ACTIVE VOICE

Active voice is a quality of a verb that describes when its subject

is acting out the verb.

Example of the active voice:

subject active verb

The leopard chased the antelope.

subject is doing the verb

Example of the passive voice:

subject passive verb

The antelope was chased by the leopard.

subject is not doing the verb

 Examples of Verbs in the Active Voice
If a verb is in the active voice, its subject performs the action of
the verb.

Examples of active verbs (active verbs are shaded):

 Curiosity killed the cat.

Step 1: Find the subject.

In this example, it's Curiosity.

Step 2: Did the subject perform the verb?

In this example, the verb is to kill, and Curiosity did perform
the action of the verb. Therefore, killed is a verb in the active
voice.

 All power corrupts.

Step 1: Find the subject.
In this example, it's All power.

Step 2: Did the subject perform the verb?

In this example, the verb is to corrupt, and All power did perform
the action of the verb. Therefore, corrupts is a verb in the active
voice.

 Some weasel took the cork out of my lunch. (W. C. Fields,

1880-1946)
Step 1: Find the subject.
In this example, it's Some weasel.
 More examples of active sentences:
 The kite flew high in the sky.
 The children shielded their eyes from the bright sun.
 A squirrel quickly ran across the grass to climb a giant tree.
 The ants swarmed the picnic with military precision.
 Suzy chased the butterfly with a net.
 He feels happy.
 They came late.

Examples of Verbs in the Passive Voice

If a verb is in the passive voice, its subject has the action of the
verb done to it.

More examples of passive verbs:

o Everyone was startled by the power outage.

o A scream was heard coming from the house.
o The candles were extinguished as we rushed to
the scream.
o The street was illuminated shortly by flashes of
lightning.
o She was murdered.
o A trap was devised to catch the killer.