ENGLISH : Active and Passive Voice

• SUBJECT comes before the verb
• SVO - Subject Verb Object
• AGENT - person or thing that performs the action
• If the subject and agent are the same in a sentence ACTIVE VOICE is being used
• Shona cleans the house. - ACTIVE

  The house is being cleaned by Shona. -PASSIVE
• When we change ACTIVE VOICE to PASSIVE VOICE the Subject becomes the object and the object becomes the subject.
• ACTIVE subject performs the action.

  PASSIVE subject receives the action.
• PASSIVE VOICE

  • performer of the action
  • performer of the action is obvious
  • result of the action is important
  • if we want to be more polite