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Passive and Active Voice

The document discusses the differences between passive and active voice. It defines passive voice as focusing on the recipient of the action rather than the performer, and active voice as having the subject perform the action. It provides examples of sentences in both voices and explains how to identify and construct them based on their verb structures. The document also discusses when to use each voice depending on whether the focus is on the subject or object of the sentence.

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Bailey Harrison
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106 views

Passive and Active Voice

The document discusses the differences between passive and active voice. It defines passive voice as focusing on the recipient of the action rather than the performer, and active voice as having the subject perform the action. It provides examples of sentences in both voices and explains how to identify and construct them based on their verb structures. The document also discusses when to use each voice depending on whether the focus is on the subject or object of the sentence.

Uploaded by

Bailey Harrison
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Passive

and active
Voice
English class Mrs. Smith.
Learning objectives
Understand the concept and importance of the use of both
voices.
Students will be able to identify the uses of passive and active
voice and the importance of each depending on the context.

Distinguish between passive and active voice in sentences.


Students will be able to look at texts and distinguish
between the two.
Content outline

Function of When to
Active and
the passive Sentence use active
passive Examples
and active structure. vs. passive
voice usage.
voice. voice.
Functions Active voice

In the active voice, the subject is performing an action:

The cat chases the bell.

Notice how the subject, cat, is performing the action, chase,


on the target of the action, bell. This is a simple, direct
example of the active voice.
Functions Passive voice

In the passive voice, the action’s target, ball, is positioned


first as the focus of the sentence. The sentence gets flipped,
and the subject is now being acted upon by the verb. In
other words, the subject is passive:

The bell is being chased by the cat.


Passive voice
The passive voice is used to show interest in the person
or object that experiences an action rather than the
Usage
person or object that performs the action. Think about
how news reports about crime and incidents are
usually written and delivered:

A car was broken into on Elm Street last night.


Cash was stolen from the register.

These use the passive voice to keep the reader's focus


on what has happenedor is happening.
Active voice
The active voice gets straight to the point and tells us
who did what. In this voice, the sentence’s subject

Usage
performs the action. Here are two examples of
sentences in the active voice:

Shira likes birdwatching.


She loves movies.

The active voice has a direct tone. Use it when you want
the reader to focus on the subject of your sentence and
the action it is doing rather than on the action’s target.
Sentence structure
Every sentence in the passive voice contains two verbs:
A conjugated form of “to be”.
The main verb’s past participle.

So, to form a passive voice sentence we say:

Subject+ to be (conjugated)+ past participle+ rest


of sentence.
"The house is cleaned everyday"
Sentence structure
In the active voice, the subject of a
sentence performs the action. It follows a
clear construct:

subject + verb + object.


"Olivia complimented Anna"
Examples
Active voice: Is Anna visiting us today?
Passive voice: Will we be visited by Anna today?

Active voice: Remove your shoes.


Passive voice: Shoes should be removed

Active voice: They called off the meeting.


Passive voice: The meeting was called off.
When to use them?
Use the active voice in any sentence that focuses on
the doer of the action. Unless the majority of your
writing is scientific or reporting incidents involving
unknown perpetrators, most of the sentences you
write should be in the active voice.

The passive voice is meant for sentences where you


need to emphasize the target of an action or the
action itself rather than who or what is performing
the verb.
What would you write?
Teacher resources

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