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Category: English Composition
Date Submitted: 07/02/2012 09:24 PM
Active and Passive Verbs
Active verbs form more efficient and more powerful sentences than passive verbs. This document will teach you why and how to prefer active verbs. * The subject of an active sentence performs the action of the verb: "I throw the ball." * The subject of a passive sentence is still the main character of the sentence, but something else performs the action: "The ball is thrown by me." | Troy Sterling and the Active & Passive Verbs |
Contents
1. How to Recognize Active and Passive Sentences
2. Basic Examples
3. Difference between Passive Voice and Past Tense
4. Imperatives: Active Commands
5. Sloppy Passive Construction
6. Linking Verbs: Neither Active nor Passive
7. Passive Voice is not Wrong
8. Tricky Examples
9. Links to Active & Passive Verb Resources
10. Works Cited
1. How to Recognize Active and Passive Sentences ^
1. Find the subject (the main character of the sentence).
2. Find the main verb (the action that the sentence identifies).
3. Examine the relationship between the subject and main verb.
* Does the subject perform the action of the main verb? (If so, the sentence is active.)
* Does the subject sit there while something else -- named or unnamed -- performs an action on it? (If so, the sentence is passive.)
* Can't tell? If the main verb is a linking verb ("is," "was," "are," "seems (to be)," "becomes" etc.), then the verb functions like an equals sign; there is no action involved -- it merely describes a state of being.
2. Basic Examples ^
I love you. 1. subject: "I" 2. action: "loving" 3. relationship: The subject ("I") is the one performing the action ("loving").The sentence is active. |
You are loved by me. 1. subject: "you" 2. action: "loving" 3. relationship: The subject ("You") sits passively while the action ("loving") is performed by somebody else ("me").This sentence is passive. |
3. Difference between Passive...