Active Voice and Passive Voice Notes: Active voice and passive voice are two different ways of constructing a sentence. The active voice emphasizes the doer of the action, and the passive voice emphasizes the receiver of the action. Understanding when to use each is important for effective communication in writing.

Active Voice and Passive Voice

Active voice and passive voice are two different ways of constructing a sentence based on the action being performed. The active voice emphasizes the doer of the action, whereas the passive voice emphasizes the receiver of the action. In this blog, we will discuss the differences between the two and provide examples.

Active Voice:

The active voice is the most common form of sentence construction in English. In an active sentence, the subject performs the action of the verb, and the object receives the action. The following is an example of a sentence in the active voice:

Example 1:

• Active Voice: The chef cooked the food.
• Subject: The chef
• Verb: Cooked
• Object: The food

In this example, the subject (chef) is performing the action (cooking), and the object (food) is receiving the action.

Passive Voice:

In the passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the doer of the action is either omitted or introduced with a preposition. In other words, the emphasis is on the receiver of the action rather than the doer. The following is an example of a sentence in the passive voice:

Example 2:

• Passive Voice: The food was cooked by the chef.
• Subject: The food
• Verb: Was cooked
• Object: Not applicable

In this example, the subject (food) is receiving the action (cooked), and the doer of the action (chef) is introduced with the preposition “by.”

Examples of Active and Passive Voice:

Let’s look at some more examples to understand the difference between the active and passive voice:

Example 3:

• Active Voice: The company shipped the product.
• Passive Voice: The product was shipped by the company.

Example 4:

• Active Voice: The teacher graded the exam.
• Passive Voice: The exam was graded by the teacher.

Example 5:

• Active Voice: The cat chased the mouse.
• Passive Voice: The mouse was chased by the cat.

Example 6:

• Active Voice: The government will launch the project.
• Passive Voice: The project will be launched by the government.

When to use Active and Passive Voice:

The choice between active and passive voice depends on the context of the sentence and the writer’s intent. Here are some general guidelines:

• Use active voice to emphasize the doer of the action and to make the sentence more direct and concise.
• Use passive voice to emphasize the receiver of the action or when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or undesirable to mention.

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By Team Learning Mantras