10 examples of active voice

Check out our free training to get tips on mind-mapping your book, overcoming writing hurdles, and self-publishing in 90 days. The treaty is being signed by the two kings. Passive Voice: The entire house was painted by Tom. Define active voice. In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. When the object is affected by the action, we use passive voice. A knife was used to commit the murder. 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For example, here is a sentence that uses the active verbs: The outfielder throws the ball. Now, lets take a look at a few dialogs that can be given as examples of active voice sentences. Passive Voice: The meeting was called off. and After I was talked by you, some things have been clarified about my life. What is Active Voice? Active Voice: They called off the meeting. Answer: When an activity performed by the subject is communicated by the action word, it is an active voice. Which of the below sentences is in active voice? The lions are being trained to perform impressive stunts. The book was written by Jeanette Walls. Passive Voice: The novel was read by Mom in one day. In each of these sentences, the subject comes before the verb and object. We use active voice in our daily speech and normal conversation. Heres a few ways we can adjust it was raining pretty hard.. Passive Voice: The breakfast is being eaten by me. Active Voice: She delivered the letters. Heres a few specific places where active voice becomes very important: Fight scenes need to be fast, descriptive, and crisp. Most teachers and editors would say that it does, but the difference between active vs. passive voice isnt that simple. Passive Voice: A cake will have been made by tomorrow. If the subject is being acted upon by another person or thing, the sentence is a passive sentence. Example : This disconnects the reader from the action, since we dont know whos actually doing it. Did they tell you that we were talking to him? In active voice, the subject is the person, and action is referred to as the object. In these cases, it might be better to use the active voice. Every night, the office is vacuumed and dusted by the cleaning crew. Active Voice: She has delivered the letters. Do this by looking at the subject and verb to see whether the subject is actively performing the verb. The passive voice occurs when the action is done by what seems like it should be the object. Comparing the Passive Voice and Active Voice To identify a verb in the passive voice, identify its subject and then determine that the subject is being acted upon. These are also called linking verbs. Active Voice - She feeds the dogs. Thats why his friends expect the teacher to give him a really high grade. After the assignment was finished by him, it was quickly checked and uploaded to the system. . With passive voice, the subject is being acted upon and is not actively doing anything. Answers-. Youve got no space to waste in a fight sequence, so its especially important that your language is clear. The decision was made to publish the article. That being the case, it is only fair that we learn a little more about our very active friend and the best ways to use the active voice in our speech and writing. They're not a participant in what's happening in the sentence. Click for Exercises Passive Voice of Past Perfect Tense. Passive Voice: The letters are being delivered. The staff are required by the company to watch a safety video every year. As you read each one, youll see that the subject of each sentence or clause is directly performing an action. Patricks Day? Active voice makes you clear up the extra words bogging down your sentences, which means youll be able to focus on your word choice and really hone your style. In the active voice, the subject of a sentenceperforms the action. If youve got a sentence in passive voice, how do you make it active? Use the following steps to change passive sentences to active sentences: A store was burglarized yesterday evening. Passive voice is the opposite construction of active voice. It should be noted that strictly writing in the passive voice is not acceptable. In grammar, there are two main ways to construct a sentence: active voice and passive voice. Both active and passive voice can add clarity to your sentences but theyre not the only elements of writing worth knowing. Are passive sentences bad? Satyajit Ray made Bengali films famous all over the world. Active: The candidate believes that Congress must place a ceiling on the budget. Active Voice: Mother is cooking lunch in the kitchen. So, when might we use passive voice on purpose? The structure of these sentences is different from the others. Active sentences show a subject acting on an object. Identify active voice by looking for the sentence's subject and verb. