Transcript Active and Passive Voice

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
Review: Subjects of
Sentences
The subject of the sentence will always be a
noun or pronoun.
The subject tells who or what the sentence is
about.
To find the subject, ask who or what is doing
something or about whom or what is
something being said?
Find the subject!
 1. Joey arrived late for the dance.
 2. Madeleine Albright was appointed
secretary of state.
 3. Accepting the award was Leo Kolar.
 4. Several of the players hit home runs.
 5. Peanut butter is my favorite snack.
Now that we have reviewed
subjects…
What is the difference
between these two sentences?
 J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter
series.
 The Harry Potter series was written by
J.K. Rowling.
What is the difference
between these two sentences?
 Voldemort attacked Harry, Ron, and
Hermione.
 Harry, Ron, and Hermione were
attacked by Voldemort.
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 in
which every sentence is written:
active voice and passive voice.
Active Voice
 Active Voice – indicates that the
subject of the verb is the one
doing the action
 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).
Wait – Let’s review that!
 Active voice: The subject of the sentence is
the one doing the action of the verb.
 Voldemort attacked Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
 Passive Voice: The subject of the sentence
changes. Now, the subject of the sentence is
not doing the action, but receiving the
action of the verb.
 Harry, Ron, and Hermione were attacked by
Voldemort.
Okay. So why does this
matter?
 Most of the time when you write, you will
want to write in active voice.
 Sometimes you may write in passive voice
accidentally, but you will need to be able to
identify passive voice and be able to change it
to active voice.
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.
Sometimes You Need 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.)
How to Identify Passive
Voice
You need to know how to identify passive voice
in your writing so that you can change it to
active voice.
1. Look at the verb form (form of “to be” + past
participle)
2. Try the “by” test.
1. Look at the verb form
 Sentences in the passive voice will have a
"double verb" that consists 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”.)
1. Look at the verb form
Passive Voice verbs =
(form of “to be”) + (past participle of main verb)
Review the forms of "to be":
 am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
Past Participle
 adds -ed, -d, -t, -en or –n
 Examples: Walked, burned, eaten, given
2. The “By” Test
1. Often passive voice sentences will contain a
phrase beginning with the preposition “by” to
indicate who is doing the action of the verb.
2. If there is not a prepositional phrase
beginning with “by” see if you can add one in
at the end of the sentence. You can use the
generic phrase “by the man.”
Example:
1. The dog was groomed by Mr. Woof.
2. The cat was bathed.
Let’s Practice
 Directions: Identify which sentences below
are in passive voice.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
A book club has been formed by the school
librarian.
Someone broke the shop window last night.
The balloons were delivered by a happy clown.
The illustrator used water colors.
The computer had been fixed.
The house had been painted recently.
Transforming Passive  Active
1. Decide who is actually performing the action
of the verb. Make that person/thing the
subject @ the beginning of the sentence (To
find this, look after the word “by”)
2. Change the verb. It will probably go from
being a “two word” verb to a one word verb.
3. Move the recipient of the verb from the
beginning of the sentence to the end.
Transforming Passive  Active
 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.
Let’s Practice
 Directions: Change the sentences below to
the active voice.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The statue is being visited by hundreds of
tourists every year.
My books were stolen by someone yesterday.
These books had been left in the classroom by a
careless student.
Coffee is raised in many parts of Hawaii by
plantation workers.
The house had been broken into by someone
while the owners were on vacation.
Your turn!
 Turn to page 247 in your language book.
 Read the (10) sentences on Exercise 5. On a
sheet of paper, write whether each sentence
is in active voice or passive voice. Do this on
the top half of your sheet of paper.
 For each sentence that is in passive voice,
rewrite the sentence in active voice on the
bottom half of your paper.
 When you finish, wait quietly.