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Passive and Active Activity
Passive and Active Activity
A sentence is composed of a subject and a verb. The verb is either in the active or passive voice.
What do we mean by “voice”. Voice is the quality of the verb which shows whether the subject is
the doer of the action or is the receiver of the action.
Examples:
1. Ariel pounded 5 bundles of rice.
2. Five bundles of rice were pounded by Ariel.
We can determine if the verb is in the active voice by answering these questions.
a. What is the subject?
b. Is the subject the doer of the action?
So, if the subject is the doer of the action, that makes the sentence in the active voice.
The second sentence is also in the passive voice. The subject in the sentence becomes the receiver
of the action. The word by was used before the receiver of the action. So, in the sentence the
subject “Ariel” in the active voice becomes the receiver of the action in the passive voice. But not all
sentences have the receiver of the action. It can be omitted.
Example:
REMEMBER THIS:
A sentence is in the active voice if the subject performs the action. It is also in the
passive voice if the subject becomes the receiver of the action. In the passive voice the subject
of the sentence is the object (either the indirect or the direct object). The verb in the passive
voice is made up of the verb be / helping verb with the past participle of the main verb.
3. Active Voice: Auntie Fely ___________ the wheels before painting them.
Passive Voice: The wheels ___________ by Auntie Fely before painting them.
(brush – past tense)
6. Active Voice: Christian ___________ “Little Mouse Who was a Princess” tomorrow.
Passive Voice: “Little Mouse Who was a Princess” __________ by Christian tomorrow.
(watch – future)