Active Voice and Passive Voice
Active Voice and Passive Voice :
Take a look at these two sentences.
The artist painted a picture.
The picture was painted by the artist.
The two sentences are saying the same thing, but the voice is different.
There are two special forms for verbs called voice - active voice and passive voice.
In the two sentences given above, the first sentence is in the active voice.
When the subject does the action, the sentence is said to be in the active voice.
In the first sentence, who painted the picture? - The artist
The artist is the subject of the sentence and it is doing the action of painting the picture.
Hence the sentence is said to be in the active voice.
When the subject is not doing the action, the sentence is said to be in the passive voice.
In the second sentence, the subject is the picture. It is not painting. Hence the subject is not doing the action. Such a sentence is said to be in the passive voice.
Let us examine a few more sentences.
1. The boy ate an ice cream.
verb – ate
subject - the girl
The subject is doing the action. Hence the sentence is in the active voice.
2. The child sat on the swing.
verb — sat
subject — the child
The subject is doing the action. Hence the sentence is in the active voice.
3. The ball was bowled by Rishabh.
verb — was bowled
subject - the ball
The subject is not doing the action. Hence the sentence is in the passive voice.
4. The country was attacked by bandits.
verb — was attacked
subject — the country
The subject is not doing the action. Hence the sentence is in the passive voice.
Read the sentences given below. Underline the verb in the sentence and state whether the sentence is in the active or in the passive voice.
a. Gita was given the award.
b. The cat drank the milk.
c. Kamal played basketball with his friends.
d. This building was built by the workers from Kerala.
e. Priya sang the song at the function.
f. The table was set by the children.
g. The police caught the robber immediately.
h. Oranges are grown in Nagpur.
i. The crops were spoilt by the rains.
j. My sister cooked all the dishes today.
Related Pages :
- Change of Voice
- Active Voice into Passive Voice
- Passive Voice into Active Voice
- Changing One Voice to Another Voice
- Special Forms for Verbs
Active Voice and Passive Voice
The Sentences Index
