IDENTIFYING THE

VOICE OF
VERBS
 VOICE
• Is a feature of verb that indicates
whether the subject of a sentence is
the “doer” or the “receiver” of the
action.
 Voices of the Verb

Active Passive
• If a person or thing denoted by the
subject is the doer of the action, the
verb is said to be in the active voice.

• If the person or thing denoted by the

subject is the receiver of the action,
the verb is in passive voice.
 ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
The cashier counted the The money was counted by
money. the cashier.

Monkeys adore bananas. Bananas are adored by

monkeys.

The dog chased the The squirrel was chased by

squirrel. the dog.
EXAMPLE:
ACTIVE VOICE
subject – verb – object
1. Mother made a cake yesterday.
2. The boy teased the girl.
3. The guests enjoyed the party.
EXAMPLE:
PASSIVE VOICE
OBJECT – “TO BE” VERB – PAST PARTICIPLE – BY –
SUBJECT
1. A cake yesterday was made by mother.
2. The girl was teased by the boy.
3. The party was enjoyed by the guests.
*three changes
1.The object of the active voice
becomes the subject of the
passive voice
2. The verb in the active voice
becomes a verb phrase that
follows this formula:
appropriate tense of “to be” +
past participle of the main verb.
3.The subject in the active voice
becomes the object of a
preposition by in the passive
voice.
 SIMPLE TENSES
Simple present is/are + past
participle
Simple past was/were+ past
participle
Simple future will be + past
participle
 PERFECT TENSES
Present perfect has/have been +
past participle
Past perfect had been + past
participle

Future perfect will have been +

past participle
 PROGRESSIVE TENSES
Present progressive is/are being + past
participle
Past progressive was/were being +
past participle
Future progressive will be being + past
participle
(this is rarely used,
however.)
Cielo ate six shrimps
at dinner.
PASSIVE
At dinner, six shrimps were eaten by
Cielo.
 Beautiful giraffes roam
the savannah.
PASSIVE
The savannah is roamed by beautiful
giraffes.
 Jehu read the novel in
one day.
PASSIVE
The novel was read by Jehu in
one day.
 Kate painted the entire
wall.
PASSIVE
The entire wall was painted by
Kate.
The director will give you
instructions.
PASSIVE
Instructions will be given to you by
the director.
Darwin will bake two dozen
cupcakes for the bake sale.
PASSIVE
Two dozen cupcakes will be baked by
Darwin for the bake sale.
 The choir really enjoys
the piece.
PASSIVE
The piece is really enjoyed by the
choir.
 They have repaired the
road.
PASSIVE
The road has been repaired by them.
The teacher always answers
the student’s questions.
PASSIVE
The student’s questions are always
answered by the teacher.
 Cats like milk.
PASSIVE
Milk is liked by cats.
 Reporters write news
reports.
PASSIVE
News reports are written by
reporters.
I have made some cakes.
PASSIVE
Some cakes have been made by me.
 Jacelle is baking a
brownie.
PASSIVE
A brownie is being baked by Jacelle.
The company hired new
workers last year.
PASSIVE
New workers were hired by the
company last year.
 I write a letter.
PASSIVE
A letter is written by me.
Fidel had written one hundred
poems for Stella.
PASSIVE
One hundred poems had been written
by Fidel for Stella.
 I eat an apple.
PASSIVE
An apple is eaten by me.
 Marie will have attend the
ceremony.
PASSIVE
The ceremony will have been attended
by Marie.
 He brought a car.
PASSIVE
A car was brought by him.
 They play basketball at
school.
PASSIVE
Basketball is played by them
at school.
 Kim never forgets his
wallet.
PASSIVE
His wallet is never forgotten
by him.
Leanne sings lovely songs.
PASSIVE
Lovely songs are sung by
Leanne.
Right now, Rein is writing
the letter.
PASSIVE
Right now, the letter is being
written by Rein.
People everywhere use available local
materials in building their homes.
PASSIVE
Available local materials are used by
people everywhere to build their homes.
The boys are eating the
pie.
PASSIVE
The pie is being eaten by the
boys.
Our powerful servant, electricity, is taking over
many menial tasks.

PASSIVE
Many menial tasks are being taken over by
electricity, our powerful servant.
Marie had chosen Ana and Joy to
see the bag that afternoon.
PASSIVE
Ana and Joy had been chosen by
Marie to see the bag that afternoon.
Jose has completed the
work.
PASSIVE
The work has been completed
by Jose.
 Chris had repaired many cars before
he received his mechanic’s house.
PASSIVE
Many cars had been repaired by Chris
before he received his mechanic’s
house.
 Human beings greatly broadened their
knowledge on research in space.

PASSIVE
Knowledge on research in space was greatly
broadened by human beings.