Passive voice

For example: Tommy catches the ball. (Tommy is the subject, and he does the action: he catches.)

For example: The ball is caught by Tommy.

(The ball is the subject, and the ball receives the action: it is caught.)
TEST YOUR SKILLS!!

**Identify the sentence as active or passive voice…

1. The girls drive the car around town.

2. An important lesson is learned by teenagers when they get their first speeding ticket.

3. These men are enraged by the new office building in their backyards.

4. Good students work very hard to earn excellent grades.
**Rewrite these sentences in the active voice…

1. You are loved and cherished by many people.

2. All of my friends were stricken with mono during their first year at college.

3. The bank robbers were tried and convicted by the federal court system.

4. The high school graduates were given diplomas and congratulations by the principal.
**Rewrite these sentences in the active voice, keeping the same subject…

1. The New York Yankees were defeated by the Oakland Athletics in the last inning of the game.

2. The good little boy was rewarded by his mother for making his bed.

1. Active. (The girls are the subject, and they perform the action named by the verb.)

2. Passive. (An important lesson is the subject, and it receives the action named by the verb.)

3. Passive. (The men are the subject, and they receive the action named by the verb.)

4. Active. (Good students are the subject, and they perform the action named by the verb.)
1. Many people love and cherish you. (Switch from passive to active voice by making the noun or pronoun in the “by” phrase the sentence subject. “Many people” will become the new sentence subject.)

2. All of my friends caught mono during their first year at college. (Switch from passive to active voice by using a new verb. In this case, “were stricken with” is replaced with “caught.”)

3. The federal court system tried the bank robbers and convicted them. (The noun in the “by” phrase is made the new sentence subject.)

4. The high school graduates received diplomas and congratulations from the principal. (The verb phrase “were given” is replaced by “received.”)

2. The good little boy received a reward from his mother for making his bed. (“Was rewarded by” is replaced by “received a reward from.”)

http://learningsupport.udayton.edu/writeplace/index.htm