PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE
A sentence is considered to be in the passive voice
if the SUBJECT is not the DOER of the action.
ex. The memo was written by the secretary.
"Memo" is the subject of this sentence, but "secretary" is the doer
of the action. Therefore, this sentence is in the passive voice.
A sentence is considered to be in the active voice
if the SUBJECT is the DOER of the action.
ex. The secretary wrote the memo.
"Secretary", the subject of this sentence, is also the doer of the action.
Therefore, this sentence is in the active voice.
Using the passive voice is acceptable under the following
conditions:
 | The writing is considered scientific. |
ex. Studies have been done on the effects of the sun's rays on our bodies.
| The doer of the action is unknown. |
ex. Our house has been robbed!
| The doer of the action is not as important as the result of the
action. |
ex. Gold has been discovered in Capreol.
Under all other conditions, use the active voice.
Exercise 1
Identify the following sentences as either active or passive.
- Two raccoons were spotted by the children.
- The workers painted our house.
- The barbeque was left outside all winter.
- Our spring flowers are being warmed by the sun.
- Joshua jumped in all of the mud puddles outside our back door.
- Myriam wrote a speech for the wedding.
- The fence beside our driveway was damaged by the snowplow.
- Many students have received their final grades.
- Warm sunny days have been predicted by the local weather announcer.
- We were all very excited about our camping trip, but three days of rain dampened our
spirits.
Exercise 2
The following sentences are written in the passive voice. Rewrite
them in the active voice if necessary. If the sentence is OK in the passive voice, write
OK.
- George Brown College was sent my mid-term marks by the Registrar's Office at Cambrian
College.
- In the 1990's, the first sheep, Dolly, was cloned.
- Many issues were raised at the Board of Governor's meeting by Cambrian's student
representative.
- Scholarships were given to students who had shown outstanding academic performance.
- On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot.
- Changes to Cambrian's home page have been made.
- A beautiful spring scene was painted by a Cambrian art student.
- Many new applications were received by the Registrar's Office.
- A wonderful time was had by Shelley in Cuba.
- Independent Learning is enjoyed by all Cambrian students.
ANSWERS
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