ACTIVE & PASSIVE VOICE
What
is Active Voice?
In most
English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action denoted
by the verb.
These
examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action.
- Ramesh painted the entire house.
- The two kings are signing the treaty.
- The director will give you instructions.
- Yusuf posted the video on Facebook.
Because
the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the
sentences are said to be in the Active voice.
Passive
voice:
One can
change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct
object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted
upon by the verb - or passive.
FUNCTIONS OF THE PASSIVE VOICE:
The
passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences
an action rather than the person or object that performs the action. In
other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject of the
sentence.
EXAMPLES:
- The passive voice is used frequently. (= we are interested in the passive voice, not in who uses it.)
- The house was built in 1654. (= we are interested in the house, not in who built it.)
- The road is being repaired. (= we are interested in the road, not in the people who are doing the repairs.)
Sometimes
we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to express who
performed the action.
EXAMPLES:
- I noticed that a window had been left open.
- Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.
- All the cookies have been eaten.
- My car has been stolen!
PASSIVE VOICE STRUCTURES
TESNE
|
PRESENT
|
PAST
|
FUTURE
|
SIMPLE
|
He sings it. (Active)
It is sung by him. (Passive)
He doesn't sing it. (A)
It isn't sung by him (P)
|
He sang it. (A)
It was sung by him. (P)
He didn't sing it. (A)
It wasn't sung by him. (P)
|
He will sing it. (A)
It will be sung by him. (P)
He won't sing it. (A)
It won't be sung by him. (P)
|
CONTINOUS
|
He is singing it. (A)
It is being sung by him. (P)
He isn't singing it. (A)
It isn't being sung by him. (P)
|
He was singing it. (A)
It was being sung by him. (P)
He wasn't singing it. (A)
It wasn't being sung by him. (P)
|
---
|
PERFECT
|
He has sung it. (A)
It has been sung by him. (P)
He hasn't sung it. (A)
It hasn't been sung by him. (P)
|
He had sung it. (A)
It had been sung by him. (P)
He hadn't sung it. (A)
It hadn't been sung by him. (P)
|
He will have sung it. (A)
It will have been sung by him. (P)
He won't have sung it. (A)
It won't have been sung by him. (P)
|