Understanding Active and Passive Voice

In English grammar, sentences can be written in either active voice or passive voice. The active voice emphasizes the subject performing the action, while the passive voice emphasizes the action itself and the object receiving the action.

• Active Voice: Subject > Verb > Object
• Passive Voice: Object > Verb (be + past participle) > by > Subject (optional)

Analysing the Given Sentence

The given sentence is "I like my new office."

Let's break down this sentence:

• Subject: I
• Verb: like (simple present tense)
• Object: my new office

This sentence is in the active voice because the subject "I" is performing the action "like" on the object "my new office". We need to convert this simple present active sentence into its passive form.

Converting Simple Present Active to Passive Voice

The rule for changing a simple present tense sentence from active to passive voice is:

Active: Subject + Verb (base form or s/es) + Object

Passive: Object + is/am/are + Past Participle of the Verb + (by + Subject)

Step-by-Step Transformation

Let's apply the rule to "I like my new office":

1. Identify the Object: The object is "my new office". This becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Identify the Verb and its tense: The verb is "like", which is in the simple present tense. The past participle of "like" is "liked".
3. Choose the correct form of 'be': The new subject is "my new office" (singular). For simple present passive with a singular subject, we use "is".
4. Add the Past Participle: Combine "is" with the past participle "liked" → "is liked".
5. Add "(by + Subject)": The original subject is "I". In the passive voice, this becomes "by me".

Putting it all together:

My new office + is + liked + by me

The passive form of "I like my new office" is "My new office is liked by me."

Evaluating the Options

Let's look at the provided options and compare them to our correct passive form:

• Option 1: "I am liking my new office."

  This is in the present continuous active voice. It is not a passive form and the tense is different from the original simple present sentence.

• Option 2: "My new office was liked by me."

  This sentence is in the simple past passive voice. The original sentence is in the simple present tense, so the passive form must also be in the simple present tense.

• Option 3: "My new office has been liked by me."

  This sentence is in the present perfect passive voice. The original sentence is in the simple present tense, so the passive form must match the simple present tense.

• Option 4: "My new office is liked by me."

  This sentence correctly follows the structure for the simple present passive voice: Object ("My new office") + is + Past Participle ("liked") + by + Subject ("me"). This matches our derived passive form.

Based on the analysis, Option 4 is the correct passive form of the given sentence.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice (Simple Present)

Additional Information: Uses of Passive Voice

The passive voice is commonly used in the following situations:

• When the doer of the action (the subject) is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from the context.
• When you want to emphasize the action itself or the object of the action rather than the doer.
• In formal writing, scientific reports, and news articles, where objectivity is preferred.
• To avoid naming the subject when discussing something negative.

For example:

• "The window was broken." (The person who broke it is unknown or not important)
• "Electricity is generated by turbines." (Focus is on how electricity is generated)
• "The experiment was conducted successfully." (Common in scientific reporting)

However, using the active voice generally makes writing clearer, more direct, and more engaging.