Understanding Voices

Understanding VoicesActive and Passive

Prithviraj Thakur, Department of English, G. S. Science, Arts and Commerce College, Khamgaon

1


2

Active VoiceIn sentences written in active voice, the subject performs the action expressed in the verb; i.e., the subject acts.

In each example above, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.


3

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 passive voice emphasizes the action being performed rather than the person doing the action.


4

Changing the Voice: Active to Passive

Consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb.

Then make that agent the object of a "by the..." phrase.

Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence

Change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit "by the..." phrase is optional.


5

Tense Active Form Passive Form

Simple Present eat, eatsThey eat salads.

(am)/is/are + eatenSalads are eaten by them.

Present Continuous (am)/is/are + eatingThey are eating salads.

(am)/is/are +being+ eatenSalads are being eaten by them.

Present Perfect has/have +eatenThey have eaten salads.

has/have +been + eatenSalads have been eaten by them.

Simple Past ateThey ate salads.

was/were + eatenSalads were eaten by them.

Past Continuous was/were + eatingThey were eating salads.

was/were + being + eatenSalads were being eaten by them.

Past Perfect had + eatenThey had eaten salads.

had + been + eatenSalads had been eaten by them.

Future shall/will+ eatThey will eat salads.

shall/will + be + eatenSalads will be eaten by them.

Future Perfect shall/will + have + eatenThey will have eaten salads.

shall/will + have + been +eatenSalads will have been eaten by them.


6

Active Passive: Change of Pronouns

I Me

He Him She Her They

Them We

Us You You

During conversion from active to passive voice, pronouns change cases as follows:


7

Passive Voice of Commands

While changing commands from active to passive voice, do the following:

Let + new subject (previous object) + be + Past Participle

For example:

Give him some money. (active voice)

Let him be given money. (passive voice)

Make the bed. (active voice)

Let the bed be made.(passive voice)

Take care of everyone. (active voice)

Let everyone be taken care of. (passive voice)


8

Passive Voice of Questions

When the question begins with do, does or did:

to be + new subject + Past Participle

Did you understand the lesson ? (active)

Was the lesson understood by you ? (passive)

When the question begins with auxiliary verbs (will/can/could etc.):

auxiliary verb + new subject + be + Past Participle

Will Neha buy a scooter ? (active)

Will a new scooter be bought by Neha ? (passive)


9

When the question begins with have/has:

have/ has + new subject + been + Past Participle

Has Rita read the books? (active)

Have the books been read by Rita ? (passive)

In case of WH questions (who/what/when/why/where):

Question word + to be + new subject + Past Participle

When did Padma shut down the computer ?

When was the computer shut down by Padma ?

Passive Voice of Questions…


10

Sentences with Two Objects In case of sentences with two objects, i. e.Direct & Indirect

objects, prefer the indirect or personal object. For example: Ram gave Hari a present. (active voice)

Indirect Direct

Hari was given a present by Ram. (passive voice)

Begin with direct object if you want to highlight it. For example: Government gave food and medicines to the flood victims. (active

voice)

DirectIndirect

Food and medicines were given to the flood victims by the government. (passive voice)


11

Exceptions…There can be no passive voice of:

Sentences with intransitive verbs. (verbs that don’t require an object). For example:

He went home.

This shirt costs Rs. 300/-

Some transitive verbs (verbs that require an object) also don’t have passive forms. For example:

He has a car.

We got a lot of emails.

Verbs followed by reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself, himself , herself, themselves) do not appear in passive voice. For example:

He hurt himself.

They looked after themselves.Prithviraj Thakur, Department of English, G. S. Science, Arts and Commerce College, Khamgaon

12

Changing the Voice: Passive to Active

Find the agent in a "by the..." phrase OR Consider carefully who or what is performing the action

expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and

change the verb accordingly.


13

Changing the Voice: Passive to Active Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from

the surrounding sentences which provide context.

agent not specified; use most likely agents such as "we"


14

Finding the Right Voice…Active vs. Passive

Though the meaning of the sentence doesn't change with

a change in voice, the attitude does.

Both voices have their own purposes and must be used

with discretion.

It is important to choose the voice that best suits your

purpose whether in Spoken or Written English.


15

Passive Voice… The passive voice emphasizes the action being

performed rather than the person doing the action.

The passive voice has two main uses:

To present ideas objectively (Showing that the results are more important than the person doing the work)

e.g. “The surveys were tabulated.”

To avoid using names or assigning blame

e.g. “An unfortunate error has occurred.”

Hence passive voice is preferred in Scientific or technical writing.


16

Passive Voice: A Word of Caution…

But overuse of passive voice in any kind of writing or talk, makes it boring and difficult to understand.

In everyday conversations, active voice should be preferred and passive voice should be used only when: The subject or doer of the action is unknown.

OR When you want to maintain aloofness or

objectivity.


17

Active Voice The active voice is preferred for most type of business

writing because it is shorter, more personal, and more

forceful.

In active voice sentences, the subject of the verb performs

the action.

In most nonscientific writing situations, active voice is

preferable to passive for the majority of your sentences.

Even in scientific writing, overuse of passive voice or use of

passive voice in long and complicated sentences 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.Prithviraj Thakur, Department of English, G. S. Science, Arts and Commerce College, Khamgaon

18

Exercise I left the window open last night and let all the mosquitoes

in.

Verification of passwords must be done on a daily basis by security personnel.

I cannot approve your loan until you have provided us with collateral.

We made a major error by spelling our client’s name wrong in the report.

You failed to submit the application before the due date.

We should not have ordered a separate phone line for each person in the office.

The software was installed incorrectly on your computer.


19

The window was left open and all mosquitoes were let in last night by me .

Security personnel must do the verification of passwords on a daily basis.

Your loan cannot be approved by us until we have been provided collateral by you.

A major error was made by us by spelling our client’s name wrong in the report.

You failed to submit the application before the due date. (No passive voice.)

A separate phone line should not have been ordered by us for each person in the office.

We installed the software incorrectly on your computer.

Answers


20

Any Questions ?


21


22

Documents

Understanding Voices