The action remains the same, but the focus is different. The subject of an active verb governs the process as an actor, or agent, and the action may take an object as its goal.

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The passive voice indicates that the subject is being acted upon.

​THE HUNTER KILLED THE TIGER

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​THE TIGER WAS KILLED BY THE HUNTER

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​It is believed that proto-Indo-European distinguished between an active and a middle voice, and it is from the latter that the passive voice in later Indo-European languages developed. The middle voice signifies either an action or a state in which the principal interest is the subject of the verb, as is seen in the following examples from Russian:

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​It is believed that proto-Indo-European distinguished between an active and a middle voice, and it is from the latter that the passive voice in later Indo-European languages developed. The middle voice signifies either an action or a state in which the principal interest is the subject of the verb, as is seen in the following examples from Russian:

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​Overuse of the passive is often criticized in manuals of style. It is, however, an important feature of certain styles (such as scientific English) used to express relationships and events in an impersonal way. It is unnecessary to know who performed the action in such sentences as “Hydrogen and oxygen were combined to produce water.”