passive vs. active voice

Active Voiceand

Passive Voice

Sentence Structure

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html

Sentences can be written or spoken in the active or

passive voice.

So, what is the difference between the active and passive

voice?

Active Voice Subject of sentence

comes before verb The subject does the

actionhttp://www.mindconnection.com/library/writing/activevoice.htm

Passive Voice The subject comes after

the verb The subject receives

the action

http://www.eslbase.com/grammar/passive

Active Voice

Subject + Verb + Receiver or Direct Object

Active Voice

(Subject)

Jack London

(Verb)

wrote

(Direct Object)

To Build a Fire

Passive Voice

Receiver or Direct Object + Verb +

Subject

Passive Voice

(Direct Object)

To Build a Fire

(Verb)

was written

(Subject)

by Jack London

Passive Voice Verb Form Use “to be” Linking Verbs- is, are, was ,were…

Linking Verb is connected to Past Participle Verb

Past Participle Verb is Transitive

Verb Forms

Simple Present Simple Past Past Participle

see saw seen

lift lifted lifted

bring brought brought

give gave given

hold held held

break broke broken

Important: Verb Understanding Transitive Verbs Express existence, action,

or occurrence Have objects that receive

the action of the verbs E.g., see, lift, bring, give,

hold, broke

Intransitive Verbs Express existence,

action, or occurrence Do not have objects

that receive the action E.g., arrive, go, lie,

sneeze, sit, die

http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/trnsintr.html

Passive Voice: Verb Form

To Build a Fire was written by Jack London

Linking Verb

(to be) Past Particle

(transitive verb)

Why Use Active Voice?To center attention on the subjectThe author, Jack London is most important

Why use Passive Voice?To center attention on the object The book, To Build a Fire, is most important

More Examples!

Active Voice My dog ateate your cat. The students tooktook the final exam. Tom cleanscleans the kitchen everyday. Mike grewgrew tomatoes and peppers in his garden. The tutors in the English Center helphelp the students. My brother teachesteaches math at Olive Peirce Middle

School.

Passive Voice Your cat was eatenwas eaten by my dog. The final exam was takenwas taken by the students. Everyday, the kitchen is cleanedis cleaned by Tom. Tomatoes and peppers were grownwere grown by Mike in his garden.

The students are helpedare helped by the tutors in the English Center.

Math is taughtis taught by my brother at Olive Peirce Middle School.

For fun, a few active and passive voice quizzes! Quiz 1 Quiz 2 Quiz 3