Grammar: Active and Passive Voice

Active and Passive Voice

Modality

• Modality refers to the attitude or perspective of the speaker towards the action or state described in the sentence
• Active voice typically expresses a more direct or intentional action, while passive voice implies a more indirect or accidental action
• Modality can influence the choice between active and passive voice in a sentence

Subject-Verb Agreement

• In active voice, the subject performs the action described by the verb
• In passive voice, the subject receives the action described by the verb
• Subject-verb agreement remains the same in both active and passive voice:
  • Singular subject: singular verb form
  • Plural subject: plural verb form

Sentence Structure

• Active voice: Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order
  • Example: The dog (S) bites (V) the man (O)
• Passive voice: Subject-Verb-by [agent] (SVO) word order
  • Example: The man (S) was bitten (V) by the dog (by [agent])
• Passive voice can make the sentence more formal or objective

Verb Conjugation

• Active voice: verb conjugation follows normal patterns
• Passive voice: verb conjugation involves adding a form of "to be" (is, was, were) to the past participle of the main verb
  • Example: The ball was thrown (passive) vs. The player threw the ball (active)

Clause Formation

• Active voice: independent clause formation follows normal patterns
• Passive voice: independent clause formation involves rearranging the sentence to emphasize the receiver of the action
  • Example: The new employee was trained by the HR department (passive) vs. The HR department trained the new employee (active)
• Passive voice can be used to create complex sentences by adding subordinate clauses

Modality in Active and Passive Voice

• Modality refers to the speaker's attitude or perspective towards the action or state described in a sentence
• Active voice implies a more direct or intentional action, while passive voice implies a more indirect or accidental action

Active and Passive Voice Sentence Structure

• Active voice: Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order
• Passive voice: Subject-Verb-by [agent] (SVO) word order
• Passive voice can make the sentence more formal or objective

Subject-Verb Agreement

• In both active and passive voice:
  • Singular subject: singular verb form
  • Plural subject: plural verb form
• In active voice, the subject performs the action described by the verb
• In passive voice, the subject receives the action described by the verb

Verb Conjugation in Active and Passive Voice

• Active voice: verb conjugation follows normal patterns
• Passive voice: verb conjugation involves adding a form of "to be" (is, was, were) to the past participle of the main verb
• Example: The ball was thrown (passive) vs. The player threw the ball (active)

Clause Formation in Active and Passive Voice

• Active voice: independent clause formation follows normal patterns
• Passive voice: independent clause formation involves rearranging the sentence to emphasize the receiver of the action
• Example: The new employee was trained by the HR department (passive) vs. The HR department trained the new employee (active)
• Passive voice can be used to create complex sentences by adding subordinate clauses

Learn about the differences between active and passive voice in grammar, including modality and subject-verb agreement. Understand how to choose the correct voice for your sentences.