PASSIVE VOICE

In English grammar, verbs have five properties: voice, mood, tense, person, and number; here, we are concerned with voice. The two grammatical voices are active and passive.

Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb.

Sentences in the active voice have a strong, direct, and clear tone.

Examples:

- Monkeys adore bananas.

- The cashier counted the money.

- The dog chased the squirrel.

Active voice is a normal sentence, in the same order:

Subject + verb + object

The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action. In other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject of the sentence.

- The passive voice is used frequently.

- The house was built in 1654.

- The road is being repaired.

Examples:

- I noticed that a window had been left open.

- Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.

- All the cookies have been eaten.

- My car has been stolen!

Examples:

(Passive)

- A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few well-chosen words.

(Active)

- A few well-chosen words convey a great deal of meaning.

the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle

- The house was built in 1973.

- The windows was opened by you.

Examples:

- "A Hard Day's Night" was written by the Beatles.

- The movie ET was directed by Spielberg.