Voice in Grammar

Voice is the term used to describe whether a verb is active or passive.

In other words, when the subject of the verb is doing the action of the verb (e.g.,
"The dog bit the postman."), the verb is said to be in the active voice. When the
subject of the verb is being acted upon (e.g., "The postman was bitten."), the verb
is said to be in the passive voice. So, the voice of a verb tells us whether the
subject is acting or being acted upon.

What Is the Active Voice?

If the subject is performing the action, then the verb is said to be in the active
voice. Look at this:

What Is the Passive Voice?

If the subject is having the action done to it, then the verb is said to be in
the passive voice. Look at this:
 Passive Voice
A passive sentence is a sentence where the subject does not perform the action of
the verb. In fact, in a passive sentence, the action of the verb is done to
the subject. For example:

Passive voice to active voice

Sentences written in the active voice are easier to understand than sentences written in the
passive voice. Switching the passive voice into the active voice is straightforward, but it
requires a bit of practice. In the equivalency table below, notice that the tense of the verb to
be in the passive voice is always the same as the tense of the main verb in the active voice.
In order to use the active voice, you will have to make the subject of the action explicit.
To keep, active and passive voice

Tense Active Passive Active sentence Passive equivalent

voice voice

Simple keep is kept I keep the butter in the The butter is kept in the
present fridge. fridge.

Present is is being John is keeping my house My house is being kept

continuous keeping kept tidy. tidy.

Simple past kept was kept Mary kept her schedule Mary's schedule was
meticulously. kept meticulously.

Past was was being The theater was keeping a A seat was being kept for
continuous keeping kept seat for you. you.

Present have have been I have kept all your old All your old letters have
perfect kept kept letters. been kept.

Past perfect had kept had been He had kept up his His training regimen had
kept training regimen for a been kept up for a
month. month.

Simple Future will keep will be Mark will keep the ficus. The ficus will be kept.
kept
Tense Active Passive Active sentence Passive equivalent
voice voice

Conditional would would be If you told me, I would If you told me, your
Present keep kept keep your secret. secret would be kept.

Conditional would would I would have kept your Your bicycle would have
Past have have been bicycle here if you had left been kept here if you had
kept kept it with me. left it with me.

Present to keep to be kept She wants to keep the The book wants to be
Infinitive book. kept.

Perfect to have to have Judy was happy to have The puppy was happy to
Infinitive kept been kept kept the puppy. have been kept.

Present keeping being I have a feeling that you I have a feeling that a
Participle & kept may be keeping a secret. secret may be being kept.
Gerund

Perfect having having Having kept the bird in a The bird, having been
Participle kept been kept cage for so long, Jade kept in a cage for so long,
wasn't sure it could might not survive in the
survive in the wild. wild.
With a Passive Sentence, Use "By" to Show the
Agent
In a passive sentence, the person or thing doing the action (the agent) is usually
preceded by the word "by." For example:
• Anita was driven to the theatre by Carla.
• Nowadays, black kites are protected by law.
• The olives are stoned and crushed in this room by my son.
The opposite of a passive sentence is an active sentence. In an active sentence.
the subject performs the action of the verb.

What Does "Passive Voice" Mean?

The verb in a passive sentence is said to be in the passive voice. Likewise, the
verb in an active sentence is said to be in the active voice. For example:
• The bed was made by Rachel.
• (In this passive sentence, "was made" is in the passive voice.)
• Rachel made the bed.
• (In this active sentence, "made" is in the active voice.)