Converting Passive Voice to Active Voice: Step-by-Step Analysis

Understanding how to convert sentences between active voice and passive voice is a crucial part of English grammar. The given sentence, "I am paid weekly by my organisation," is in the passive voice. Our task is to transform this sentence into the active voice while keeping the original meaning and tense intact.

Identifying the Elements in the Passive Sentence

Let's break down the original passive voice sentence:

• Subject: "I" (This person is receiving the action)
• Verb Phrase: "am paid" (This is the passive form of the verb 'pay' in the present simple tense)
• Agent (Doer of the action): "my organisation" (Introduced by 'by')
• Other information: "weekly" (Describes how often the action happens)

Rules for Converting Passive to Active Voice

To convert a sentence from passive voice to active voice:

1. Identify the agent (the doer of the action) in the passive sentence. This agent will become the subject in the active sentence. The agent is often found after the word 'by'.
2. Identify the verb tense in the passive sentence. The active verb must be in the same tense. The passive form 'be + past participle' tells you the tense. 'am paid' uses the present simple form of 'be' ('am'), indicating the present simple tense.
3. The subject of the passive sentence becomes the object of the active sentence. Remember to use the correct pronoun form (e.g., 'I' becomes 'me', 'he' becomes 'him').
4. Remove the passive structure ('be' verb and 'by').

Applying the Rules to the Sentence

Let's apply these rules to "I am paid weekly by my organisation":

• Agent becomes subject: "my organisation" becomes the new subject.
• Maintain the tense: The passive verb "am paid" is present simple passive. The active verb needs to be present simple active. The present simple active form of 'pay' with the subject "my organisation" (singular third person) is "pays".
• Passive subject becomes active object: "I" becomes "me".
• Keep other information: "weekly" stays in the sentence.

Combining these elements, the active voice sentence is: "My organisation pays me weekly."

Evaluating the Options

Now let's look at the given options:

• Option 1: My organisation will pay me weekly.

  This sentence is in the future simple active tense ("will pay"). The original sentence is in the present simple passive tense. The tense has changed, so this option is incorrect.

• Option 2: My organisation pays me weekly.

  This sentence is in the present simple active tense ("pays"). This matches the present simple tense of the original passive sentence ("am paid") and correctly identifies "my organisation" as the subject performing the action on "me". This option correctly converts the voice while maintaining the tense and meaning.

• Option 3: My organisation paid me weekly.

  This sentence is in the past simple active tense ("paid"). The original sentence is in the present simple passive tense. The tense has changed to past simple, so this option is incorrect.

• Option 4: My organisation would pay me weekly.

  This sentence uses the conditional "would pay". This changes the mood and meaning of the sentence compared to the simple statement of fact in the original passive sentence. This option is incorrect.

Based on the analysis, only Option 2 correctly transforms the sentence from passive voice to active voice while preserving the original tense (present simple) and meaning.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice Conversion

Additional Information on Active and Passive Voice

What is Active Voice?

In active voice, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb. The structure is typically: Subject + Verb + Object.

• Example: The cat chased the mouse. (The cat is the subject doing the chasing).

What is Passive Voice?

In passive voice, the subject receives the action. The structure is typically: Object (becomes subject) + Be verb + Past Participle + (optional) by + Agent.

• Example: The mouse was chased by the cat. (The mouse is the subject receiving the chasing action).

Why use one over the other?

• Active voice is usually preferred because it is more direct, clear, and concise.
• Passive voice is used when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or when you want to emphasize the action or the receiver of the action rather than the doer.
• In the original sentence "I am paid weekly by my organisation," the emphasis is on 'I' and the fact that 'I' get paid. Converting it to active voice "My organisation pays me weekly" shifts the focus slightly to 'my organisation' as the entity doing the paying, but is often considered a more standard and direct way to express this idea.