Warm UpDIRECTIONS: Take the next 7 minutes to write about something that you desperately wanted when you were younger. To be a firefighter? To have a puppy? To hop on and off of clouds (that was mine)? Be as imaginative and descriptive as you can.

Passive/Active Voice NotesThe passive tense of a verb is formed by putting the to be verb into the same tense as the active verb and adding the past participle of the active verb. The subject of the active verb becomes the ‘agent’ of the passive verb. The agent is very often not mentioned. When it is mentioned it is preceded by the word “by” and placed at the end of the clause.

Active: My grandfather planted this tree. Passive: This tree was planted by my grandfather.

USE

The Passive is used: 1. When the agent (=the person who does the action) is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context.

Jane was shot. (We don’t know who shot her.) This church was built in 1815. (Unimportant agent) He has been arrested. (Obviously by the police)

2. To make more polite or formal statements. The car hasn’t been cleaned. (more polite) (You haven’t cleaned the car. – less polite)

3. When the action is more important than the agent, as in processes, instructions, events, reports, headlines, new items, and advertisements.

30 people were killed in the earthquake.

4. To put emphasis on the agent. The new library will be opened by the Queen.

CHANGING FROM PASSIVE TO ACTIVE VOICE:

To change a sentence from the passive voice to the active voice: The object of the passive voice sentence becomes the subject of the active voice sentence.

This book was written by Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie wrote this book.

We change the main verb of the passive voice sentence into the active voice.

The tense remains unchanged.

The subject of the active voice sentence becomes the agent of the passive sentence. It is placed after the past participle and it is preceded by the preposition by.

ExerciseDIRECTIONS: Draw two lines under each verb or verb phrase. Write A above the verb if it is active and P if it is passive.

We were amazed that our choice won first place.

1) The play will be performed by a local company.

2) The system software was updated last year.

3) He served the ball hard, but it was returned even harder.

4) The winning essay was written by a freshman.

5) The mail was delivered late because of the snowstorm.

6) Sharon’s earrings were lost, but her English teacher found them.

7) Rafael planted his garden with the seeds he was given.

8) The charcoal for the barbecue was supplied by the park rangers.

9) The President threw the ceremonial first pitch of the World Series.

10) Zina would have been injured if she had climbed that cliff.

DIRECTIONS: Rewrite each active-voice sentence in the passive voice and each passive-voice sentence in the active voice.

The book was read by everyone in class.

1) The national anthem was sung by the school choir.

2) We drove the noise car to the muffler shop.

3) Taro was puzzled by the meaning of the last scene.

4) Juan shut the window suddenly

5) Reiko won the door prize at the dance.

6) The precious jewels were recovered by the police.

7) The prom decorations were chosen by the committee

8) My parents gave me a treadmill for my birthday

DIRECTIONS: Return to your warm up from earlier. Rewrite your description and eliminate all of the passive voice. No “to be” verbs should appear in your writing at all.