Download Active and Passive Voice

The English Corner at Richland College
Active and Passive Voice
Whenever we speak of actions that people, places, or things can take, we refer to these actions
with these terms:



Tense: the point in time that the action takes place
Mood: the attitude of the speaker or the person, place, or thing that is engaged in the
action
Voice: whether the subject of the sentence is performing the action (active voice) or the
action is being performed upon the subject of the sentence (passive voice)
Active Voice
Active voice refers to sentences where the subject performs the action. The emphasis in the
sentence is upon the performer of the action and the action performed, rather than upon the
receiver of the action. Active voice follows these basic formats:
Subject + Verb + (Prepositional Phrase)
Example: He sleeps (in the car).
Subject + Verb + (Indirect Object) + Direct Object
Example: She bought (him) the textbook.
Passive Voice
Passive voice refers to sentences where the action is being performed upon the subject. In this
case, the emphasis is not upon the person, place, or thing that is performing the action but upon
the person, place, or thing that is receiving the action. Passive voice follows this basic format:
Subject + Being Verb + Past Participle Form of the Verb + (Prepositional Phrase)
Example: The book was bought (by her).
Please note how the above example breaks down:
The book
was
bought
by her
Subject + Being Verb + Past Participle Verb + (Prepositional phrase)
Keep in mind that the past participle form of the verb can often be the exact same as the simple
past tense form of the verb, but the past participle and past tense forms can frequently differ.
Consider the following examples:
Regular Verb (past and past participle forms are the same):
Yesterday, I washed the car. (Past tense form)
I have washed the car many times in the past month. (Past participle form)
Irregular Verb (past and past participle forms are different):
Yesterday, I flew to Alaska. (Past tense form)
Over the past year, I have flown to Alaska many times. (Past participle form)
Handout created by Topher Garay
www.richlandcollege.edu/englishcorner
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Another feature of passive voice is that it can only occur when the verb in the sentence is a
transitive verb. Transitive verbs are verbs that act upon an object. Intransitive verbs can never act
upon objects.
Transitive: She gave blood at the office.
In this example, the direct object, blood, is receiving the action. It is what she is giving.
Intransitive: She slept.
In this example, there cannot be a direct object; it is impossible “sleep” something.
Since passive voice can only occur when the verb in the sentence is transitive, not every sentence
construction with a being verb followed by a past participle will be passive. If the verb is
intransitive, then the sentence will still be in active voice.
Active: The babysitter was tired.
Passive: The babysitter was tired out by the unruly children.
Not all instances of passive voice are inappropriate for formal writing. When the writer needs to
place emphasis upon the noun that has received the action rather than the noun performing the
action, then passive voice is more appropriate.
Appropriate: The victim’s arm was broken in three different places.
Inappropriate: The instructions were given by the teacher in an excited voice.
In the first example, the reader is less interested in who broke the victim’s arm rather than in the
condition of the victim’s arm itself. However, in the second example, there is no reason to
emphasize the instructions over the teacher. This example should be corrected.
How to Change Passive Voice to Active Voice
To change passive voice into active voice, first identify who or what is performing the action.
Often, the past participle verb in passive voice will be followed by a prepositional phrase that
indicates the actor in the sentence (by the teacher in the previous example). If you are unable to
identify the main actor, you may have a situation where the passive voice is more appropriate.
Once you have identified the actor in the sentence, place that actor at the beginning and change
verb form from past participle into the appropriate simple tense according to the tense of the be
verb.
Passive: The instructions were given by the teacher in an excited voice.
Corrected: The teacher gave the instructions in an excited voice.
Passive: The instructions are given by the teacher in an excited voice.
Corrected: The teacher gives the instructions in an excited voice.
Please note how the being verb in the second example is in present tense; thus, the correction
puts the main verb in present tense as well.
Handout created by Topher Garay
www.richlandcollege.edu/englishcorner