Active Voice: Introduction
Forms and Functions
Passive Voice : Introduction
Forms and Functions
The Active Voice
A. Uses of the Active Voice
Emphasize
Emphasize
thesubject
subject
the
ofaa
of
sentence,i.e
i.e
sentence,
thedoer
doer
the
Thesubject
subject
The
orthe
thedoer
doer
or
mentioned
isismentioned
orknown
knownin
in
or
the
the
sentence.
sentence.
By: AAR for ULD 1133
B. Formation of Active Voice
The active voice is formed by placing an
emphasis on the subject in a sentence.
This is done by beginning a sentence with a
subject.
Sheena kicked the bucket last night.
The UNITAR undergraduates performed
the play on the stage
The Passive Voice
Contrary to the
Active Voice,
the Passive Voice
puts an emphasis
on the object
rather than
The subject of the
sentence.
A. Uses of the
The Passive Voice is
used in a sentence
when the doer of the
action is known and
does not need
mentioning
The rubbish has been collected
The classroom was swept every morning
The Passive Voice is also used when the doer of the
action is not known or has been forgotten.
You will be guided throughout the trip
I have been told of his visit to the orchard
The Passive Voice is used when we are more
interested in or concerned with the action than the
person who does it.
A new bus stand is being built
( by the local town council)
The house next door has been bought
(by Mrs. Gan)
Formation of the Passive Voice
i.
e.g:
By putting the verb into the same tense as the active verb and
adding the past participle of the active verb.
a. We keep honey here (active)
b. The honey is kept here (passive)
a. People have seen UFOs at
the beach. (active)
b. UfOs have been seen at the beach.
(passive)
a. My father planted a mango tree (active)
b. A mango tree was planted by my father (passive)
Usually
Usuallypreceded
precededby
by
the
theword
wordby
by
when
whenthe
theagent
agent
isismentioned.
mentioned.
ii. The passive of continuous tenses is formed by adding the
present continuous forms of the verb to be.
a.
They are mending the roof. (active)
a.
The roof is being mended (passive)
a. Doctors were attending the sick patients
(active)
b. The sick patients were being attended by doctors.
- )
(passive
ACTIVE VOICE
AGENT
most of the class
agent not specified;
most likely agents
such as "the
researchers"
the CIA director
and his close
advisors
agent not
specified; most
likely agents such
as "we"
CHANGED TO
PASSIVE VOICE
Active vs. Passive?...
PASSIVE (INDIRECT)
ACTIVE (DIRECT):
Forming Tenses of Passive Verbs
Tense
Active
The passive voice
always consists
of Voice
two parts: Passive
a form ofVoice
the
verb "to be"
+ past
participle: plays/drives
Simple
Present
is played/ driven
Present
Continuous
is playing/ driving
is being played/
driven
Present prefect
has played/has
driven
has been
played/driven
Simple past
played/ drove
was played/ was
driven
Past continuous
was playing/
driving
was being played/
driven
Past Perfect
had played/driven
had been
played/driven
Future
will play/ drive
will be played/
driven
Changing from Passive Voice to Active
PASSIVE VOICE
AGENT
The
presiding
officer
The leaders
The
scientists
CHANGED TO ACTIVE
VOICE
Exercise 1 : Changing the active to the passive
1.
Khalil Gibran wrote that prose.
____________________________________________
2.
Jay will invite Norman to the party.
____________________________________________
3.
Yashmin is preparing that report.
____________________________________________
4.
Waitresses and waiters serve customers.
____________________________________________
5.
The teacher is going to explain the lesson.
____________________________________________
6.
Mogana has suggested an idea
____________________________________________
7.
Two horses were pulling the farmers wagon.
______________________________________
Additional On-line Exercises:
http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/active-passive.html
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_passive1.htm
