Active and Passive Sentences

Last Updated: 02 May 2018

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Your little boy broke my kitchen window this morning. My kitchen window was broken by your little boy. In the first sentence, the person who did the action (your little boy) is the subject, and comes first; then we say what he did (with the verb, broke) and what he did to (the object, my kitchen window). In the second sentence, the opposite happens: we start by talking about my kitchen window (the object of the first the sentence has become the subject of the second); then we say what was done to it, and who this was done by.

The first kind of sentence, and the kind of verb-form used In It, are called 'active'. The second kind of sentence, and the kind of verb-form used, are called 'passive'. This difference in the verb conjugation is called one of Voice', different from those of tense, aspect and mood. Examples of Active and Passive Voice Active voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb. In passive voice sentences, the subject is acted upon by the verb.

Sentences in Active and Passive Voice Here are examples of sentences written In both the active voice and the assive voice, with the active voice sentence appearing first: Harry ate six shrimp at dinner. (active) At dinner, six shrimp were eaten by Harry. (passive) Beautiful giraffes roam the savannah. (active) The savannah is roamed by beautiful giraffes. (passive) Sue changed the flat tire. (active) The flat tire was changed by Sue. (passive) We are going to watch a movie tonight. (active) A movie is going to be watched by us tonight. (passive) I ran the obstacle course In record time. active) The obstacle course was run by me in record time. (passive) The crew paved the entire stretch of highway. (active) The entire stretch of highway was paved by the crew.

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