In many languages, it is important to differentiate between active and passive grammatical voice. We have discussed this topic in a great detail in our post. However,  I would like to present more material in the form of examples as I find this topic important.

Quick revision: Grammatical voice in Hindi is called वाच्य (Vaachya). When the subject of the verb is the main subject of the sentence, then it is called कृत्य वाच्य (Krity Vaachya – Active Voice) and when the the verb shows an action (कर्म) on the main subject of the sentence, then it is called कर्म वाच्य (Karm Vaachya – Passive Voice). There exist a third grammatical voice in Hindi which is called भाव वाचक (Bhaav Vaachya – Impersonal Voice) and could be defined by an occurrence when the verb shows the emphasis on mood (भाव) instead of subject or the action on the subject of the sentence.

For simplicity, let me show you more examples of Active and Passive voice only. The first sentence of following sentences is in Active voice (A) and second one being Passive voice (P).

First, let’s take an example sentences for Active and Passive voice in English.

A: Sita writes a book.
P: A book is written by Sita.

Note that the exchange of object and subject and a verb change. The same thing happens in Hindi. We will have a verb change along with an exchange of object and subject in Hindi sentence. Let’s have a look on the following active and passive voice sentences in Hindi.

A: अध्यापक हमें पढ़ाते हैं।
P: अध्यापकों द्वारा हम पढाए जाते हैं।

Note: द्वारा (dvara) = by

A: कमल ने एक अच्छा गाना गया।
P: कमल के द्वारा एक अच्छा गाना गाया गया।

A: मैं प्रतिदिन व्यायाम करता हूँ।
P: मेरे द्वारा प्रतिदिन व्यायाम किया जाता है।

A: हम सब रात में सोते हैं।
P: हम सब से रात में सोया जाता हैं।

A: सीता ने खाना खाया।
P: सीता के द्वारा खाना खाया जाता हैं।

A: दादी कहानी सुनाएगी।
P: दादी द्वारा कहानी सुनाई जाएगी।

A: मैं पुस्तक पढ़ सकता हूँ।
P: मेरे द्वारा पुस्तक पढ़ी जा सकती हैं।

Vocabulary:

अध्यापक – Adhyaapak – Teacher (masculine)
हम – Hum – We
अच्छा – Accha – Good
गाना – Gaanaa – Song
प्रतिदिन – Pratidin – Everyday
व्यायाम – Vyaayaam – Exercise
सब – Sab – All
रात – Raat – Night
खाना – Khaanaa – Food
दादी – Daadi – Grandmother
पुस्तक – Pustak – Book