active and passive voice..

Verbs and Voice

• Voice is the form a verb takes to indicate whether the subject of the verb performs or receives the action.
• There are two types of voice:  active voice and passive voice.

Active Voice

• Active Voice – indicates that the subject of the verb is acting
• Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the sentences are said to be in the active voice.
• These examples show that the subject is  doing the verb's action.
• The dog jumped onto the boy.
• The dog (subject) is doing the jumping (verb).
• Kristy will give a book report to the class.
• Kristy (subject) is doing the giving (verb).
• The computer printed my paper.
• The computer (subject) is doing the printing (verb).

Passive Voice

• In a passive voice sentence, the subject and object flip-flop. The subject becomes the passive recipient of the action.
• Because the subject is being "acted upon" (or is passive), such sentences are said to be in the passive voice.
• These examples show the subject being acted upon by the verb. 
• The boy was jumped on by the dog.
• Boy (subject)  was being jumped on (verb)
• A book report will be given by Kristy to the class.
• Report (subject) will be given (verb).
• My paper was printed by the computer.           
• Paper (subject) was being printed (verb).

REASONS FOR USING THE PASSIVE VOICE

• Passive voice is used when the agent (doer of an action) is obvious, unknown, or unnecessary.

ú  Oranges are grown in California.

ú  Toyotas are made in Japan.

Her purse was stolen.

• Passive voice is used when the speaker/writer wants to emphasize a result or emphasize the receiver of the action instead of the performer.

ú  Seven thousand people were killed by the earthquake

• The earthquake killed 7,000 people.

ú  The professor was hit by three snowballs.

• Three snowballs hit the professor.

Reasons to Use the Active Voice

• Most writers prefer to use active voice because it is more direct.
• Compare

ú  Active: The waiter dropped the tray of food.

ú  Passive: The tray of food was dropped by the waiter.

• The active voice is less awkward and clearly states relationship between subject and action.
• Compare

ú  Passive: Your request for funding has been denied by the review committee.

ú  Active: The review committee denied your request for funding.

• The active voice sentence pattern propels the reader forward through your writing thus avoiding weak prose.

When to Use Passive Voice

• In general, the passive voice is less direct, less forceful, and less concise than the active voice. 
• Use the passive voice in the following situations:

ú  Use passive voice when you do not know or do not want to reveal the performer of an action.

ú  Use passive voice when you want to emphasize the receiver of an action.

Form of Passive Voice Verbs

• The passive voice requires a "double verb" and will always consist of a form of the verb "to be" and the past participle (usually the "en/ed/t" form) of another verb.
• Example:

                Active:  John baked the bread.

                Passive:  The bread was baked by John.  (Was is a form of the verb “be”.)

• Writers should be familiar with the forms of "to be" , often called linking verbs, so that they can easily identify the passive voice in their work.
• Review the forms of "to be":

ú  am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been

• Note the forms of "to be" in the examples of the verb "to kick" in various forms of the passive voice:
• is kicked----------------had been kicked
  was kicked-------------is going to be kicked
  is being kicked---------will be kicked
  has been kicked-------can be kicked
  was being kicked------should be kicked
• Often passive voice sentences will contain a "by" phrase indicting who or what performed the action.
•  Passive sentences can be easily transformed into active sentences when the object of the preposition "by" is moved to the subject position in the sentence.
• Examples:

ú  Passive: The cookies were eaten by the children.

ú  Active: The children ate the cookies.

ú  Passive: The tunnels are dug by the gophers.

ú  Active: The gophers dug the tunnels.