Active or Passive Voice?

Active or Passive Voice,[object Object],Who is doing the action?,[object Object]

Active,[object Object],ACTIVE: The subject of the sentence is performing the action of the verb.,[object Object],Example: Javier pitched the baseball.,[object Object],Subject: Javier,[object Object],Verb: pitched ,[object Object],Who is doing the pitching? Javier. ,[object Object],“Javier” is the subject of the sentence; therefore, the sentence is active,[object Object]

Passive,[object Object],PASSIVE: The subject of the sentence is NOT doing the action of the verb.,[object Object],Example: The baseball was pitched by Javier.,[object Object],Subject: baseball,[object Object],Verb: was pitched ,[object Object],Who is doing the pitching? Javier. ,[object Object],“Javier” is NOT the subject of the sentence; therefore, the sentence is passive.,[object Object],Note: The word “by” is often present in a passive voice sentence.,[object Object]

Javier pitched the baseball.,[object Object],Javier, the subject of our sentence, is doing something. He’s ACTIVE, just like the sentence that expresses what he’s doing is active.,[object Object]

The baseball was pitched by Javier. ,[object Object],The baseball, the subject of our sentence, is doing nothing. It’s PASSIVE, just like the sentence that shows it was ACTED UPON is passive.,[object Object]

Which is more concise?,[object Object],Look at the lengths of the two sentences? Which is more concise?,[object Object],Javier pitched the baseball.,[object Object],The baseball was pitched by Javier.,[object Object],As you can see the first sentence, the active voice sentence, is also the most concise sentence. Unless you have a very good reason for writing a passive sentence, you should plan on writing your sentences in the active voice. Also, the active verb is more forceful that the passive one. While passive voice is not incorrect, if you have too many of them, your writing may sound awkward to your reader.,[object Object]

The game was won when the ball was hit out of the stadium by Jorge.,[object Object],Jorge won the game when he hit the ball out of the stadium.,[object Object],Which sentence sounds for forceful to you? The second one. It is also more concise. Which on sounds more awkward? The first one. It seems to wander around a lot to make its point.,[object Object]

Sample Sentences Coming Up ,[object Object],Find the main clause,[object Object],Find the main verb ,[object Object],Who/what is doing the action of the verb?,[object Object],Is the subject of the sentence doing the action of the verb?,[object Object],Don’t forget the steps for determining whether a sentence is in active or passive voice.,[object Object]

I hit the ball across the field.,[object Object],This one is pretty easy because there is only one clause to the sentence, so it IS the main clause. Then, find the verb, “hit.” Once you have the verb, ask yourself who is performing the action of the verb, in this case who is doing the hitting. The answer is “I.” Then, ask yourself if “I” is the subject of the sentence. Yes, it is. The subject is the person, place or thing that tells what the sentence is about. In statements ending with a period, the subject is normally at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the verb, followed by the rest of the sentence. It can get more complicated that this, that that’s the basics.,[object Object],Since the subject “I” does the action, “hit,” the sentence is in active voice. ,[object Object]

The ball was hit by me.,[object Object],Go through the step again. There’s only one clause, so you can go on to the other steps. First, what is the verb? It’s “was hit.” Who is doing the hitting? The answer is “me.” Is “me” the subject of the verb? No. The subject is “ball.” Therefore, the sentence is written in passive voice. ,[object Object]

I hit the ball across the field.,[object Object],The ball was hit across the field by me.,[object Object],Here are the two sentences together. In the first, active, sentence, the subject “I” is doing the hitting, but in the second, passive sentence, the ball was not hitting itself! It was “hit by me.” Notice the little clue word “by.” Often, though not always, the person or thing doing the action of the verb is preceded by the word “by.”,[object Object]

If you take the train, you will get to the party on time.,[object Object],This is a more complicated sentence. It is composed of two parts. The first, “If you take the train,” would become a fragment if you replaced the comma with a period. It is incomplete. Therefore, it is called a dependent clause. Sometimes, it’s calls a subordinating clause because the information in it is subordinate to, or less important than, the information in the following clause, which is an independent clause that can stand alone. To determine whether the sentence is active or passive, you can consider ONLY the independent clause.,[object Object]

If you take the train, you will get to the party on time.,[object Object],Here the dependent clause is crossed out. Look just at the main clause. Then, you can start to ask your questions. What is the main verb? “will get.” Who will do the getting? “You.” Is “you” the subject of the sentence? Yes. Since “you” is doing the getting, the sentence is in active voice. ,[object Object]

We’ll stay home if it rains.,[object Object],Here’s another sentence with a dependent clause. This time, however, it’s at the end of the sentence. Can you find it? ,[object Object],If you said “if it rains,” you are correct. That means you need to consider only “We’ll stay home” to determine active or passive. Find the verb and find out who or what is doing the action. What do you think? ,[object Object],If you said “we” is the subject doing the action “will stay,” you’re right. So, is the sentence active or passive?,[object Object], If you said “active,” you’re right because the subject “we” is doing the action, “will stay.”,[object Object]

DIY!,[object Object],Find the main clause,[object Object],Find the main verb ,[object Object],Who/what is doing the action of the verb?,[object Object],Is the subject of the sentence doing the action of the verb?,[object Object],Now it’s time to do it yourself! For each of the following sentences, decide on whether the sentence is active or passive before going to the next slide. ,[object Object]

#1 ,[object Object],Josh and Kate had many things to talk about.,[object Object],Active or passive? Decide on your answer and click to continue.,[object Object]

Active!,[object Object],Josh and Kate had many things to talk about.,[object Object],You’re right if you said active! The sentence is in active voice because “Josh and Kate,” the subjects of the sentence are doing the action, “had to talk about.”,[object Object]

