ACTIVE AND PASSIVE
VOICE
Active voice and
passive voice refers to the formation of the verb and the positioning of the subject
and the object in the sentence.
1.
Active Voice: It
is the describing process whereby the subject normally starts at the beginning of
the sentence.
Example: Juma is writing a letter.
Subject
He cooks dinner.
Subject
2.
Subject: Is a
person, a thing or a concept that does the action.
OR
Is the doer of the action.
Example: Juma
is reading a book.
Subject
Asha borrowed my book.
Subject
It rains heavily in March.
Subject
3.
Passive Voice:
Is the describing process whereby the object normally starts at the beginning of the sentence and the subject is
preceded with “by”.
This is a
converted statement from active to passive voice whereby an object receives the
result of the action in that particular sentence.
Example;
A
letter is being written by
Juma
Object
Dinner is cooked by him
Object
4.
Object: Is a
person or thing which is affected by an action.
OR. Is the
receiver of the action.
Example: Juma is writing a letter.
Object
He speaks English
Object
Note: It is not always necessary to use the “by
prepositional phrase” except when it is necessary to mention the doer of the
action. But in writing, it is advisable to indicate the doer.
Examples
a)
The bush is
cleared (by us). This means we can say
b)
The bush is cleared
A: Active Voice
1.
Teachers teach
students.
2.
We find a plot
for the field preparation.
3.
We clear the
bush.
4.
We cut down the
big trees.
5.
We remove the
trunks of the trees.
B: Passive Voice
1.
Students are
taught (by teachers).
2.
A plot is found
for the field preparation(by us).
3.
The bush is
cleared (by us).
4.
The big trees
are cut down (by us).
5.
The trunks of
trees are removed (by us).
Therefore the above
sentences can be constructed like that.
1.
Students are
taught.
2.
A plot is found
for the field preparation.
3.
The bush is
cleared.
4.
The big trees
are cut down.
5.
The trunks of
trees are removed.
CHANGES WHICH OCCURS IN
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
|
ACTIVE VOICE
|
PASSIVE VOICE
|
|
i)
I
|
ME
|
|
ii)
HE
|
HIM
|
|
iii)
SHE
|
HER
|
|
iv)
YOU
|
YOU
|
|
v)
THEY
|
THEM
|
|
vi)
IT
|
IT
|
|
vii)
WE
|
US
|
TRANSITIVE AND
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
Action verbs can be
grouped into two types;
i)
Transitive verbs
ii)
Intransitive
verbs
a)
Transitive Verbs
These are verbs that
carry object. The object can be a noun or pronoun.
The transitive verbs
are for example; sew, draw, build, clean etc. therefore these verbs can take
objects.
Examples; 1. She sews clothes
2. He draws pictures
3. I build houses
4. Amina cleans the blackboard
Clothes, pictures,
houses and blackboard are objects of the verb’s in the above sentences.
Thus, only the
transitive verbs can be used to form the active and passive voice forms.
Example;
Active voice
1.
She sews clothes
2.
He draws
pictures
3.
I build houses
4.
Amina cleans the
blackboard.
Passive voice
1.
Clothes are sewn
by her
2.
Pictures are
drawn by him
3.
Houses are built
by me
4.
The blackboard
is cleaned by Amina
b)
Intransitive
Verbs
These are verbs that
cannot carry object.
Therefore the
intransitive verbs cannot be used in the passive voice.
These verbs include;
cry, lie, die, stand, sit, rise, run, walk, etc.
Example
1.
She walks to
school
2.
He cries every
day
3.
The sun rises in
the East
4.
We usually run
to school and when it is still early, we walk.
5.
When we are at
school, we sit down during the lesson.
Thus the above
sentences with the intransitive verbs cannot be changed into the passive voice
form.
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