Sentences can be active or passive. Mostly we use active sentences in our conversation, but sometimes we have to use passive sentences. Here in this article we will discuss active and passive voice and when to use passive sentences, but initially you have to know what is voice and difference between active voice and passive voice.
When a sentence is written, it can either be written in active voice or passive voice.
- Active voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb. For example: Tom changed the flat tire.
- Passive voice describes a sentence where the subject is acted upon by the verb. For example: The tire was changed by Tom.
In most cases, writing sentences in passive voice is discouraged because it can obscure the subject of the sentence, and confuse the reader. It also usually creates a wordy and awkward sentence construction.
Defining Passive Voice
Every sentence contains, at a minimum, a subject and an action. The subject is the person or thing the sentence is about, and the action is what the subject is doing.
When a sentence is in active voice, the subject is doing the action and the subject typically comes before the action in the sentence.
For example:
I swim. I is the subject. Swim is the action. The subject doing the action comes before the action, so it is immediately clear to the reader who is doing what.
When a sentence is in passive voice, the subject is being acted on by the verb and the subject typically comes after the action.
For example:
Swimming is something I do. Here, the action is swimming. The subject is I. The sentence is in passive voice, since the person doing the action (I) is not mentioned until after the action
Some sentences also contain objects - the thing being acted upon. This can make it more difficult to determine whether the sentence is in passive voice. For example, here is a sentence in active voice:
Anna hits the ball. Anna is the subject. Hits is the action. The ball is the object.
That same sentence in passive voice reads:
The ball is hit by Anna.
The ball is the object - not the subject of the sentence.
The ball is not doing an action. Therefore, it should be after the subject (Anna)