HANDOUT AND ACTIVITY SHEET: ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

A sentence is composed of a subject and a verb. The verb is either in the active or passive voice.
What do we mean by “voice”. Voice is the quality of the verb which shows whether the subject is
the doer of the action or is the receiver of the action.

Examples:
1. Ariel pounded 5 bundles of rice.
2. Five bundles of rice were pounded by Ariel.

In the first sentence the verb pounded is in the active voice.

We can determine if the verb is in the active voice by answering these questions.
a. What is the subject?
b. Is the subject the doer of the action?

So, if the subject is the doer of the action, that makes the sentence in the active voice.
The second sentence is also in the passive voice. The subject in the sentence becomes the receiver
of the action. The word by was used before the receiver of the action. So, in the sentence the
subject “Ariel” in the active voice becomes the receiver of the action in the passive voice. But not all
sentences have the receiver of the action. It can be omitted.

Example:

Face masks are being used daily.

So in this sentence, instead of saying “Face masks are being used daily by the people”, we can omit
the receiver of the verb which is “by the people”.

REMEMBER THIS:
A sentence is in the active voice if the subject performs the action. It is also in the
passive voice if the subject becomes the receiver of the action. In the passive voice the subject
of the sentence is the object (either the indirect or the direct object). The verb in the passive
voice is made up of the verb be / helping verb with the past participle of the main verb.

SET A: Active voice

1. I visited Bakwitan Cave in Napua last month.
2. Auntie Narcisa gathered “ampako” in the riverbank.
3. Lolo Julian makes “tapey” for the wedding of his youngest son.
SET B: Passive voice
1. A story about Timmakudo Mountain was retold to us by Lolo Alcadio.
2. The banana plantation was destroyed by the typhoon.
3. Sacks of sayote were given to the victims of the flood in Isabela.

ACTIVITY 1: ACTIVE or PASSIVE?

Identify whether the statement is active or passive. Write your answers in a ¼ sheet of paper. Thank
you!
______1. Mother cooked pinikpikan with sigtim yesterday.
______2. Uncle Arman had caught 2 kilos of wading when we went to the river.
______3. Pine tree seedlings were planted by the community in Tangadag.
______4. Lang- ay Festival showcased different cultural practices in Mountain Province.
______5. The 12 municipalities in the province are unified by Lang-ay Festivel every first week of
April.
______6. The spirit of binnadang or ug-ogbo is passed from generation to generation.
______7. My grandfather told me the value of the word inayan.
______8. Lolo Crispin put a scarecrow at the middle of his rice field.
______9. Etag was added by my uncle in his special empanada.
______10. Sweet tapey was served during wedding celebration in the community.
Go over the table and learn how the verb in the active voice was changed in the passive voice.
TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE
Simple present tense gives/give is / are given
 Minda gives me a woven - is for singular subject
cloth. - are for plural subject
 A woven cloth is given to
Ana by Minda.
Present Continuous is / are giving is /are being given
 Minda is giving Ana a  A woven cloth is being
woven cloth. given to Ana by Minda.
Simple Past Tense gave was/were given
 Minda gave me a woven - was for singular subject
cloth last December. - were for plural subject
 A woven cloth was given
to me by Minda last
December.
Past Continuous was/were giving was/were being given
 Minda was giving Ana a  A woven cloth was given
woven cloth a while ago. to Ana by Minda a while
ago.
Simple Future Tense will/shall give will/shall be given
 Minda will give Ana a  A woven cloth will be
woven cloth this given to Ana by Minda
December. this December.
Present Perfect Tense has/have given has/have been given
 Minda has given Ana a - has for singular subject
woven cloth recently. - have for plural subject
 A woven cloth has been
given to Ana by Minda
recently.
Past Perfect Tense had given had been given
 Minda has given Ana a  A woven cloth had been
woven cloth when we given to Ana by Minda
visited her. when we visited her.
ACTIVITY 2
Supply the correct verb form to complete the active and passive voice sentence in each picture. Use
the verb and the tense of the verb inside the parenthesis.
1. Active Voice: She picked the flowers at Auntie Marlyn’s garden.
Passive Voice: The flowers were picked at Auntie Marlyn’s garden.
(pick – past tense)

2. Active Voice: They ___________ the soil using a hoe.

Passive Voice: The soil __________ by them using a hoe.
(cultivate – present tense)

3. Active Voice: Auntie Fely ___________ the wheels before painting them.
Passive Voice: The wheels ___________ by Auntie Fely before painting them.
(brush – past tense)

4. Active Voice: Edwin ___________ the ceiling of the Grade 10 classroom.

Passive Voice: The ceiling of the Grade 10 classroom ___________ by Edwin.
(fix – present continuous)

5. Active Voice: Dave __________ the comprehension questions correctly.

Passive Voice: The comprehension questions ____________ by Dave correctly.
(answer – present perfect)

6. Active Voice: Christian ___________ “Little Mouse Who was a Princess” tomorrow.
Passive Voice: “Little Mouse Who was a Princess” __________ by Christian tomorrow.
(watch – future)