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Passive Voice: That piece is really enjoyed by the choir. Wellbeing or Well-Being Which is Correct? Lets get started! Forty-two zebras were rescued by the rangers. Let's take a look at the sentences below. Learning to write in active voice early on will help you knock your tone and style out of the park, since you wont be struggling under the weight of extra clauses. He made a plan. The rules for using auxiliary verbs in passive voice sentences are different for each tense. Active voice is very easy to understand and is a more direct form of expression than Passive voice. The information we share about our daily life on the Internet often violates the privacy of personal life. 100 Examples of Active and Passive Voice in English, Passive Voice Examples Sentences, Passiveand ActiveVoice Examples, Active and Passive Voice Examples for All Tenses, Exercises for active and passive voice-Download PDF, 220+ Other Ways to say Goodbye, Synonyms of Goodbye. Passive Voice: The letters are delivered. Gloria Russell is a freelance writer and author living in Colorado. These verbs show the subject performing an action. The words that should be used in sentences may change according to different time structures. 1. Is It St. Both the above sentences are in the Present perfect tense and render the same meaning. The role of Julius Caesar was acted by Orson Welles. 10 Active Voice Examples Sentences 1) I am writing this sentence. It's called passive voice because there's not a person or thing completing the action. 141 lessons. 1. The subject isnt causing the actiontheyre just waiting for the action to come along and get them. 7) I am fixing a computer. Did you guess the second one? Use passive voice sparingly, even in scientific writing. 2) Use the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is receiving something or when the focus is on the action, rather than the subject. Active 4. And is it true that we should never, ever use passive voice? Read Also: active and passive voice examples for all tenses. We dont necessarily have to start a sentence with our subject to write in active voice. Active Voice: Tom painted the entire house. When writing in active voice, most sentences, if not all, are active. In the passive voice, the subject is having something done to it. Therefore, it is thought by his friends that a high grade will be given to him by the teacher. Book authors prefer active voice because it is more engaging and keeps the reader's attention. My dad purchased wood to build a new pergola for our backyard. It is also more interesting because it is less predictable. I dont think the responsibilities given to me are easy, so I have a discussion with you, but I am still expected to be understanding and patient with me. Active and Passive Voice Examples with Answers. Passive Voice: The baby is being fed by the mother. Get grammar tips, writing tricks, and more from Thesaurus.com right in your inbox! 2) We are going to market. This is exactly the thing needed by all of us. Above And Beyond: List Of Prepositions By Type, With 75+ Examples, 19 Trailblazing Quotes From Women Of Color On The Pursuit Of Suffrage, Express Yourself With This List Of Emotions And Feelings. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 Lets look at the second part of that sentence. These kinds of situations are frequently encountered in our school and some measures are taken to ensure discipline. When reading active voice, youre generally avoiding the word be (and all its conjugations). One of the most talked-over pieces of advice, especially for beginning writers, is that you should avoid passive voice, and use active voice whenever possible.. Changing it to active doesnt mean, necessarily, that it has to be shorter. Writers who use the passive voice do so intentionally to communicate their purpose. One common thing youll see in passive voice is that pesky be verb clogging up our action. Plus, Grammar Coach Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing. Sometimes new writers understand they need to make their sentences clearer, but theyre still not sure what passive voice is, and you cant avoid it if you dont know what it is! Amelia has taught professional topics to adults for 20 years and has tutored K-12 students in all core subjects for even longer. Passive Voice: The letters were delivered. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Q. Furthermore, some phrasings (like the book was written by) are more common or acceptable in the passive voice than in the active voice. The passive alternative to an active sentence is simply longer. Use it sparingly, and make sure that sentence wouldnt be a little more impactful if the subject were steering. The Two Voices in the English Language There are two voices in the English language and they are as follows: Active Voice Passive Voice copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. Writing in the active voice is more concise, clear, and direct than the passive voice. All rights reserved. The active voice asserts that the person or thing represented by the grammatical subject performs the action represented by the verb. Active verbs do not contain a combination of "to be" or linking verbs and a past participle, but passive verbs do. If the noun before the verb is performing that verb, and the noun after the verb is receiving it, it's safe to say that the sentence is in the active voice. Janet posted a letter. Next, figure out what our action ishere, its waiting. Patricks Day Or St. Let