English Grammar: Active and Passive Voice

Introduction:
Active and passive voice are two different ways of structuring a sentence. In active voice, the subject performs the action, while in passive voice, the subject receives the action. Understanding the difference between active and passive voice is crucial for effective communication and writing skills.

Active Voice:
In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. The structure of an active voice sentence is as follows:
Subject + Verb + Object

Example:
- I gave him the can of wine.

In this sentence, "I" is the subject, "gave" is the verb, and "him the can of wine" is the object.

Passive Voice:
In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action. The structure of a passive voice sentence is as follows:
Object + Verb (past participle) + Subject

Example:
- He was given the can of wine (by me).

In this sentence, "the can of wine" is the object, "was given" is the verb in the passive voice, and "he" is the subject.

Conversion from Active to Passive Voice:
To convert a sentence from active voice to passive voice, follow these steps:
1. Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
2. Move the object to the beginning of the sentence.
3. Use the appropriate form of the verb "to be" (am, is, are, was, were) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
4. If necessary, include the subject preceded by "by" to indicate who performed the action.

Conversion of the Given Sentence:
Active Voice: I gave him the can of wine.
Passive Voice: He was given the can of wine (by me).

In this conversion, "him" (the object) is moved to the beginning of the sentence. "Gave" is changed to "was given" (the past participle of the verb). The subject "I" is optional in the passive voice and can be included with "by" to indicate who performed the action.

Conclusion:
Understanding the active and passive voice is important to convey information clearly and effectively. By knowing how to convert sentences from active to passive voice and vice versa, you can improve your writing skills and create more varied sentence structures.

The can of wine was given to him by me.