Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
ActiveandPassiveVoiceVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com
Menu
(/)
Course Navigator
Video
Quiz
Help
Course
Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Robert Egan
No one likes a passive person, so why should you write in the passive voice? You may heard your teachers
toss around the terms 'passive voice' and 'active voice' You may have even been told not write in the former.
But if you've never really understood what it means to write actively or passively, stick with us -- and learn
how to turn to cludgy passive sentences into bright, active ones.
1/6
21/03/2015
ActiveandPassiveVoiceVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com
Everyone has that friend. You know, the one who's always passive aggressive and never seems
to come out and just tell you what he or she means? The roommate who wanders around the
kitchen wondering aloud where all of her milk went when you and she are the only people in
the room, and you wish she would just ask you directly if you were the one who used all her
milk without asking?
In English, a sentence written using passive voice is that annoying, ambiguous friend. In
passive voice, instead of an agent performing an action - as in active voice
(http://study.com/academy/lesson/active-voice-denition-examples-quiz.html) - the action
happens (often mysteriously) to the agent. Don't get what I'm saying? Take this scenario at the
climax of this little-known lm:
'The Emperor was thrown down a ventilation shaft by Luke's dad.'
This is a classic example of a sentence in the passive voice. Can you see why? First, ask
yourself:
What is the action in the sentence?
The action here is 'was thrown', or the verb to throw. Then, single out who is being acted upon.
In this case, who was thrown? 'The Emperor.'
Next, ask: Is someone or something performing the action?
Who was doing the throwing in this sentence? It's 'Luke's dad.'
Now that you've identied the key elements, you can make the sentence active by putting the
person performing the action (the subject) - 'Luke's dad' - at the front of the sentence.
So, 'The Emperor was thrown down the ventilation shaft by Luke's dad' becomes 'His dad
threw the Emperor down the ventilation shaft.'
The sentence is not only shorter and clearer, but more direct. Now the only thing you have to
answer is why there's a giant, death-defying hole in the middle of the throne room.
2/6
21/03/2015
ActiveandPassiveVoiceVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com
First-person Sentences.
It's a pretty common belief that sentences in the rst person, I or we, can't be passive. After all,
if I'm doing it, it can't be unclear who's performing the action, right? It's easy to fall into this
trap, but rst person perspective is not an escape from passive voice.
For instance, 'I was stranded on the island by the storm' is passive. You're not stranding
yourself on the island. The storm is performing the action of stranding you. To make it active,
change it to:
'The storm stranded me on the island.'
Lesson Summary
To identify whether a sentence is in passive or active voice, rst ask yourself
1. What is the action in the sentence?
and then
2. Who or what is performing the action?
Next, see if the preposition 'by' is in the sentence and where. Then, look for a 'to be' verb and
the past participle pairing. Then, once you've determined the sentence is passive (if it's active,
leave it alone),
https://study.com/academy/lesson/whatareactiveandpassivevoiceinwriting.html
3/6
21/03/2015
ActiveandPassiveVoiceVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com
Share
Feedback
Rate
or Browse
Browse by subject
(http://www.facebook.com/EducationPortalcom) (http://twitter.com/studydotcom)
(https://plus.google.com/116202902421420650540/posts)
Follow Us:
(http://www.youtube.com/user/EducationPortalVideo/)
Home (/) | About Us (/pages/About_Us.html) | Careers (/pages/Employment.html) |
Teach for Us (/pages/Contractors.html) | FAQ (http://support.study.com) | Contact Support
(http://www.bbb.org/sanjose/business-reviews/educational-consultants/remilon1000006412#bbbseal)
Terms of Use (/pages/terms_of_use.html)| Privacy Policy (/pages/privacy_policy.html)
copyright 2003- 2015 Study.com. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights
reserved.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/whatareactiveandpassivevoiceinwriting.html
4/6
21/03/2015
ActiveandPassiveVoiceVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com
https://study.com/academy/lesson/whatareactiveandpassivevoiceinwriting.html
5/6
21/03/2015
ActiveandPassiveVoiceVideo&LessonTranscript|Study.com
https://study.com/academy/lesson/whatareactiveandpassivevoiceinwriting.html
6/6