Passive and Active Voice (and Zombies)
"The gun was fired by Rick." vs "Rick fired the gun."
What is the difference between active voice and passive voice?
Active voice is when the person/thing doing the action is most important.
SUBJECT + ACTION VERB + DIRECT OBJECT
Example: My dog ate his dinner.
Passive voice is when the subject of the sentence is the receiver of the action.
SUBJECT + TO BE VERB + PAST PARTICIPLE
Example: The dinner was eaten by my dog.
In passive voice, you don't always need a participle. Sometimes it's simply SUBJECT + VERB (a form of be):
Example: The dinner was eaten.
A quick tip for telling the two apart:
Test it out:
The dinner was eaten.
The dinner was eaten by zombies. PASSIVE VOICE! Zombies can be inserted into the sentence as the "doers".
My dog ate his dinner.
My dog ate his dinner by zombies. Nope, doesn't make sense (unless zombies are in the nearby area). ACTIVE VOICE
Eh?
The bank on Elm Street was robbed.
The bank on Elm Street was robbed by zombies. PASSIVE VOICE
My leg fell asleep when we were stuck in the car.
My leg fell asleep when we were stuck in the car by zombies. ACTIVE VOICE
As the years went on, mistakes were made.
As the years went on, mistakes were made by zombies. PASSIVE VOICE
My little brother once crashed his bike.
My little brother once crashed his bike by zombies. ACTIVE VOICE
Detecting the pattern?
You may notice that any time a sentence ends with "by (insert noun here)", it's already passive.
For example, "The acorns were collected by the squirrels." has the same structure as "The acorns were collected by the zombies."
The dinner was eaten.
The dinner was eaten by zombies. PASSIVE VOICE! Zombies can be inserted into the sentence as the "doers".
My dog ate his dinner.
My dog ate his dinner by zombies. Nope, doesn't make sense (unless zombies are in the nearby area). ACTIVE VOICE
Eh?
The bank on Elm Street was robbed.
The bank on Elm Street was robbed by zombies. PASSIVE VOICE
My leg fell asleep when we were stuck in the car.
My leg fell asleep when we were stuck in the car by zombies. ACTIVE VOICE
As the years went on, mistakes were made.
As the years went on, mistakes were made by zombies. PASSIVE VOICE
My little brother once crashed his bike.
My little brother once crashed his bike by zombies. ACTIVE VOICE
Detecting the pattern?
You may notice that any time a sentence ends with "by (insert noun here)", it's already passive.
For example, "The acorns were collected by the squirrels." has the same structure as "The acorns were collected by the zombies."
Examples of Active and Passive Voice in Different Tenses
Verb TensePresent
Past
Present Progressive
Present Perfect
be + going to
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[Grammar Color Key]
[Blue = Subject]
[Green = Active Verb]
[Red = Direct Object]
[Orange = Passive Verb]
[Teal = Past Participle ("by" phrase)]
[Blue = Subject]
[Green = Active Verb]
[Red = Direct Object]
[Orange = Passive Verb]
[Teal = Past Participle ("by" phrase)]
When to use active voice and when to use passive voice:
Active Voice
When the "doer" is more important than the action
The underdog team won the tournament.
Academic / Literary Essays
Macbeth listens to the advice his wife gives him.
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Passive Voice
When the action is more important than the "doer"
The prestigious tournament was won by that team.
Scientific writing
The hypothesis was tested by the team.
Journalism
The presidential candidates were voted on.
When the subject refers back to something previously mentioned
The movie earned many awards. It was well-received by the audience.
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Life tip = English teachers luuuuv active voice.