English Grammar Questions Long
Active and passive voice are two different ways of expressing the same idea in English grammar. The active voice emphasizes the subject of the sentence as the doer of the action, while the passive voice emphasizes the object of the action.
In active voice sentences, the subject performs the action directly on the object. For example, "John ate the apple." Here, "John" is the subject, "ate" is the verb, and "the apple" is the object. The subject "John" is actively performing the action of eating the apple.
In passive voice sentences, the object of the action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the subject is either omitted or placed after the verb. The focus is on the object rather than the doer of the action. For example, "The apple was eaten by John." Here, "The apple" is the subject, "was eaten" is the verb phrase, and "by John" indicates the doer of the action. The subject "The apple" is passively receiving the action of being eaten.
To form the passive voice, we use a form of the verb "to be" (such as "is," "was," "are," "were") followed by the past participle of the main verb. The preposition "by" is often used to indicate the doer of the action, but it can be omitted if the doer is unknown or unimportant.
Here are a few more examples to illustrate the difference between active and passive voice:
Active voice:
- She wrote the letter.
- They are building a new house.
- The dog chased the cat.
Passive voice:
- The letter was written by her.
- A new house is being built by them.
- The cat was chased by the dog.
It is important to note that the choice between active and passive voice depends on the context and the emphasis we want to give to the subject or object of the sentence. Active voice is generally preferred as it is more direct and concise, while passive voice is used when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or when we want to shift the focus to the object.