Transcript Active and Passive Voice

Active and Passive Voice
Voice is determined by the subject’s function
in the sentence.
Active Voice
• If the subject is the doer of the action, the
verb is active voice.
Justin planted rose bushes in the garden.
Carlos studied Spanish for four years.
The contractor built all of the houses on this
block.
Passive Voice
• If the subject is the receiver of the action,
the verb is passive voice. The doer may or
may not be named after the verb.
• Passive voice verbs are formed by combining
a form of be with the past participle of the
main verb.
The rose bushes were planted by Justin.
Spanish has been studied by many students.
Those houses have been built in six months.
Active Voice
• Active voice is generally better to use in your
writing. It moves sentences along, is more
direct, and creates more energy in your
writing.
The spider crawled up her leg. (active)
Her leg was crawled upon by a spider.
Rain pelted her face as she struggled against
the storm. (active)
Her face was pelted by rain as the storm was
struggled against by her.
Passive Voice
• Passive voice is useful when the doer of the
action is unknown or unimportant to the
topic or story.
The houses were built in 1971.
The diamond had been stolen from under the
guard’s nose.
Every year on his birthday, a single red rose
was left on his gravestone.