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    Understanding Active and Passive Voice

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    Abby Umali-Hernandez
    The document discusses active and passive voice in verbs. Active voice indicates the subject performs the action of the verb, while passive voice indicates the subject receives the action. Passive voice uses a form of "to be" plus the past participle of the main verb, and the subject and object are reversed. While active voice is usually preferred, passive voice can be used when the performer is unknown or less important than the recipient of the action.

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    Understanding Active and Passive Voice

    Uploaded by

    Abby Umali-Hernandez
    59 views15 pages
    The document discusses active and passive voice in verbs. Active voice indicates the subject performs the action of the verb, while passive voice indicates the subject receives the action. Passive voice uses a form of "to be" plus the past participle of the main verb, and the subject and object are reversed. While active voice is usually preferred, passive voice can be used when the performer is unknown or less important than the recipient of the action.

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    What is an Active Voice? What is a Passive Voice?

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    ActiveandPassiveVoice

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    The document discusses active and passive voice in verbs. Active voice indicates the subject performs the action of the verb, while passive voice indicates the subject receives the action. Passive voice uses a form of "to be" plus the past participle of the main verb, and the subject and object are reversed. While active voice is usually preferred, passive voice can be used when the performer is unknown or less important than the recipient of the action.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    59 views15 pages

    Understanding Active and Passive Voice

    Uploaded by

    Abby Umali-Hernandez
    The document discusses active and passive voice in verbs. Active voice indicates the subject performs the action of the verb, while passive voice indicates the subject receives the action. Passive voice uses a form of "to be" plus the past participle of the main verb, and the subject and object are reversed. While active voice is usually preferred, passive voice can be used when the performer is unknown or less important than the recipient of the action.

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    Understanding Active and Passive Voice

    Verbs and Voice

    • Voice is the form a verb takes


    to indicate whether the subject
    of the verb performs or
    receives the action.
    • There are two types of voice:
    active voice and passive voice.
    Active Voice

    • Active Voice – indicates that


    the subject of the verb is acting

    • Because the subject does or


    "acts upon" the verb in such
    sentences, the sentences are
    said to be in the active voice.
    Active Voice

     These examples show that the subject


    is  doing the verb's action.
     The dog jumped onto the boy.
     The dog (subject) is doing the jumping (verb).

     Kristy will give a book report to the class.


     Kristy (subject) is doing the giving (verb).

     The computer ate my paper.


     The computer (subject) is doing the eating
    (verb).
    Passive Voice

    • In a passive voice sentence, the subject


    and object flip-flop. The subject becomes
    the passive recipient of the action.

    • Because the subject is being "acted upon"


    (or is passive), such sentences are said to
    be in the passive voice.
    Passive Voice

    • These examples show the subject


    being acted upon by the verb.
    • The boy was jumped on by the dog.
    – Boy (subject) was being jumped on (verb)
    • A book report will be given by Kristy to
    the class.
    – Report (subject) will be given (verb).
    • My paper was eaten by the computer.
    – Paper (subject) was being eaten (verb).
    Reasons to Use the Active Voice

    • Most writers prefer to use active voice


    because it is more direct.
    • Compare
    – Active: The waiter dropped the tray of
    food.
    – Passive: The tray of food was
    dropped by the waiter.
    Reasons to Use the Active Voice

     The active voice is less awkward and


    clearly states relationship between subject
    and action.
     Compare
     Passive: Your request for funding has been
    denied by the review committee.
     Active: The review committee denied your
    request for funding.
     The active voice sentence pattern propels
    the reader forward through your writing
    thus avoiding weak prose.
    When to Use Passive Voice
     In general, the passive voice is less direct, less forceful,
    and less concise than the active voice.
     Use the passive voice in the following situations:

     Use passive voice when you do not


    know or do not want to reveal the
    performer of an action.
     Use passive voice when you want to
    emphasize the receiver of an action.
    Examples

    • Awkward Passive: My bicycle was


    repainted by John.
    • Deliberate Passive: My bicycle was
    repainted. (The performer is not
    mentioned and the emphasis is on the
    bicycle.)
    Form of Passive Voice Verbs
     The passive voice requires a "double verb" and will always
    consist of a form of the verb "to be" and the past participle
    (usually the "en/ed/t" form) of another verb.
     Example:
    Active: John baked the bread.
    Passive: The bread was baked by John. (Was is a form of the verb
    “be”.)
    Form of Passive Voice Verbs
     Writers should be familiar with the forms of "to be" , often
    called linking verbs, so that they can easily identify the
    passive voice in their work.

     Review the forms of "to be":


     am, is, are, was, were, be, being,
    been
    Form of Passive Voice Verbs

    • Note the forms of "to be" in the examples


    of the verb "to kick" in various forms of the
    passive voice:

    • is kicked----------------had been kicked


    was kicked-------------is going to be kicked
    is being kicked---------will be kicked
    has been kicked-------can be kicked
    was being kicked------should be kicked
    Form of Passive Voice Verbs
     Often passive voice sentences will contain a "by" phrase
    indicting who or what performed the action.
     Passive sentences can be easily transformed into active
    sentences when the object of the preposition "by" is moved to
    the subject position in the sentence.
    Form of Passive Voice Verbs
     Examples:
     Passive: The cookies were eaten by the children.
     Active: The children ate the cookies.

     Passive: The tunnels are dug by the gophers.


     Active: The gophers dug the tunnels.

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