Pronoun Converters for Active and Passive Voice

Pronoun Converters for Active and Passive Voice: Complete Guide

When you change a sentence from active voice to passive voice (or back again), it’s not just the verb that changes — the pronouns change too. A pronoun that was the subject in the active sentence often becomes the object in the passive sentence, and vice versa.

This small detail trips up many learners. Saying “The cake was eaten by I” instead of “The cake was eaten by me” is a classic mistake. In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how pronouns shift between active and passive voice, with full tables, examples across tenses, and a free tool to convert pronouns instantly.

Why Pronouns Change in Passive Voice

In active voice, the structure is:

Subject + Verb + Object

The subject performs the action, so it takes a subjective pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).

In passive voice, the structure flips:

Object (new subject) + be + Past Participle + by + Agent (old subject)

The original subject moves to the end of the sentence as the “agent,” introduced by “by” — and because it now follows a preposition, it must become an objective pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).

Simple Example

• Active: She wrote the letter.
• Passive: The letter was written by her.

“She” (subjective) became “her” (objective) because it moved from being the subject to being the object of the preposition “by.”

The Pronoun Conversion Table for Active ↔ Passive Voice

This table works in both directions:

• Converting active → passive: subjective pronoun → objective pronoun (after “by”)
• Converting passive → active: objective pronoun (after “by”) → subjective pronoun

What Happens to the Object Pronoun in the Active Sentence?

There’s a second shift happening at the same time. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence — so an objective pronoun becomes a subjective pronoun.

Example With Both Pronouns Changing

• Active: He helped them.
• Passive: They were helped by him.

Notice both pronouns swapped roles:

• “He” (subject → subjective) became “him” (agent → objective)
• “them” (object → objective) became “they” (subject → subjective)

Pronoun Conversion Across All Tenses

The pronoun rule stays the same no matter the tense — only the auxiliary verb and participle change.

Present Indefinite

• Active: I clean the room.
• Passive: The room is cleaned by me.

Present Continuous

• Active: She is feeding the cat.
• Passive: The cat is being fed by her.

Present Perfect

• Active: We have finished the work.
• Passive: The work has been finished by us.

Past Indefinite

• Active: They repaired the car.
• Passive: The car was repaired by them.

Past Continuous

• Active: He was watching the movie.
• Passive: The movie was being watched by him.

Past Perfect

• Active: You had completed the assignment.
• Passive: The assignment had been completed by you.

Future Indefinite

• Active: I will deliver the package.
• Passive: The package will be delivered by me.

Future Perfect

• Active: She will have finished the report.
• Passive: The report will have been finished by her.

In every example, the bolded pronoun follows the same subjective → objective shift, regardless of tense.

Step-by-Step: Converting Pronouns When Changing Voice

1. Identify the subject and object in the active sentence.
2. Move the object to the front — it becomes the new subject, so convert it to a subjective pronoun if needed.
3. Move the original subject to the end after “by” — convert it to an objective pronoun.
4. Adjust the verb into the correct passive form (be + past participle) for the tense.

Worked Example

Active: They invited us to the party.

• Step 1: Subject = “They,” Object = “us”
• Step 2: “us” → “we” (becomes new subject)
• Step 3: “They” → “them” (becomes the agent after “by”)
• Step 4: Verb “invited” → “were invited”

Passive: We were invited to the party by them.

Special Cases and Exceptions

“You” and “It” Don’t Change

Since “you” and “it” are identical in subjective and objective forms, they don’t visibly change — only their position and the verb form change.

• Active: You completed the task.
• Passive: The task was completed by you.
• Active: It damaged the wall.
• Passive: The wall was damaged by it.

When the Agent Is Omitted

In many natural-sounding passive sentences, the “by + pronoun” phrase is dropped entirely if the doer isn’t important:

• Active: Someone stole my phone.
• Passive (with agent): My phone was stolen by someone.
• Passive (more natural): My phone was stolen.

In these cases, no pronoun conversion is needed because the agent disappears altogether.

Reflexive and Possessive Pronouns Aren’t Converted the Same Way

This subjective ↔ objective shift only applies to personal pronouns (I/me, he/him, etc.). Possessive pronouns (my, his, her, our) and reflexive pronouns (myself, himself, ourselves) follow different rules and aren’t part of this conversion.

Common Mistakes With Pronouns in Passive Voice

Mistake 1: Forgetting to convert the agent pronoun

❌ “The award was given to the team by they.” ✅ “The award was given to the team by them.”

Mistake 2: Converting the wrong pronoun

❌ “Him was praised by the manager.” (should remain subjective since it’s now the subject) ✅ “He was praised by the manager.”

Mistake 3: Leaving “I” uncapitalized after conversion

❌ “The cake was baked by i.” ✅ “The cake was baked by me.” (note: “I” only stays as “I” when it’s a subject — as the agent it becomes “me”)

Practice Exercises

Convert each active sentence to passive voice, paying close attention to the pronouns.

1. She painted the fence.
2. I will write the report.
3. They have cleaned the windows.
4. He is fixing the printer.
5. We invited her to the meeting.

Answer Key

1. The fence was painted by her.
2. The report will be written by me.
3. The windows have been cleaned by them.
4. The printer is being fixed by him.
5. She was invited to the meeting by us.

Try the Pronoun Converter Tool

Not sure which form to use? Paste your sentence into our Subjective ↔ Objective Pronoun Converter below. Choose Subject → Object when converting active sentences to passive voice (to fix the agent after “by”), or Object → Subject when converting passive sentences back to active voice (to fix the new subject).

(Insert the Pronoun Converter tool here)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why do pronouns change when converting active voice to passive voice?

Because the grammatical roles of the subject and object swap. The original subject becomes the “agent” after “by” and needs an objective pronoun, while the original object becomes the new subject and needs a subjective pronoun.

2. Do “you” and “it” change when converting between active and passive voice?

No, “you” and “it” have the same form in both subjective and objective cases, so only their position in the sentence and the verb form change.

3. What pronoun follows “by” in passive voice?

An objective pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) always follows “by” in passive voice, since “by” is a preposition.

4. Can I always include “by + pronoun” in a passive sentence?

You can, but it’s often omitted in natural English when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.

5. Are possessive pronouns affected by active-to-passive conversion?

No. Possessive pronouns (my, his, her, our, their) and reflexive pronouns (myself, himself) follow separate rules and aren’t part of the subjective/objective conversion.

6. Is this pronoun rule the same across all tenses?

Yes. Whether the sentence is in present, past, or future tense, the subjective-to-objective (and objective-to-subjective) pronoun shift works the same way — only the auxiliary verb and participle change with tense.

7. How can I practice this skill quickly?

Use our free Pronoun Converter tool to check your pronoun choices instantly, and combine it with our tense-by-tense active-to-passive lessons for full sentence conversions.

Conclusion

Converting between active and passive voice involves more than just rearranging words and changing the verb — pronouns must shift between subjective and objective forms to match their new role in the sentence. Once you memorize the conversion table and practice with real sentences across different tenses, this becomes second nature.

Use the Pronoun Converter tool above alongside our tense-by-tense active-to-passive guides to master both skills together.