Table of contents |
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Introduction |
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Structure of Active and Passive Voice |
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Important Rules for Active and Passive Voice |
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Rules for Converting Active to Passive Voice |
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Voice refers to the form of the verb that shows the relationship between the subject and the action, indicating whether the subject is performing the action (active voice) or receiving it (passive voice).
For instance,
In the active voice sentence, "He loves me,"
In its passive counterpart, "I am loved by him."
The transformation from active to passive voice involves changing the verb form, with the addition of auxiliary verbs like "be," "do," or "have" to convey tense or mood. Despite differences in structure, the meaning of the sentence remains unchanged. Essentially, active sentences focus on the one acting, while passive sentences highlight the recipient of the action.
The change in voice does not alter the core meaning of the sentence
Active voice describes a sentence where the subject is the doer of an action. Its structure is as follows-
Subject + Verb + Object
Passive voice expresses action that is carried out on the subject of the sentence. Its structure is-
Object + Verb + Subject
In passive-voice sentences, the subject of the active voice (e.g., "they") becomes the object. In passive voice, the third form of the verb, known as the past participle, is used (e.g., eat, eaten). The auxiliary verb "be" (am, is, are, was, were) is added before the past participle based on the verb's tense. Generally, the preposition "by" is used before the object in passive-voice sentences. In cases where the intended meaning is clear, the subject in passive voice sentences can sometimes be omitted. The decision to omit the subject depends on judgment and context.
Some verbs take two objects, for example:
Active: Samdish gave the beggar an old t-shirt.
Passive: (i) An old t-shirt was given to the beggar by Samdish.
(ii) The beggar was given an old t-shirt by Samdish.
Such sentences are known as Mid-voice or Quasi-Passive voice. They seem to be in active voice, but their meaning is in the passive voice, and they have intransitive verbs, like without a direct object.
Active: Honey tastes sweet.
Passive: Honey is sweet when it is tasted.
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