PSSA. ACTIVE vs PASSIVE
passive voice
the subject receives the action
active voice
the subject/NOUN performs the action/VERB
HOW TO IDENTIFY ACTIVE OR PASSIVE.....FIRST FIND YOUR =
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT
IN PASSIVE VOICE THE FOCUS IS ON THE ACTION
TRUE
LOOK FOR HELPING VERBS - THEN IT IS USUALLY PASSIVE
is was were are
REMEMBER PASSIVE VOICE HAS OBJECT FIRST, THEN SUBJECT Football is played by Dan
passive
The house was damaged by the flood
passive
The teacher graded the tests.
ACTIVE
The planning committee discovered that the room was not available.
ACTIVE *subject/COMMITTEE....performs the ACTION,VERB/discovered The committee discovered....so it is ACTIVE
The man caught several fish
ACTIVE *subject/MAN....performs the ACTION,VERB/caught The man caught....so it is ACTIVE
Oil slick teams will remove large amounts of oil from the sea turtles
ACTIVE TEAMS = SUBJECT REMOVE - ACTION or VERB... OBJECT - TURTLES
The student wrote.
ACTIVE Why? because the SUBJECT/STUDENT - is doing the action - which is WROTE.
The student wrote the essay
ACTIVE Why? because the SUBJECT/STUDENT - performs the ACTION(VERB)/WROTE
Alex wrote the essay on Alcatraz
Active
important: IF A SENTENCE has NO RECIPIENT of the action, the sentence CANNOT be written in PASSIVE VOICE since nothing is being acted upon
EXAMPLE: The student wrote. This MUST be active voice....because what the student wrote is UNKNOWN
Active vs. Passive
In the Active Voice, the Subject of a sentence Performs an Action (Verb) on an Object. In the Passive Voice, the Subject is Acted Upon (Verb) by an Object. ... Passive voice is used to draw attention to the action rather than the doer of the action.
Ali was given an A+ DOES IT MAKE SENSE: Ali was given an A+ BY ZOMBIES. YES-----MAKES SENSE - PASSIVE VOICE
PASSIVE
An A+ was given to Ali by Professor Collin
PASSIVE
IN PASSIVE VOICE - the SUBJECT DOES NOT PERFORM THE ACTION example: The ball is kicked by the boy.
PASSIVE
SOMETIMES, NO NOUN will exist in the OBJECT POSITION - EXAMPLE: The tests were graded. If this happens - try adding "by zombies" to the end of your sentence. If the sentence makes sense with zombies performing the action, then it's most likely PASSIVE. WATCH: The tests were graded BY ZOMBIES. Could a zombie grade the tests? YES...so PASSIVE
PASSIVE
The article is written by Sally
PASSIVE
The dog was bitten by the snake
PASSIVE
The essay about Alcatraz was written by Alex
PASSIVE
The experiment is conducted by the lab assistant
PASSIVE
The men were rescued by the Coast Guard
PASSIVE
The tests were graded by the teacher
PASSIVE
This picture was taken by Leslie yesterday.
PASSIVE
Large amounts of oil will be removed from sea turtles by oil slick teams
PASSIVE *
It was discovered by the planning committee that the room was not available.
PASSIVE SUBJECT is the ROOM...the room did not do the action...the room did not discover....so it is PASSIVE
Slaves were treated badly in the early U.S.
PASSIVE Think...your SUBJECT - is unknown.....WHO treated the slaves badly....??? Think of your example "by zombies" Slaves were treated badly in US by zombies....that makes sense - so PASSIVE
Several fish were caught by the man.
PASSIVE subject/FISH... FISH ARE NOT PERFORMING THE ACTION. FISH ARE NOT CATCHING.....- SO IT IS PASSIVE!!
The essay was written.
PASSIVE why?? SUBJECT (essay) is being ACTED UPON (written) BUT the thing doing the action is unknown.
The essay was written by the student.
PASSIVE why?? SUBJECT (essay) was ACTED UPON (written) by the OBJECT (student)
SOMETIMES, NO NOUN will exist in the OBJECT POSITION - EXAMPLE: The student wrote. If this happens - try adding "by zombies" to the end of your sentence. If the sentence makes sense with zombies performing the action, then it's most likely PASSIVE. WATCH: The student wrote BY ZOMBIES. This sounds weird...it sounds like the student wrote next to zombies...zombies were not doing the writing...so ACTIVE
ACTIVE
A man is cutting down a tree
ACTIVE
IN ACTIVE VOICE - THE SUBJECT PERFORMS THE ACTION example: The boy kicks the ball.
ACTIVE
Leslie took this picture yesterday.
ACTIVE
Professor Collin gave Ali and A+
ACTIVE
REMEMBER ACTIVE VOICE HAS SUBJECT FIRST, THEN OBJECT EXAMPLE: Dan plays football
ACTIVE
Sally writes the article
ACTIVE
The Coast Guard rescued the men
ACTIVE
The lab assistant conducts the experiment
ACTIVE
