4.2 Passive Voice

Overview of Passive Voice in Urdu

Urdu uses the passive voice to focus on the action or on what happens to something, rather than on who does it. In many contexts, especially written and formal Urdu, passive structures are very frequent. In this chapter we will focus on how passive is formed, how it behaves with tense and agreement, and when it is preferred.

Throughout this chapter, we will use only material that you already know about tenses and basic verb forms, and we will not re‑teach those topics. Our focus will stay on what is new and specific to passive.

Core Idea of Passive

In English the change is usually:

• Active: “Ali wrote the letter.”
• Passive: “The letter was written (by Ali).”

In Urdu, the same shift of focus happens:

• Active: علی نے خط لکھا
  Ali ne ḫat likhā.
• Passive: خط لکھا گیا (علی کی طرف سے)
  ḫat likhā gayā (Ali kī taraf se).
  “The letter was written (by Ali).”

The patient (the thing affected by the action) becomes the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the doer (agent) is optional or moved into a different phrase.

Key Building Blocks of Passive

Passive auxiliary: جانا “to go”

Most Urdu passives are formed with:

• Past participle of the main verb, plus
• Appropriate form of جانا jānā as an auxiliary, plus
• Often, a form of ہونا honā for tense and aspect.

The core pattern:

Here:

• دروازہ is the subject (the thing affected),
• بند کیا is the past participle of “to close” (بند کرنا),
• گیا is the past form of جانا.

Later we will see more tense combinations.

Agreement in Passive

Passive sentences keep the same agreement rules you know from active forms, but the subject is now the affected entity, not the original doer.

The participle and جانا must agree with the grammatical subject in gender and number.

Masculine singular

• دروازہ کھولا گیا۔
  darvāza kholā gayā.
  “The door was opened.”
• خط لکھا گیا۔
  ḫat likhā gayā.
  “The letter was written.”

Feminine singular

• کھڑکی کھولی گئی۔
  ḫiṛkī kholī gaī.
  “The window was opened.”
• کتاب پڑھی گئی۔
  kitāb paṛhī gaī.
  “The book was read.”

Masculine plural

• دروازے کھولے گئے۔
  darvāze khole gaye.
  “The doors were opened.”
• سوال پوچھے گئے۔
  savāl pūchhe gaye.
  “The questions were asked.”

Feminine plural

• کھڑکیاں کھولی گئیں۔
  ḫiṛkiyā̃ kholī gaī̃.
  “The windows were opened.”
• فائلیں دیکھی گئیں۔
  fāilẽ dekhī gaī̃.
  “The files were seen.”

Passive and Tense

Urdu uses combinations of the main verb participle, جانا, and ہونا to express tense and aspect in passive. Here we summarise the most common patterns, with examples.

To keep focus on passive, we will not analyze every auxiliary in detail, but you will see the patterns.

Present passive

Present passive is usually expressed with the present or habitual form of جانا, often with ہونا understood from context.

Structure:

• Subject + past participle + جاتا ہے / جاتی ہے / جاتے ہیں etc.

Examples:

• چائے بنائی جاتی ہے۔
  cāe banāī jātī hai.
  “Tea is made.” / “Tea is usually made.”
• یہاں انگریزی بولی جاتی ہے۔
  yahā̃ angrēzī bolī jātī hai.
  “English is spoken here.”
• فیصلے میٹنگ میں کیے جاتے ہیں۔
  faisle mīṭiṅg mẽ kiye jāte haĩ.
  “Decisions are made in the meeting.”

Compare to an active version:

• لوگ یہاں انگریزی بولتے ہیں۔
  “People speak English here.”
• یہاں انگریزی بولی جاتی ہے۔
  “English is spoken here.”

The second sentence hides the agent and focuses on “English.”