Passive?,[object Object],Josh and Kate had many things to talk about.,[object Object],Were you thinking passive? Let’s look at it together. It’s simple sentence, so you don’t have to worry about a dependent clause. The verb is “had to talk about.” Who had to do the talking? Josh and Kate. They are also the subject of the sentence, so the subject, Josh and Kate, have to do the talking. In other words, they are performing the action in the verb. So, the sentence is active. ,[object Object]

#2,[object Object],The shelves were rearranged after the fifth book fell on the floor.,[object Object],Active or passive? Decide on your answer and click to continue.,[object Object]

Passive!,[object Object],The shelves were rearranged after the fifth book fell on the floor.,[object Object],Yes, if you were thinking active! Because of the dependent clause “after the fifth book fell on the floor,” you need to consider only “The shelves were rearranged.” The verb is “Were arranged.” We don’t even know who did the rearranging! And, certainly, the shelves did not rearrange themselves, so this sentence is definitely passive. ,[object Object]

Active?,[object Object],The shelves were rearranged after the fifth book fell on the floor.,[object Object],Were you thinking active? No, this sentence is passive. Let’s go through the analysis. Is there a dependent clause to eliminate first? Yes, you can ignore “after the fifth book fell on the floor” and consider only “The shelves were rearranged.” What is the verb? Were arranged. Who did the rearranging? We don’t even know! And, certainly, the shelves did not rearrange themselves, so this sentence is definitely passive. ,[object Object]

#3,[object Object],Jeannine completed her performance with a triple summersault.,[object Object],I hope by now you are beginning to get the hang of it. This sentence and the ones following it are a small paragraph that I broke up so that you can consider only one sentence at a time. Don’t forget to consider only the main clauses of these sentences. Active or passive? Decide on your answer and click to continue.,[object Object]

Active!,[object Object],Yes! The sentence is active because the subject “Jeannine” is doing the action, “completed.”,[object Object],Jeannine completed her performance with a triple summersault.,[object Object]

If you thought passive, look more closely! There is one section of this long sentence that you can ignore. The sentence ends with a prepositional phrase, “with her triple summersault.” Ignore the phrase and consider the what’s left. The verb is “completed,” and the subject is “Jeannine.” The subject IS doing the action, so the sentence is active. ,[object Object],Passive?,[object Object],Jeannine completed her performance with a triple summersault.,[object Object]

#4,[object Object],After the computers had been installed in the lab, a student training session was held by the technicians. ,[object Object],Active or passive? Decide on your answer and click to continue.,[object Object]

Passive!,[object Object],After the computers had been installed in the lab, a student training session was held by the technicians. ,[object Object],Passive is correct. ,[object Object]

Passive?,[object Object],After the computers had been installed in the lab, a student training session was held by the technicians. ,[object Object],If you were thinking active, don’t forget to ignore what you don’t really need. Like the previous sentence, this one has a prepositional phrase, two of them in fact. The verb in the main part of the sentence is “was held.” Did the students hold their own training session? No, the technicians held it, so the sentence is in passive voice. Also, the little clue word “by” is there to warn you. This is really a very awkwrd, roundabout way to say: After installing computers in the lab, the technicians held a student training session. ,[object Object]

#4,[object Object],The members of the homeowners association held a meeting to discuss the city’s landfill proposal.,[object Object],Active or passive? Decide on your answer and click to continue.,[object Object]

Active!,[object Object],The members of the homeowners association held a meeting to discuss the city’s landfill proposal.,[object Object],Active is correct!,[object Object]

Passive?,[object Object],The members of the homeowners association held a meeting to discuss the city’s landfill proposal.,[object Object],Again, if you were thinking passive, don’t forget to ignore the prepositional phrase in the middle of the sentence. The subject of the sentence, “members,” is doing the action of the verb, “held.”,[object Object]

#5,[object Object],Potatoes were cultivated by the Incas centuries before they became important to European cuisine.,[object Object],Active or passive? Decide on your answer and click to continue.,[object Object]

Passive!,[object Object],Potatoes were cultivated by the Incas centuriesbefore they became importantto European cuisine.,[object Object],Yes! The “potatoes” did not cultivate themselves. There are THREE prepositional phrases that can be ignored in this sentence! One of them is even the clue word “by” showing who is doing the action of the verb. However, the subject of the sentence “potatoes” is NOT doing the action, so the sentence is passive. ,[object Object]

Active?,[object Object],Potatoes were cultivated by the Incas centuries before they became important to European cuisine.,[object Object],Start,[object Object]

#6,[object Object],The family of a 90-year-old man who loved cars buried him in the front seat of his 1973 Pontiac Catalina. ,[object Object],Active or passive? Decide on your answer and click to continue.,[object Object]

Active!,[object Object],The family of a 90-year-old manwholoved cars buried him in the front seatof his 1973 Pontiac Catalina. ,[object Object],Yes! Once you ignore the word group associated with the relative pronoun “who” and the prepositional phrases, you are left with a short, active voice sentence.,[object Object]

Are there any times when passive voice is useful?,[object Object],Use passive voice to express action when the actor is not known:,[object Object],The concert tickets were sold out in six hours.,[object Object],Use passive voice when pointing out who did the action is not desirable:,[object Object],Poor judgment led the company to a bad decision.,[object Object],In both of these examples, who did the action expressed in the verb is left unknown. It really doesn’t matter who did the selling in the first example, and it’s probably better not to say who has the poor judgment to make a bad decision in the second one.,[object Object]

Active or Passive Voice?

Active or Passive Voice?

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