Active and Passive Voice Prof Myrna Monllor Jimnez

Active and Passive Voice Prof. Myrna Monllor Jiménez English 112 copyright©Myrna Monllor Jiménez 2020

The Active Voice • Most of the time we speak and write using the active voice • The active voice is especially important in business writing because it is more dynamic Three people interviewed me.

The Active Voice • Refers to the main verb of the sentence • The subject of the sentence is performing the action The assistant prepared the document. The surgeons operated the patient.

Example 1 • The students Subject answered all the questions. Verb

Example 2 • The mother gave Subject Verb the child the medicine.

The Passive Voice • Is used in formal writing, such as scientific writing • Used when you want to omit or not mention the name of the person/s who performed the action

The Passive Voice • When you use the passive voice, the subject does not perform the action • The person/s or thing/s performing the action does/do not have to be mentioned in the sentence • If the performer of the action is mentioned, then his/her/its name will be included in a phrase beginning with the preposition by

• The patient was examined by the pediatrician. Verb Performer of the action *Notice the preposition by in front of the name of the performer of the action

• The passive voice of a verb is formed with the verb BE and the past participle of a verb. Miss López was given a job at Sony Corporation. BE Past Participle

• The most common passive voice forms are in the past tense • To express a sentence in the past passive voice, use was or were I was told to visit the doctor on Friday. They were interviewed by the CEO of the company.

Changing from active voice to passive voice Active Voice The gynecologist examined the patient. Subject Verb Direct Object. Passive Voice The patient was examined by the gynecologist. *Notice that the subject and the object have changed positions

Exercise • • We sent a letter to the President of USC. The company hired many new employees. He listed all his skills in the resumé. The students answered the test. Marta placed her book on the table. They asked many questions at the meeting. Isabel Allende wrote De amor y de sombra. Many people saw the new advertisement.