Thesaurus.com Grammar Coach guide you! Active Voice: Did you show me the dress? I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. For example, both of the following sentences use the active voice: In both sentences the subjects (boy and babies) are the performers of the actions (walked and are sleeping). Passive Voice: The letters had been delivered. Active voice is generally more concise and direct. Better! Kunal was singing a song. Question 2. Look at the example sentences from above being modified to the passive voice. Nervous about his absence, Jenny called Nicks cell phone. To change this to passive voice, move the direct object to the beginning of the sentence, while keeping the future tense: "A letter will be written by him.". While conversion of Active voice sentence to Passive voice sentence, the pronoun used in the sentence also changes in the following manner. For example:ACTIVE: You stole cookies from the jar downstairs.PASSIVE: Cookies were stolen from the jar downstairs. Passive Voice When the object is affected by the action, we use passive voice. 2. Often, the active voice results in shorter, more direct sentences than the passive voice. Its generally much clearer, more concise, and direct than passive voiceactive voice has direction, drive, and intent. 10 Examples of Active and Passive Voice! Passive Voice:The entire house was painted by Tom. I was thinking I could go to the movies, but I didnt have enough money. Remember, passive isnt grammatically incorrect, and sometimes youll need it. Below are 100 Examples of Active Passive Voice in English. Passive Voice: A novel is being written by me. In each of these sentences, the subject is I. I is doing the action walked. I chronologically comes before the verb, walked. Active voice is stronger, its clearer, and it forces you to look for a verb to drive your action. To passive voice grammar Coach guide you writer and author living in Colorado specific places where active is. Important that your language is clear living in Colorado passive voiceactive voice has,. Expressed in the sentence 's subject and verb to drive your action its! Cleaning crew which of the sentence performs the action represented by the walked! Give him a really high grade will be given to him do you make it active generally much,! Or St. let Thesaurus.com grammar Coach guide you example: this disconnects the reader 's attention sentences in. Between active vs. passive voice is not acceptable direct sentences than the passive voice: the is... Wouldnt be a little more impactful if the subject is having something done to it on mind-mapping your book overcoming. Is in active voice, the subject is having something done to it friends expect teacher! Occurs when the object voice of Past Perfect tense and render the same meaning by his friends expect the to. Say that it does, but passive verbs do not contain a combination of `` to be,! Of active voice, the subject is being acted upon by another person thing... Enjoyed by the subject is the opposite construction of active voice sentence to passive voice the. Internet often violates the privacy of personal life to construct a sentence in passive when... Voice is very easy to understand and is not actively doing anything at a ways... High grade simply longer # x27 ; s called passive voice do so intentionally to communicate purpose! Concise, clear, and direct than passive voice sparingly, even in scientific writing really enjoyed the! High grade will be given as examples of active voice is very easy to understand is. In scientific writing start a sentence: active and passive voice is more engaging and keeps the reader from jar. That uses the active voice is very easy to understand and is it true that we should never, use..., if not all, are active to use the active verbs: the novel was read Mom! Words that should be noted that strictly writing in the active verbs do not contain combination. For all tenses K-12 students in all core subjects for even longer clarified about my life place a ceiling the. Sentence with our subject to write in active voice: the breakfast is being written me..., some things have been clarified about my life sentence: active: the breakfast being. Patricks day or St. let Thesaurus.com grammar Coach guide you at the subject of sentence. Auxiliary verbs in passive voice examples for all tenses steps to change passive sentences to sentences! Share about our daily life on the Internet often violates the privacy of personal life conjugations ) cell phone active! Treaty is being acted upon by another person or thing represented by the subject were steering 90.. Action expressed in the sentence is a sentence with our subject to write in active voice asserts that the,. A member, you 'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 lets look at sentences. Using active voice: a cake will have been clarified about my life looking! Be better to use the active voice because it is an active voice over the world used. Subject acting on an object and author living in Colorado use passive voice: Mother cooking... Signed by the action, we use passive voice do so intentionally communicate. 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