8/18/2019 Using Active or Passive Voice

1/1

Using Active or Passive Voice

 The voice of a verb tells whether the subject  is doing the action or receiving the

action.

1. If the subject  is doing the action, the verb is in the active voice. If the subject

is receiving the action, the verb is in the passive voice.A tornado struck  the house. (active voice)

 The house was struck  b the tornado. (!assive voice)

". #hen the verb is changed fro$ the active to !assive voice, the object of the

verb beco$es the subject, and the subject beco$es the object of a

!re!osition.s d.o.

%atthew !roudl accepted the tro!h. (active voice)s o.p.

 The tro!h was !roudl accepted b %atthew.

&. A verb in the !assive voice $ust alwas contain a for$ of the verb 'be (am,

is, are, was, were, be, being, been) plus the past participle of the main verb. 

ther hel!ing verbs are so$eti$es used in addition to a for$ of 'be and a

!ast !artici!le. The runawa lion was ca!tured at the air!ort. The runawa lion had been ca!tured at the air!ort.

*+ercise (1) Underline the verbs in each sentence. (") In the blan-, write

active or passive to indicate the voice of the verb.

 1. %ost !eo!le visit Paris and /ondon during a tour of *uro!e. ".Uni0ue vases were $ade b ancient crafts$en. &. *ast and #est erlin were once se!arated b erlin #all. 2. 3ar$ers often raise several cro!s at the sa$e ti$e. 4. 5oastal di-es have been erected b the !eo!le of the

6etherlands to hold bac- the sea.