Hello Grammar Explorers!
Welcome to a super interesting mission! Today, we're going to learn about a cool way to build sentences called the Passive Voice. Don't worry, it's not as tricky as it sounds. Think of it like a magic trick where we can flip a sentence around to make the most important part shine!
Learning this will make your writing more powerful, just like a superhero choosing the right power for the job. Let's get started!
What is the Active Voice? (The Normal Way!)
First, let's look at the way we usually make sentences. This is called the Active Voice.
In the Active Voice, the subject (the person or thing doing the action) is the star of the show. The subject is busy doing something!
Let's look at an example:
The dog chased the ball.
- Who is doing the action? The dog! (The dog is our subject).
- What is the action? chased (This is our verb).
- What is being chased? The ball! (The ball is the object).
In this sentence, the dog is active and doing the work. That's why we call it the Active Voice.
Here are a few more examples:
Maria eats the apple. (Maria is the star doing the eating).
The students wrote stories. (The students are the stars doing the writing).
Key Takeaway
In the Active Voice, the sentence follows this pattern:
Subject (Doer) + Verb (Action) + Object (Receiver).
Welcome to the Passive Voice! (Focus on the Receiver!)
Now for the magic trick! What if we want the object (the receiver of the action) to be the star of the sentence? We can use the Passive Voice!
The Passive Voice is used when we want to focus on the person or thing that the action happened to.
Let's flip our first sentence:
The ball was chased by the dog.
See what happened? Now, the ball is the star at the beginning of the sentence! The ball isn't doing anything; it is being "passive". The action is happening to it.
Let's try the others:
The apple is eaten by Maria. (The focus is now on the poor apple!)
The stories were written by the students. (Now the stories are the main topic!)
Quick Review Box
Active Voice: Focuses on the doer of the action.
Leo painted the picture.
Passive Voice: Focuses on the receiver of the action.
The picture was painted by Leo.
How to Build a Passive Sentence (The Secret Formula)
Don't worry if this seems a bit confusing. There's a simple step-by-step formula to change an active sentence into a passive one. Let's try it together!
Let's use this active sentence: Anthony writes a poem.
Step 1: Find the object.
The object is the thing that receives the action. What does Anthony write? A poem. That's our object!
Step 2: Make the object the new subject.
Move the object to the very front of the sentence.
A poem...
Step 3: Add a "be" verb.
You need to add a helping verb like is, are, was, or were. Since Anthony "writes" in the present, we'll use is.
A poem is...
Step 4: Change the main verb.
The main verb needs to change to its special form, called the past participle. The past participle of "write" is "written".
A poem is written...
Step 5: Add "by" and the original doer (optional).
To show who did the action, we can add "by" and the original subject. Who wrote the poem? Anthony!
A poem is written by Anthony.
You did it! That's a perfect passive sentence!
Let's try a past tense one: Someone stole the computer.
- Object: the computer
- New Subject: The computer...
- "Be" verb (past tense): was
- Main verb (past participle): stolen
- Final Sentence: The computer was stolen.
(In this case, we don't know who "someone" is, so we don't need to add "by someone".)
Why Use the Passive Voice?
So, why do we need the passive voice? It's a very useful tool for writers and speakers!
We use the passive voice when...
- We don't know who did the action.
My bicycle was stolen last night. (We don't know who the thief is.) - It's not important who did the action.
The windows are cleaned every Friday. (It doesn't matter who cleans them, just that they are clean.) - We want to put more emphasis on the receiver of the action.
The first prize was won by our school! (The prize is the exciting news!)
Did You Know?
The passive voice is very common in news reports and science books. This is because they often focus on what happened or what was discovered, not who did it. For example: "A new planet was discovered."
Watch Out! Common Mistakes
When you're learning, it's easy to make a few mistakes. Here are some things to look out for!
Mistake 1: Forgetting the "be" verb (is, was, etc.).
- Incorrect: The cake eaten by the boy.
- Correct: The cake was eaten by the boy.
Mistake 2: Using the wrong form of the main verb.
- Incorrect: The song was sang by the choir.
- Correct: The song was sung by the choir.
Practice makes perfect! The more you read and write, the easier it will become to spot and use the passive voice correctly. You've got this!
Final Summary
Amazing work, explorers! You've learned the secret of the Passive Voice.
- Active Voice: The subject does the action. (The farmer grows corn.)
- Passive Voice: The action is done to the subject. (Corn is grown by the farmer.)
- Remember the secret formula: Object + "be" verb + Past Participle (+ by Doer).
Keep your eyes open for passive voice sentences when you are reading. You'll be surprised how often you see them!