project."
• Future Perfect: $\text{Subject} + \text{will have} + \text{V}_3 + \text{Object}$
  • Example: "She will have coordinated the project."

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

How to Convert Passive Voice to Active Voice

Many CMAT questions ask you to choose the correct active form of a passive sentence. Follow these steps to convert correctly:

1. Identify the actual doer (agent): Look for the noun or pronoun after "by" in the passive sentence. If the agent is missing (e.g., "The book was stolen"), assume a logical subject like someone, they, or we.
2. Make the doer the subject: Place this agent at the beginning of the active sentence.
3. Identify the tense of the passive verb: Look at the auxiliary "be" verb ($\text{is, are, was, were, been, being}$) to determine the original tense.
4. Change the verb to active form: Remove the "be" verb and use the appropriate active verb conjugation.
5. Move the original subject: Place the original subject (the receiver) into the object position.

Worked Examples

Example 1

Passive: "A beautiful song was sung by Rita."

• Step 1: Identify the doer $\rightarrow$ Rita.
• Step 2: Identify the tense $\rightarrow$ was sung indicates Simple Past.
• Step 3: Change verb to Simple Past active $\rightarrow$ sang.
• Step 4: Combine $\rightarrow$ "Rita sang a beautiful song."
• Correct Active Form: "Rita sang a beautiful song."

Example 2

Passive: "The culprit has been arrested."

• Step 1: Identify the doer $\rightarrow$ The doer is unstated, but legally it is the police.
• Step 2: Identify the tense $\rightarrow$ has been arrested indicates Present Perfect.
• Step 3: Change verb to Present Perfect active $\rightarrow$ has/have arrested.
• Step 4: Combine $\rightarrow$ "The police have arrested the culprit."
• Correct Active Form: "The police have arrested the culprit."

Common Traps in CMAT Voice Questions

• Tense Shifting: A common trap is changing the tense during conversion (e.g., converting a simple past passive sentence into a past perfect active sentence). Always match the tenses strictly.
• Intransitive Verbs: Verbs that do not take a direct object (e.g., laugh, sleep, arrive, go) cannot be used in the passive voice. If you see a passive option containing these verbs, it is grammatically incorrect.
• Wrong Subject in Omitted Agent Sentences: If the passive sentence lacks an agent, select the option that supplies the most logical, grammatically correct subject.

Quick Revision List

• Active voice emphasizes the agent: $\text{Subject} + \text{Verb} + \text{Object}$.
• Always identify the original tense before converting sentences.
• Avoid choosing options that unnecessarily alter the meaning or tone of the original sentence.

Practise these as timed MCQs to lock the pattern in.