2. Verbs and Voic e
Voiceisthe form averb takes to
indicate whether the subject of
the verb performs or receives
the action.
There are two types of voice:
active voice and passivevoice.
3. Act i ve Voice
Active Voice–indicates thatthe
subject of the verb isacting
Becausethe subject doesor
"actsupon"the verb in such
sentences, the sentencesare
saidtobe in the active voice.
4. Act i ve Voice
Theseexamples showthat the subjectis
doingthe verb'saction.
The dogjumped onto theboy.
The dog(subject) isdoingthe jumping(verb).
Kristy will give a bookreport to the class.
Kristy (subject) isdoingthe giving(verb).
The computer ate mypaper.
The computer (subject) isdoingthe eating(verb).
5. Passiv e Voice
In apassivevoicesentence,the subject and
object flip-flop. The subject becomes the
passiverecipient of the action.
Becausethe subject is being "acted upon" (or
is passive), such sentences are said to be in
the passivevoice.
6. Passiv e Voice
Theseexamples showthe subjectbeing
acted upon by theverb.
The boy wasjumped on by thedog.
Boy(subject) wasbeingjumpedon(verb)
Abook report will be givenby Kristy to the
class.
Report(subject) will begiven(verb).
My paper waseaten by thecomputer.
Paper(subject) wasbeingeaten (verb).
7. Reasons to Use the Active
Voice
Most writers prefer touseactive voice
becauseit ismoredirect.
Compare
Active:The waiter dropped the tray of
food.
Passive:The tray of food wasdropped
by the waiter.
8. Reasons to Use the Active
Voice
The active voice is less awkward and clearly
states relationship between subject and action.
Compare
Passive:Your request for funding hasbeen denied by
the reviewcommittee.
Active:Thereview committee denied your request for
funding.
The active voice sentence pattern propels the
reader forward through your writing thus
avoiding weakprose.
9. W
hen t o Use Passive Voic e
In general, the passivevoice islessdirect, less
forceful, and lessconcisethan theactive voice.
Usethe passivevoicein thefollowing
situations:
Usepassivevoice when you do notknow or
do not want to reveal the performer of an
action.
Usepassivevoice when you wantto
emphasize the receiver ofan action.
10. Exam
ples
Awkward Passive:My bicycle was
repainted byJohn.
Deliberate Passive:My bicycle was
repainted. (The performer isnot mentioned
and the emphasisisonthe bicycle.)
11. Form of Passiv e Voice Verbs
The passive voice requires a"double verb"
andwill alwaysconsist of aform of the verb
"to be" and the past participle (usually the
"en/ed/t" form) of another verb.
Example:
Active: Johnbaked thebread.
Passive:The bread wasbaked by John.(Wasis
a form of the verb“be”.)
12. Form of Passiv e Voice Verbs
Writers should be familiar with the formsof
"to be" , often called linking verbs, sothat
they caneasily identify the passivevoicein
their work.
Reviewthe forms of "to be":
am, is, are, was, were, be, being,been
13. Form of Passiv e Voice Verbs
Note the forms of "to be" in the examplesof
the verb "to kick" in various forms of the
passivevoice:
iskicked----------------had beenkicked
waskicked-------------is going to be kicked
isbeing kicked---------will be kicked
hasbeen kicked-------can be kicked
was being kicked------should bekicked
14. Form of Passiv e Voice Verbs
Often passive voice sentences will contain a
"by"phraseindicting who or what performed
the action.
Passivesentences can be easilytransformed
into active sentenceswhen the object of the
preposition "by" is moved to the subject
position in thesentence.
15. Form of Passiv e Voice Verbs
Examples:
Passive:Thecookieswereeaten by the children.
Active:The childrenate the cookies.
Passive:Thetunnelsare dugby the gophers.
Active:The gophersdugthe tunnels.
16. Let ’ s Prac t ice
Directions: Changethe sentencesbelow to
the activevoice.
1. Thestatue is being visited by hundreds of
tourists everyyear.
2. My books were stolen by someone yesterday.
3. Thesebooks had been left in the classroom by a
carelessstudent.
4. Coffee is raised in many parts of Hawaii by
plantation workers.
5. Thehousehadbeenbroken into by someone
while the owners were on vacation.
17. Let ’ s Prac t ice
Directions: Changethe sentencesbelowto
the passivevoice.
1. Children cannot open these bottles easily.
2. Thegovernment built aroad right outside her
front door.
3. Mr. Rossbroke the antique vaseashe walked
through thestore.
4. When shearrived, the changes amazedher.
5. Theconstruction workers aremaking street
repairs all monthlong.
