Lesson 75

ACTIVE VOICE  vs   PASSIVE VOICE

Active voice
A verb is in the active voice when its subject acts  or when the subject does something.

Ex:  Tina writes an essay every day. 

Here, Tina is the subject, writes is the transitive verb and essay is the object.

 Ex: Japan can make great scientific progress.

Japan is the subject; make is the verb and scientific progress is the object.

 

Passive voice
A verb is in the passive voice when its subject is acted on.

Ex: An essay is written by Tina every day. 

Ex: Great scientific progress can be made by Pakistan.

Important note: The third form of the verb which is past participle, is always used in the passive voice.

 

Here are more examples of active and passive voice in the sentences.

Active voice: Men like that leader.

Passive voice: That leader is liked by the men.

 

Active voice: He helped me.

Passive voice: I was helped by him.

 

Active voice: Will you visit America?

Passive voice: Will America be visited by you?

 

Active voice: Mr. John teaches poor people.

Passive voice: Poor people are taught by Mr. John.

 

Active voice: Let us throw the ball far away.

Passive voice: Let the ball be thrown far away by us.

 

Active voice: They ate the food in the morning.

Passive voice: The food was eaten by them in the morning.