Active and Passive Verbs: Know About JSS1, JSS2, JSS3 & KS2

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Muhammad Irfan Abid

M Irfan Abid is an English grammar expert, educator, and content creator with over 10 years of experience in teaching and developing English language resources. As the founder of englishfy.net, he is passionate about simplifying complex grammar concepts for students, competitive exam aspirants, and ESL learners across the globe.

I still remember the day a JSS2 student walked up to my desk, essay in hand, completely frustrated.

“Sir, I keep getting marked wrong for my sentences — but they make sense to me!”

I read her work. Every sentence was grammatically possible, but the writing felt heavy, unclear, and oddly distant. She had written things like: “The ball was kicked by John” when she meant “John kicked the ball.”

She wasn’t wrong — she just didn’t understand that there are two different ways to construct a sentence, and that choosing the wrong one for the wrong situation costs marks.

That was the day I built my most detailed lesson on active and passive verbs. And this article is a cleaned-up version of everything I taught her — and have since taught hundreds of students across JSS1, JSS2, JSS3, and KS2 levels.

Let’s get into it.

What Are Active Verbs?

An active verb is one where the subject of the sentence is doing the action. The doer is in front. The verb belongs to them directly.

Think of it like this: the subject is the boss. The boss acts first.

Structure: Subject + Verb + Object

Examples:

• The dog chased the cat.
• Amina wrote the letter.
• Our teacher explained the rule.
• The boys played football after school.
• Lightning struck the tree.

In every one of those sentences, the subject is doing something. The dog is chasing. Amina is writing. The teacher is explaining. That’s active voice — direct, clear, energetic.

What Are Passive Verbs?

A passive verb is one where the subject of the sentence is receiving the action, not doing it. Something is happening to the subject.

The doer either comes later (introduced by “by”) or disappears from the sentence entirely.

Structure: Subject + form of “to be” + past participle (+ by + doer — optional)

Examples:

• The cat was chased by the dog.
• The letter was written by Amina.
• The rule was explained by our teacher.
• Football was played after school.
• The tree was struck by lightning.

Notice in that fourth example — “Football was played after school” — we don’t even know who played. The doer has vanished. That’s perfectly fine in passive voice.

How to Spot the Difference Instantly

Here’s the fastest trick I teach my students:

Look for “to be” + past participle.

If you see was, is, were, has been, will be, had been followed by a past participle (a verb form like eaten, broken, written, kicked, made) — you’ve found passive voice.

Active and Passive Verbs for JSS1

At JSS1 level, the focus is on understanding the basic concept and recognising the difference between active and passive sentences.

What JSS1 students need to know:

The simplest way I explain it to JSS1 students is this:

“In active voice, the subject is strong and acts. In passive voice, the subject is weak — it just sits there and receives.”

JSS1 Examples — Active:

• Mother cooked the rice. (Mother is doing the action)
• The boy broke the cup. (The boy is doing the action)
• Chidi read the book. (Chidi is doing the action)

JSS1 Examples — Passive:

• The rice was cooked by mother.
• The cup was broken by the boy.
• The book was read by Chidi.

JSS1 Exercise tip: Give students pairs of sentences and ask them to identify which is active and which is passive. Simple recognition first — production comes later.

You should learn Active Voice Vs Passive Voice

Active and Passive Verbs for JSS2

JSS2 is where things get slightly more serious. Students are now expected to not only identify active and passive constructions but also to convert one into the other.

The conversion formula:

Active → Passive:

1. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Add the correct form of “to be.”
3. Change the main verb to its past participle form.
4. The original subject becomes “by + agent” (or is dropped).

JSS2 Conversion Examples:

Active: The farmer planted the seeds. Passive: The seeds were planted by the farmer.

Active: Our principal will address the students. Passive: The students will be addressed by our principal.

Active: Someone has stolen my bag. Passive: My bag has been stolen.

Notice the last one — when the subject is vague (someone, people, they), it gets dropped entirely in the passive. That’s one of the most common JSS2 exam patterns.

Common JSS2 mistake: Students write “The seeds was planted” instead of “The seeds were planted.” Subject-verb agreement changes when you switch to passive. Seeds is plural, so it needs were, not was.

Active and Passive Verbs for JSS3

By JSS3, students are preparing for BECE and other qualifying exams. The passive voice expectations are higher — they must handle all tenses correctly and understand why passive is used, not just how.

