Helping Verbs

• Helping verbs are words that help the verb perform its action. These are the common helping verbs:

• am be could• is been have• are being has• was will had• were shall

Identify the helping verb in each sentence

• He is working on his test.• I am going to the store.• We are traveling to our vacation.• We have played that team before.• He has made a tackle.

Subject or Noun?

• A noun is a person, place or thing.• A subject is a noun that performs the action!• Example: The dog jumped over the fence.• What are the nouns? • What is the subject (performing the action)?

Active Voice• When writing sentences, you can use active voice or passive voice. In

most writing situations, active voice is preferable to passive for the majority of your sentences. Overuse of passive voice can cause readers to lose interest or to become confused. Sentences in active voice are generally (though not always) clearer and more direct than those in passive voice.

• In sentences written in active voice, the subject performs the action expressed in the verb; the subject acts.

• Barry hit a home run. • Tom and Jerry will attend the concert. • Scientists have conducted experiments on the effects of aging. • In each example above, the subject of the sentence performs the action

expressed in the verb.

Passive Voice• In sentences written in passive voice, the subject receives the

action expressed in the verb; the subject is acted upon. The agent performing the action may appear in a "by the . . ." phrase or may be omitted.

• The home run was hit by Barry. • The concert will be attended by Tom and Jerry. • Experiments have been conducted to test the effects of aging. • Note: In scientific writing, passive voice is more readily accepted

since using it allows one to write without using personal pronouns or the names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences (see the third example above). This practice helps to create the appearance of an objective, fact-based discourse because writers can present research and conclusions without attributing them to particular agents. Instead, the writing appears to convey information that is not limited or biased by individual perspectives or personal interests.

She opened the book and scanned the table of contents. “Hmmm,” Jade said to herself. “I expected worse.”

Suddenly, Jade was startled by a screech and a crash.

To use the passive voice, the verb must: 

•use a form of the verb “to be,” •use a preposition.

Remember

Active: Jade called the police.

Passive The police were called by Jade.

Active: A police officer questioned the drivers.

Passive: The drivers were questioned by a police officer.

Active: A tow truck towed the damaged cars.

Passive: The damaged cars were towed by a tow truck.

Jade was disturbed by the accident.

Mr. Odeon’s car was damaged by a van.

Mr. Odeon was taken to the hospital by an ambulance.

The van was moved away from traffic by my friend.

The neighborhood was shaken by these events.

Revise

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1) Thomas feeds his dog. active / passive, subject, verb.2) The dog is fed by Thomas. active / passive, subject, verb.3) The family went to the beach. active / passive, subject, verb.4) The letter was written by Marshall. active / passive, subject, verb.5) The game had been won by the blue team. active / passive, subject, verb.6) The problem was solved. active / passive, subject, verb.7) The stunt man risked his life. active / passive, subject, verb.8) The fire was extinguished. active / passive, subject, verb.9) The car was being cleaned by its owner. active / passive, subject, verb.10) It gets cold here during the winter. active / passive, subject, verb.

1) Thomas feeds his dog. active / passive, subject, verb.2) The dog is fed by Thomas. active / passive, subject, verb.3) The family went to the beach. active / passive, subject, verb.4) The letter was written by Marshall. active / passive, subject, verb.