Passive Voice: Subject and Partic

In active voice, the subject does the action (e.g., "I eat the samosa"). In passive voice, the object gets promoted to the main spot (e.g., "The samosa is eaten").

Here is the Hindi twist: The main verb freezes in its past form, and a helper verb comes in to do all the heavy lifting. That helper verb is jaana (to go). Yes, "to go." It doesn't mean anyone is actually going anywhere; it just sits there to mark the passive voice. It changes tense, gender, and number while the main verb just chills. It’s like the stunt double taking all the hits while the main actor stays perfect.

1. 1Building a passive sentence is like making a sandwich. You need your base (main verb) and your topping (helper verb).
2. 2The Doer (Optional): If you want to say *who* did it, add se (by) or ke dwara (by means of) after their name. If not, skip it!
3. 3The Main Verb: Take the verb root and turn it into its perfective participle (the "past" form ending in aa, ee, or e). Example: likhna (to write) becomes likha.
4. 4The Helper Verb: Add jaana (to go) right after. This is the part you conjugate based on tense.
5. 5The Formula:
6. 6Object + (Doer + se) + Main Verb (Past Form) + jaana (conjugated)
7. 7* Present: likha + jata hai (is written)
8. 8* Past: likha + gaya (was written)
9. 9* Future: likha + jayega (will be written)

Using passive voice in Hindi makes you sound specific and sophisticated. Here is when to drop it:

* When the doer is unknown: Mera phone chori ho gaya. (My phone was stolen.)—We don't know who stole it, and frankly, we are just sad about the phone.

* Official Announcements: Yatriyon ko soochit kiya jata hai... (Passengers are informed...)—You will hear this at every railway station in India.

* Incapacity (The "I can't" mode): This is unique to Hindi! Use passive with a negative to show you *physically* can't do something. Mujhse ye khana khaya nahi jata. (This food is not eaten by me = I can't stomach this food.)

* Politeness: Instead of ordering "Do this," you say Ye kiya jaye (Let this be done). It sounds less bossy.

Don't go passive-crazy. If you translate every English passive sentence directly, you will sound like a robot or a translated government document.

* Direct Conversations: Don't say "You are loved by me" (Tum mere dwara pyaar kiye jate ho). That is weird. Just say "I love you" (Main tumse pyaar karta hoon).

* Simple Actions: "I went to the market" is better than "The market was gone to by me." Keep it simple unless you have a reason to switch.

Even smart learners trip up here. Watch out for these traps:

* The hona vs. jaana Confusion: Learners often think "is written" uses hona (to be). Nope! It uses jaana. Likha hai means "it is written" (state), but Likha jata hai means "it is being written" (action).

* Forgetting Gender Agreement: The verb agrees with the object, not the hidden subject. If the object is kitaab (book, feminine), it’s likhi gayi, not likha gaya.

* Overusing ke dwara: This phrase is super formal. In daily life, just use se for "by".

* Active: Raam ne ravan ko maara. (Ram killed Ravan.) — Focus on Ram.

* Passive: Ravan maara gaya. (Ravan was killed.) — Focus on Ravan.

* Passive of Incapacity: Mujhse chala nahi jata. (I can't walk / Walking is not done by me.) — Focus on the inability.

* Q: Can I use passive with intransitive verbs (verbs with no object)?

Only in the "Incapacity" sense! You can say Chala nahi jata (Can't walk), but you can't usually say "Walk is done" in a normal sense.

* Q: Why jaana? Does it imply movement?

Not at all. In grammar land, jaana just means "process complete" or "happening." No legs required.

* Q: Is gaya related to jaana?

Yes! Gaya is the irregular past tense of jaana. It’s the same guy in a disguise.