Transcript Kannaley_GML PPT

Active and Passive Voice
What is active voice?
 A sentence is written in active voice when





the subject of the sentence completes the
action of the verb.
Example:
Ms. Rostoff has boxes of tissues decorated
with kittens lined up on the table
(Anderson 77).
Verb: has
Person who performs the action: Ms.
Rostoff
Object: boxes (of tissues…)
What is Passive Voice?
 A sentence is written in passive voice
when the object of the verb is made into
the subject of the sentence.
 Ex: Boxes of tissues decorated with
kittens have been lined up on the table by
Ms. Rostoff.
 Even though Ms. Rostoff is the one who
has lined up the boxes, the actual boxes
have been placed in the subject position
of the sentence.
A Few More Examples..
 Active voice: I won the wintergirl trip
over the border into dangerland
(Anderson 219).
 Passive voice: The wintergirl trip over
the border into dangerland was won
by me.
What is the verb? Won/was won
Who is the person performing the verb?
I/me
What is the object of the verb? The
wintergirl trip…
How do I know what
Voice I’m writing in?
 Look for the location of the subject, verb, and
object.
 What is receiving the action of the verb?
 “to be-” + past participle
(to be verbs: is, are, am, was, were, has been,
have been, had been, will be, will have been,
being)
Ex: The bill has been paid by the man (passive
voice).
Look at the positioning of the object and the
verb!
For the Mathematicallyinclined students 
Active voice =
Subject + verb + object
(Mitchell Sanders + carried + brass
knuckles) (O’Brien 7)
Passive Voice =
Object + verb + subject
(Brass knuckles + were carried + by
Mitchell Sanders)
Is Passive Voice
Incorrect?
 Although the passive
voice is NOT considered
grammatically incorrect,
it is more appropriate in
some circumstances
than in others.
What are the
circumstances?
* passive voice can make the meaning of the
sentence confusing.
 Example: Playing cards are scattered over
the tangled blankets, and thin pillows are
piled against the headboard (Anderson
119).
What are the objects? Playing cards and
thin pillows
But who scatters them? Who piles them?
The passive voice is confusing in this
circumstance because we do not know
WHO/WHAT performs the action!
circumstances?
 Writers are generally encouraged to
refrain from using passive voice when
writing about literature and history
because it tends to suggest “incomplete”
thoughts.
 Example: “Women were not treated as
equals” (“Passive Voice”).
This sentence does not give the reader any
sort of connections. Who were the people
not treating women as equals?
So…when should I use
passive voice?
 It is common to use passive voice if you
want to deemphasize the researcher, such
as in a lab report.
Example: “Heart disease is considered the
leading cause of death in the United
States” (“Passive Voice”)
Passive voice is also used to deemphasize
the “bad guys” in the situation.
Ex: “The cookies were stolen” (Fogarty)
…..who stole them? I guess the writer
doesn’t WANT you to know!
Your mission…
http://www.xtranormal.com/
Works Consulted
 Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls. New York:
Penguin Books, 2009. Print.
 Fogarty, Mignon. “Active Voice Versus Passive Voice.”
Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better
Writing. Quick and Dirty Tips, 22 Jul. 2010. Web. 4
Sept. 2010.
 “Object.” English Language: All About the English
Language. English Language, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2010.
 O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York:
Broadway, 1990. Print.
Works Consulted
 “Passive Voice.” The Writing Center: University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, n.d. Web. 3 Sept. 2010.
 “Past Participles.” Learn English. Learning English,
Dec. 2008. Web. 8 Sept. 2010.
 Toadvine, April and Brizee, Allen. “Active and Passive
Voice.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue University,
17 Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Sept. 2010.
 Toadvine, April and Brizee, Allen. “Active Versus
Passive Voice.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue
University, 17 Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Sept.2010.
Works Consulted
 Toadvine, April and Brizee, Allen. “Changing Active to
Passive Voice.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue
University, 17 Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Sept. 2010.
 Toadvine, April and Brizee, Allen. “Choosing Passive
Voice.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue University, 17
Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Sept. 2010.
 Toadvine, April and Brizee, Allen. “Further Suggestions for
Using Active and Passive Voice.” Purdue Online Writing
Lab. Purdue University, 17 Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Sept. 2010.
 Toadvine, April and Brizee, Allen. “More About Passive
Voice.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue University, 17
Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Sept. 2010.