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What Are Active and Passive Sentences

The document discusses the difference between active and passive sentences. It states that a sentence is in the active voice when the subject performs the action, while a sentence is in the passive voice when the subject has the action done to it. It provides examples of sentences in the active voice ("The cat was chasing the mouse") and passive voice ("The mouse was being chased by the cat"). It also notes some common uses of the passive voice, such as when the person performing the action is unknown or unimportant to the meaning of the sentence.

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122 views4 pages

What Are Active and Passive Sentences

The document discusses the difference between active and passive sentences. It states that a sentence is in the active voice when the subject performs the action, while a sentence is in the passive voice when the subject has the action done to it. It provides examples of sentences in the active voice ("The cat was chasing the mouse") and passive voice ("The mouse was being chased by the cat"). It also notes some common uses of the passive voice, such as when the person performing the action is unknown or unimportant to the meaning of the sentence.

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What are active and passive sentences?

The cat chased the mouse; the mouse was chased by the cat. Learn to identify active and passive voice
in sentences and support your child's Year 6 grammar knowledge and understanding.

What are active and passive sentences?

A sentence is written in active voice when the subject of the sentence is performing the action.

A sentence is written in passive voice when the subject of the sentence has something done to it by
someone or something.

For example:

Active voice: The cat was chasing the mouse.


In this sentence, 'the cat' is the subject, 'was chasing' is the verb and 'the mouse' is the object.

Passive voice: The mouse was being chased by the cat.


In this sentence 'the mouse' has become the subject which is having something done to it by the cat.

How are the active and passive voice taught and used?

People tend to use the active voice rather than the passive voice when they are writing, but the passive
voice is often used for particular reasons. For example:

Here, the person who has done the graffiti is not known, so the sentence is written in the passive voice.
Here, it is not important who counted the votes, but instead the fact that they have been counted is
important. You could also say that the most important thing in the sentence is the votes, which is why
they are mentioned first in the sentence, rather than last as they would be would be in the active voice
('People counted the votes').

Level: beginner

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

active   passive

The hunter  killed  the lion. > The lion  was killed  by the hunter

Someone  has cleaned  the windows. > The windows  have been cleaned

Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

past
  be  
participle

English is spoken all over the world.

The
window have been cleaned.  
s

Lunch was being served.  

The
will be finished soon.
work
past
  be  
participle

might have
They invited to the party.
been

If we want to show the person or thing doing the action, we use by:

She was attacked  by  a dangerous dog.


The money was stolen  by  her husband.

The passive infinitive is made up of to be with a past participle:

The doors are going  to be locked  at ten o'clock.


You shouldn't have done that. You ought  to be punished.

We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive:

Be careful with that glass. It might  get broken.


Peter  got hurt  in a crash.

We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:

active   passive

I gave  him  a book for his birthday. > He  was given a book for his birthday.

Someone sent  her  a cheque for a thousand


> She  was sent a cheque for a thousand euros.
euros.

We can use phrasal verbs in the passive: 

active   passive

They  called off  the meeting. > The meeting  was called off.

His grandmother  looked after  him. > He  was looked after  by his grandmother.
active   passive

They  will send  him away to school. > He  will be sent  away to school.

Level: advanced

Some verbs which are very frequently used in the passive are followed by the to-infinitive:

be supposed to be expected to be asked to be told to

be scheduled to be allowed to be invited to be ordered to

John  has been asked  to make a speech at the meeting.


You  are supposed to  wear a uniform.
The meeting  is scheduled to  start at seven.

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