Simple past passive

Structure:

• Subject + past participle + گیا / گئی / گئے

Examples:

• میٹنگ کل کی گئی۔
  mīṭiṅg kal kī gaī.
  “The meeting was held yesterday.”
• معاہدہ سائن کیا گیا۔
  muāhida sāin kiyā gayā.
  “The agreement was signed.”
• سوالات امتحان میں پوچھے گئے۔
  savālāt imtiḥān mẽ pūchhe gaye.
  “Questions were asked in the exam.”

Present perfect passive

Structure:

• Subject + past participle + گیا / گئی / گئے + ہے / ہیں

Examples:

• رپورٹ تیار کی گئی ہے۔
  rapoṛt tayyār kī gaī hai.
  “The report has been prepared.”
• درخواست منظور کی گئی ہے۔
  darkhāst manẓūr kī gaī hai.
  “The application has been approved.”
• ساری کتابیں بیچ دی گئی ہیں۔
  sārī kitābẽ bēch dī gaī haĩ.
  “All the books have been sold.”

Past perfect passive

Structure:

• Subject + past participle + گیا / گئی / گئے + تھا / تھی / تھے

Examples:

• مسئلہ پہلے ہی حل کر دیا گیا تھا۔
  masla pehle hī ḥal kar diyā gayā thā.
  “The problem had already been solved.”
• دعوت نامہ بھیج دیا گیا تھا۔
  davat nāma bhej diyā gayā thā.
  “The invitation had been sent.”
• سب فائلیں چیک کی گئی تھیں۔
  sab fāilẽ cek kī gaī thī̃.
  “All the files had been checked.”

Future passive

Structure:

• Subject + past participle + جائے گا / جائے گی / جائیں گے

Examples:

• آپ کو کل اطلاع دی جائے گی۔
  āp ko kal ittilāʿ dī jāe gī.
  “You will be informed tomorrow.”
• کتاب اگلے ہفتے شائع کی جائے گی۔
  kitāb agle haftē shāeʿ kī jāe gī.
  “The book will be published next week.”
• نتائج جلد اعلان کیے جائیں گے۔
  natāij jald elān kiye jāẽ ge.
  “The results will be announced soon.”

Continuous passive

Continuous passive is less common in everyday speech, but you may see it in formal writing.

Structure (present continuous passive):

• Subject + past participle + جا رہا ہے / جا رہی ہے / جا رہے ہیں

Examples:

• سڑک کی مرمت کی جا رہی ہے۔
  saṛak kī marammat kī jā rahī hai.
  “The road is being repaired.”
• نئی عمارت تعمیر کی جا رہی ہے۔
  naī imārat taʿmīr kī jā rahī hai.
  “A new building is being constructed.”

Structure (past continuous passive):

• Subject + past participle + جا رہا تھا / جا رہی تھی / جا رہے تھے

Examples:

• فیصلے کل تک کیے جا رہے تھے۔
  faisle kal tak kiye jā rahe the.
  “Decisions were being made until yesterday.”
• رپورٹیں جلدی جلدی تیار کی جا رہی تھیں۔
  raporṭẽ jaldī jaldī tayyār kī jā rahī thī̃.
  “Reports were being prepared in a hurry.”

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Passive vs Active: Changing Focus

Passive is not only about form. It also changes the focus and sometimes hides responsibility.

Consider:

• کمپنی نے دو سو ملازمین کو نکال دیا۔
  kampanī ne do sau mulāzīmīn ko nikāl diyā.
  “The company fired two hundred employees.”
  (Focus on “company,” sounds direct, possibly harsh.)
• دو سو ملازمین کو نکال دیا گیا۔
  do sau mulāzīmīn ko nikāl diyā gayā.
  “Two hundred employees were fired.”
  (Focus on “employees,” agent is not clearly stated.)

The passive can make a sentence sound:

• More formal,
• Less personal,
• More objective.

Another example:

• حکومت نے ٹیکس بڑھایا۔
  ḥukūmat ne ṭaiks baṛhāyā.
  “The government increased the tax.”
• ٹیکس بڑھایا گیا۔
  ṭaiks baṛhāyā gayā.
  “The tax was increased.”

In official announcements, the second form is more common.

