ACTIVE and PASSIVE

VOICE

( in sentences)

**What is ACTIVE voice?

A sentence is in the active voice when the subject performs the

action of the verb.________________________________________________EX: My dog craves affection.

EX: Mrs. Chambers loves strawberry cake with vanilla ice cream.

**What is PASSIVE voice?

A sentence is in the passive voice when the subject receives the action of the verb. **The agent, or subject of the sentence, is sometimes not mentioned and must

be inferred.

EX: The crowds were dispersed with tear gas. EX: The store is owned by the Wilson family.________________________________________________________________ Prepositions usually precede the subject in sentences written in the passive

voice. Verb phrases may also be found in passive voice sentences

NOTE: Neither prepositions nor verb phrases are concrete ways to identify the passive voice of sentences.

1. READ sentence carefully.

2. IDENTIFY the subject of the entire sentence.

3. IDENTIFY the main action in the sentence.

4. ASK yourself, “Is the subject performing or receiving the action?”

STEPS to IDENTIFYING ACTIVE or PASSIVE voice of

sentences:

**Changing Passive to Active

Find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, OR carefully consider who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb.

FYI: The agent is the person or thing that performs the action.

Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly.

Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from the surrounding sentences which provide context.

**Passive

Police are being notified that three prisoners have escaped by the dispatcher.

(1) Agent…Who or what? (2) What did the agent do?

A new experimental liver-transplant operation was performed successfully yesterday.

(1) Agent…Who or what? (2) What did the agent do?

Passive

Police are being notified that three prisoners have escaped by the dispatcher.

(1) Agent…Who or what? (2) What did the agent do?

A new experimental liver-transplant operation was performed successfully yesterday. (inferred…surgeon, doctor)

(1) Agent…Who or what? (2) What did the agent do?

Active

The dispatcher is notifying police that three prisoners have escaped.

Surgeons successfully performed a new experimental liver-transplant operation yesterday.

Active Voice Points: Using active voice for the majority of your

sentences makes your meaning clear for readers.

Sentences written in active voice are more direct; the subject is clearly identifiable!

Active voice will keep your sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy.

Passive Voice Points: Passive voice sentences are not incorrect; they

(often) are not the best way to express your thoughts.

Sometimes passive voice is awkward and other times it’s vague.

Also, passive voice is usually wordy, so you can tighten your writing if you replace passive sentences with active sentence.