Active and Passive Voice
In this lesson, you are going to learn about active and passive voice.
Study the following photograph.
If you were to describe it, the following would be possible descriptions:
1. The boy is holding a cat.
2. The cat is being held by the boy.
Sentence 1. is active while sentence 2. is passive. Read on for more information about active and passive voices in English.
An active sentence gives prominence to the doer of the action, that is, the subject. In this case, the
sentence states:
a) The doer of the action
b) The action
c) The receiver of the action
In the active voice, the doer of the action must be mentioned
For example:
Juma polished the shoes.
A passive sentence will give prominence to the receiver of the action (object). In this case, the sentence
states:
a) The receiver of the action.
b) The action.
c) The doer of the action.
Note that Mentioning the doer of the action is optional.
The shoes were polished ( by Juma).
When a sentence changes from active voice to the passive voice the subject changes to the object
position and the object to the subject position. Note the change in the positions of the subject and the
object in the following sentences.
When a sentence changes from the active voice to the passive voice, the object in the active sentence
becomes the new subject in the passive sentence.
Active Voice
In active voice emphasis is on the subject while in passive voice emphasis is on the receiver of the action or the object.
The tense of the verb in the active voice changes when the sentence is changed to passive voice