Expressing or Omitting the Doer (Agent)

In passive, the agent is optional. Often it is omitted when it is unknown, unimportant, or obvious.

Omitting the agent

• میٹنگ منسوخ کر دی گئی۔
  mīṭiṅg mansūḫ kar dī gaī.
  “The meeting was cancelled.”
  (No mention of who cancelled it.)
• مسئلہ حل کر دیا گیا ہے۔
  masla ḥal kar diyā gayā hai.
  “The problem has been solved.”

Adding the agent

When you want to mention the doer, Urdu often uses phrases like:

• … کے ذریعے ke zarye “by means of”
• … کی طرف سے kī taraf se “on the part of”
• … کے ہاتھوں ke hāthõ “at the hands of” (often negative or dramatic)
• … کے ذریعہ / وسیلے سے (more formal)

Examples:

• منصوبہ حکومت کے ذریعے شروع کیا گیا۔
  mansūba ḥukūmat ke zarye shurū kiyā gayā.
  “The project was started by the government.”
• یہ فیصلہ انتظامیہ کی طرف سے کیا گیا۔
  ye faisla intizāmia kī taraf se kiyā gayā.
  “This decision was made by the administration.”
• وہ حادثے میں ڈاکوؤں کے ہاتھوں مارا گیا۔
  vo ḥādisē mẽ ḍākõ ke hāthõ mārā gayā.
  “He was killed at the hands of robbers.”

Note that we normally do not use the ergative marker نے with the agent in passive sentences.

Incorrect:

• ✗ فیصلہ حکومت نے کیا گیا۔

Correct:

• ✓ فیصلہ حکومت کے ذریعے کیا گیا۔
• ✓ فیصلہ حکومت کی طرف سے کیا گیا۔

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Typical Passive Expressions and Collocations

In formal and written Urdu, some verbs and combinations appear very frequently in passive.

Common collocations

Example sentences:

• نیا قانون نافذ کیا گیا ہے۔
  nayā qānūn nāfiẓ kiyā gayā hai.
  “The new law has been implemented.”
• پروگرام اگلے نوٹس تک ملتوی کیا گیا ہے۔
  progrām agle nōṭis tak multavī kiyā gayā hai.
  “The program has been postponed until further notice.”
• پریس ریلیز جاری کی گئی۔
  pres rīlīz jārī kī gaī.
  “A press release was issued.”

These patterns are especially common in:

• News reports,
• Government statements,
• Academic writing,
• Official emails and notices.

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When Passive Is Preferred

Passive is particularly useful in the following situations.

1. When the agent is unknown

• میرا بٹوا چوری کر لیا گیا۔
  merā baṭuā chorī kar liyā gayā.
  “My wallet was stolen.”
  (We do not know who stole it.)

2. When the agent is obvious or general

• انگریزی دنیا کے بہت سے ملکوں میں بولی جاتی ہے۔
  angrēzī duniyā ke bohot se mulkõ mẽ bolī jātī hai.
  “English is spoken in many countries of the world.”

The agent is “people” in general, which is not interesting here.

3. To make statements sound formal or polite

• آپ کی درخواست منظور کر لی گئی ہے۔
  āp kī darkhāst manẓūr kar lī gaī hai.
  “Your application has been approved.”
• امتحان کے نتائج جلد اعلان کیے جائیں گے۔
  imtiḥān ke natāij jald elān kiye jāẽ ge.
  “The exam results will be announced soon.”

4. To avoid mentioning responsibility

• کچھ غلطیاں ہو گئی ہیں۔
  kuch ghaltiyā̃ ho gaī̃ haĩ.
  “Some mistakes have been made.”
• سسٹم میں خرابی پیدا ہو گئی تھی۔
  sisṭam mẽ ḫarābī paidā ho gaī thī.
  “A fault had developed in the system.”

These forms can feel less accusatory than naming a person directly.

Passive-like Structures without جانا

Not all “subjectless” or impersonal sentences use جانا explicitly. Urdu also uses:

1. ہونا honā to indicate that something happened, without an agent.
2. Certain intransitive verbs that naturally hide the agent.

