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Passive Voice

Passive Voice. Caleb, Aziz and Alex. What is Passive Voice?. Passive Voice is a voice in which the subject is the recipient of the action. Uses forms of the verb be ( am, is, are, was, were, being, been) It also involves verbs that take the place of to be , such as to get

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Passive Voice

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  1. PassiveVoice Caleb, Aziz and Alex

  2. What is Passive Voice? • Passive Voice is a voice in which the subject is the recipient of the action. • Uses forms of the verb be (am, is, are, was, were, being, been) • It also involves verbs that take the place of to be, such as to get • It can be followed by past participles acting like adjectives • Sentences in passive voice can be ambiguous and unclear • Lacks strength because the subject receives the action instead of doing it • Ex. 1 The cake was baked. • In this example, the cake is the object but it is unclear to the reader who baked the cake (the actor). The object becomes the subject in this sentence. • Object+ to be(simple past) +to bake (past participle) • Ex. 2 Caleb got tired. • Subject+to get + past participle (adjective)

  3. What is Active Voice? • Subject does the action • More concise and clear in its meaning • Emphasizes the actor • Provides a sense of motion • Ex. Martha Stewart baked the cake. Here, the subject (Martha Stewart) does the action of baking the cake. Now, we know who the actor is. Subject+verb+object

  4. Active vs. Passive Voice • Use Active Voice to conjure a sense of momentum in your writing because it will carry you on through the next sentence. • Use active voice unless you have a good reason for choosing the passive. • Use Passive Voice when you: want to emphasize the receiver of the action :want to minimize the importance of the actor (subject) • Passive voice is usually used in scientific writing to emphasize the experiment or process (receiver of the action) and not the researcher (actor).

  5. Replace be verbs or passive verbs with active alternatives and name the subject doing the action. • Ex. Passive: When I was brought to school by my mom, I was already late. Active: My mom brought me to school late. • Not all to be verbs need to be replaced. Be verbs can be useful for linking a subject to a noun that clearly renames it or to an object that describes it. • To be can be a helping verb before a present participle to express ongoing action. Ex. Littlefoot is a brontosaurus. Ex. Littlefoot is eating leaves. If they make a sentence needlessly dull, consider replacing be verbs with more active verbs.

  6. Identify whether these sentences are active or passive • Alex was unsure if he could eat in the library. • Alex was told by Caleb that it was probably fine. • Sitting in the library, the three students tried to think of active and passive sentences. • Before they even knew it, all four examples needed were written.

  7. Identify if these sentences are active or passive. Then, change them to the other voice. • Aziz was expelled from Hiram for parking in a fire lane. • Emeril cut his hand while he was cooking. • The class was started by Jeff Swenson banging on the board and yelling at the students. • From now on, all of his students will be process writers.

  8. Changed Sentences from previous slide • Passive. Hiram expelled Aziz for parking in a fire lane. • Active Emeril’s hand was cut while he was cooking. • Passive Jeff Swenson started class by banging on the board and yelling at his students. • Active. Process writers are what his students will be from now on.

  9. Works Cited • Azar, Betty Schrampfer. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 3rd Ed. New York: Pearson Education, 2000. • Hacker, Diana. "Prefer active verbs." Rules for Writers. 6th ed. 1. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print. • StrunkJr, William, and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd Ed. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1979. • Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. 6th Edition. New York: Harper Perennial, 1998. Print

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