The firefighters extinguished the blazing fire.ġ2. The writer is penning a novel about adventure.ġ1. The singer performed a mesmerizing song on stage.ġ0. The lifeguard saved the drowning swimmer.ĩ. The scientist conducted experiments in the laboratory.Ĩ. The children planted trees in the park.ħ. The mechanic repaired the car’s engine.Ħ. The artist created a stunning sculpture.ĥ. Modify the sentences below from the active voice to the passive voice.Ĥ. The trees in the park had been planted by the children. The skyscraper is being built by the construction men. The construction men are building the skyscraper. The wounded puppy was being helped by some boys. Some boys were helping the wounded puppy.

See the examples of sentences modified from active to passive: To create the passive voice, we use an auxiliary verb along with the past participle form of the verb, e.g., was written, was built, was fixed, etc. It follows that only sentences with transitive verbs can form the passive voice, since there needs to be a sentence object/receiver of an action to form the passive voice. If we modify the sentence to the passive voice, (i.e., a novel was written by her last year) the word novel is now the sentence subject. In other words, what receives the action in an active sentence (and is the sentence object) flips to becoming the subject of the sentence in the passive voice.įor example, in the sentence, she wrote a novel last year, the noun novel is the sentence object. When we move from the active to the passive voice, what was initially the sentence object becomes the subject by being acted upon by the verb. ‍ What’s the sentence subject in the passive voice? A new bridge was built over the river by them.ġ0. Flowers are being planted in the garden by the gardener.ĩ. The concept was explained to the students by the teacher.Ĩ. A new product was launched by the company yesterday.ħ. A delicious meal is being prepared by the chef.Ĥ. ‍ Examples of sentences in the passive voiceģ. The gardener is planting flowers in the garden.ĩ. The teacher explained the concept to the students.Ĩ. The company launched a new product yesterday.ħ. The chef is preparing a delicious meal.Ĥ. ‍ Examples of sentences in the active voiceģ. It’s a somewhat subtle distinction, but it’s an important lesson in grammar to understand. The distinction is between doing something and having something being done to you/it. The active voice is where the sentence subject acts or performs the verb, whereas the passive voice is when the action is done to a person or thing by the subject. In the second sentence, where the verb is done to something or someone by the subject, and the action is being received, uses the passive voice. So, the first sentence, where the verb shows that subject does something, is said to be in the active voice. See how the passive voice flips the sentence focus to the direct object from the subject that performs the action. The second sentence focuses on Sally as the action’s target or direct object of the verb.

Because Sally receives the action from the subject, Sally is the sentence object. In the active voice, the subject performs the sentence’s action: Sam (subject) helps Sally.

What’s the sentence subject in the passive voice?ĭo you drive your car or, is your car driven by you? What’s the difference in the phrasing of these questions? Technically, both ask the same thing, but the first poses the questions in the active voice whereas the second uses the passive voice.

Examples of sentences in the passive voice.

Examples of sentences in the active voice.

Passive voice active voice