Examples:

• کام ہو گیا ہے۔
  kām ho gayā hai.
  “The work is done / has been finished.”
• سڑک بند ہو گئی تھی۔
  saṛak band ho gaī thī.
  “The road had been closed.”
• کھڑکی بند ہو گئی۔
  ḫiṛkī band ho gaī.
  “The window got closed.”

These are often close in meaning to an English passive but grammatically they are more like intransitive or middle voice. Still, in practice they often function like passive in communication.

Compare:

• کھڑکی بند کی گئی۔
  “The window was closed (by someone).”
• کھڑکی بند ہو گئی۔
  “The window got closed / became closed.”

The first clearly implies an external agent. The second may or may not.

Transforming Active to Passive: Step by Step

Here is a simple procedure to convert an active sentence into passive.

Step 1: Identify subject, object, and verb

Example (active):

• استاد نے سبق سمجھایا۔
  ustād ne sabaq samjhāyā.
  “The teacher explained the lesson.”

Subject: استاد
Object: سبق
Verb: سمجھایا

Step 2: Make the object the new subject

New subject: سبق

Step 3: Form the past participle and add جانا

Participle of سمجھانا: سمجھایا
Subject سبق is masculine singular, so:

• سبق سمجھایا گیا۔
  sabaq samjhāyā gayā.
  “The lesson was explained.”

Optionally, add agent phrase:

• سبق استاد کی طرف سے سمجھایا گیا۔
  sabaq ustād kī taraf se samjhāyā gayā.
  “The lesson was explained by the teacher.”

Another example:

Active:

• لوگ نیا پل بنا رہے ہیں۔
  log nayā pul banā rahe haĩ.
  “People are building a new bridge.”

Passive:

• نیا پل بنایا جا رہا ہے۔
  nayā pul banāyā jā rahā hai.
  “A new bridge is being built.”

We changed:

• Subject: لوگ → implicit or omitted,
• Object: نیا پل → new subject,
• Verb: بنا رہے ہیں → بنایا جا رہا ہے.

Style and Register: Spoken vs Written

While passive exists in both spoken and written Urdu, its frequency and feel can change with context.

Spoken Urdu

In everyday conversation, speakers often prefer active forms, especially with personal subjects:

• ہم نے فیصلہ کیا۔
  “We made a decision.”

Instead of:

• فیصلہ کیا گیا۔
  “The decision was made.”

However, even in speech, passive is common when:

• You do not know the agent:
  “میری گاڑی چوری ہو گئی.”
• You avoid naming the agent:
  “آپ کی فائل کہیں گم ہو گئی ہے.”

Written and formal Urdu

In news, politics, academic writing, and official notices, passive is strongly preferred:

• بل کل اسمبلی میں پیش کیا جائے گا۔
  “The bill will be presented in the assembly tomorrow.”
• نئے قوانین کا اعلان جلد کیا جائے گا۔
  “New laws will be announced soon.”

Using passive can make your Urdu sound more formal, neutral, and official.

Summary of Main Passive Patterns

For quick reference:

Practice-style Examples

You can test your understanding informally by mentally turning these active sentences into passive:

1. حکومت نے نیا قانون منظور کیا۔
   → نیا قانون منظور کیا گیا۔
2. کسی نے کھڑکی توڑ دی۔
   → کھڑکی توڑی گئی۔
   (Agent omitted.)
3. استاد نے سوال پوچھے۔
   → سوال استاد کی طرف سے پوچھے گئے۔
   or simply: سوال پوچھے گئے۔
4. وہ لوگ شہر میں نیا اسپتال بنا رہے ہیں۔
   → شہر میں نیا اسپتال بنایا جا رہا ہے۔

Try to pay attention to:

• Agreement with the new subject,
• Appropriate tense choice,
• Optional agent phrases.

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Vocabulary List for This Chapter

This vocabulary will help you both recognize and produce passive constructions in Urdu, especially in formal and written contexts.