How do you use the passive voice in Gujarati?

Understanding Passive Voice in Gujarati

In Gujarati, as in English, the passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or the object rather than the subject performing the action. For instance, instead of saying “Ram ate the mango,” a passive construction would be “The mango was eaten by Ram.” Using the passive voice can make your language more formal or can be used when the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant.

How Passive Voice is Formed in Gujarati

To form the passive voice in Gujarati, you generally follow a structure similar to English:

• The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
• The verb is changed to its passive form, often using the verb “to be” (થવું – thavu) in the appropriate tense and gender.
• The original subject is either omitted or introduced with “by” (દ્વારા – dvārā) if it needs to be mentioned.

Basic Structure of Passive Voice

Active Voice: Subject + Verb + Object
Passive Voice: Object + (to be verb) + Past Participle + (by + Subject)

Example Sentences

• Active: રામે કેરી ખાધી (Rāme kerī khādhī) – Ram ate the mango.
  Passive: કેરી રામ દ્વારા ખાધી ગઈ (Kerī Rām dvārā khādhī gaī) – The mango was eaten by Ram.
• Active: શિક્ષક વિદ્યાર્થીને પ્રશંસા આપી (Shikṣak vidyārthīne praśansā āpī) – The teacher praised the student.
  Passive: વિદ્યાર્થીને શિક્ષક દ્વારા પ્રશંસા આપવામાં આવી (Vidyārthīne shikṣak dvārā praśansā āpmāṁ āvī) – The student was praised by the teacher.

Key Points to Remember

• Gujarati verbs agree with the new subject (original object) in gender and number.
• The use of “dvārā” (by) is optional if the doer is not important or unknown.
• Passive voice is more common in formal and written Gujarati but is also used in everyday speech.

Common Uses of Passive Voice in Gujarati

Passive voice is commonly used in the following situations:

• When the doer of the action is unknown: મારું પર્સ ચૂરી થયું (Māruṁ pars curī thāyuṁ) – My purse was stolen.
• When the doer is not important: અહીં ગુજરાતી બોલવામાં આવે છે (Ahīṁ Gujarātī bolvāmāṁ āve che) – Gujarati is spoken here.
• To make statements more formal or polite: તમારી અરજી મંજૂર કરવામાં આવી છે (Tamārī arjī manzūr karvāmāṁ āvī che) – Your application has been approved.

Tips for Practicing Passive Voice in Gujarati

• Start by converting simple active sentences into passive ones to get comfortable with the structure.
• Read Gujarati news articles or literature and look for examples of passive voice.
• Practice speaking and writing using the passive voice, and try explaining why you chose passive over active in different contexts.

Conclusion

Learning to use the passive voice in Gujarati opens up new ways to express ideas and information. It can make your speech and writing sound more natural, formal, or nuanced, depending on the context. As you continue your language journey with resources like Talkpal – AI language learning blog, make sure to practice forming and using passive constructions regularly. With time and practice, you’ll find it becomes an essential tool in your Gujarati language toolkit.