JSS3 — All tense conversions:

JSS3 students also need to understand object pronouns in passive sentences.

When the subject moves to the “by + agent” position, pronouns change:

• I → by me
• He → by him
• She → by her
• They → by them
• We → by us

Active: She invited him. Passive: He was invited by her.

Not “by she” — that’s the most common pronoun error at JSS3 level, and it costs marks in exams every year.

Active and Passive Verbs for KS2

KS2 is the UK primary curriculum (Years 3–6, roughly ages 7–11). The focus here is gentler — students learn to recognise passive voice and understand why writers choose it.

The KS2 national curriculum specifically introduces passive voice in Year 6 as part of grammar for writing.

How I explain it to KS2 students:

I use a simple drama metaphor:

“Imagine a play. In active voice, the hero walks on stage first and does everything. In passive voice, something happens to the hero — and we don’t always know who did it.”

KS2-friendly examples:

• Active: The dog ate my homework.
• Passive: My homework was eaten by the dog.
• Active: The teacher marked our books.
• Passive: Our books were marked.
• Active: Someone left the door open.
• Passive: The door was left open.

KS2 focus activity: Give students mystery sentences in passive voice — “The cake was eaten.” “The window was broken.” “The letter was hidden.” — and ask them to write a story around the mystery. This makes the grammar creative and memorable.

KS2 key terminology to know:

• Subject
• Verb
• Object
• Past participle
• Active voice
• Passive voice

Uses of Active and Passive Voice — With Examples

Understanding when to use each one is what separates good writers from average ones.

Use active voice for:

1. Storytelling and creative writing Active voice creates pace and excitement.

• “The lion leaped across the river and landed at her feet.” That’s gripping. Put it in passive and watch it die: “The river was leaped across by the lion and her feet were landed at.” Terrible.

2. Giving instructions

• “Open the book. Read the passage. Answer the questions.” All active. All clear. Instructions should almost always be active.

3. News writing and journalism

• “Police arrested three suspects this morning.” Direct, factual, fast.

4. Emails and professional communication

• “I will send you the report by Friday.” Clear ownership. Clear commitment.

Use passive voice for:

1. Scientific and academic writing

• “The experiment was conducted over three days.”
• “The samples were tested at room temperature.” In science, the process matters more than who performed it.

2. When the doer is unknown

• “The painting was stolen sometime between midnight and 3am.” We don’t know who did it — passive voice handles this perfectly.

3. When the doer is obvious or unimportant

• “The president was elected in November.” We know it was voters. No need to state it.

4. Formal announcements

• “All students are requested to assemble in the hall.” This is deliberate formality — passive fits perfectly here.

Learn how to convert Present Indefinite Tense to Passive Voice

Mistakes to Avoid

I’ve marked thousands of papers. These are the errors I see again and again.

Mistake 1: Wrong “to be” form

• ❌ The cakes was baked.
• ✅ The cakes were baked. (Cakes is plural — use were)

Mistake 2: Using the wrong pronoun in the “by” phrase

• ❌ The song was sung by she.
• ✅ The song was sung by her.

Mistake 3: Forgetting the past participle

• ❌ The door was broke by the wind.
• ✅ The door was broken by the wind.

Mistake 4: Adding “by” when it’s unnecessary

• ❌ A mistake was made by someone.
• ✅ A mistake was made. (Drop vague agents)

Mistake 5: Switching voice mid-paragraph without reason Writing two active sentences then suddenly one passive for no reason creates a jarring reading experience. Pick a voice and stay consistent unless you have a reason to change.

Mistake 6: Thinking passive is always formal Some students use passive voice everywhere because they think it sounds academic. It doesn’t — it sounds evasive. Active voice can be just as formal and is usually clearer.

Quiz

FAQs

A Final Word

Grammar rules like active and passive voice can feel abstract until you see them in your own writing — and suddenly you can’t stop noticing them everywhere.

That JSS2 student who came to me frustrated? She went on to score an A in her English Language exam. Not because she memorised rules, but because she understood why the rules exist.

Active voice puts the actor in charge. Passive voice shifts the focus to what happened. Both have their place. The writer who knows when to use each one — that’s the writer who stands out.

Start reading your sentences differently today. Ask yourself: who is doing the action, and should they be at the front?

Most of the time, the answer is yes.