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When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject performs the action; in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. In academic writing, it.
Typology: Exercises
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Voice refers to the form of a verb that indicates when a grammatical subject performs the action or is the receiver of the action. When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject performs the action; in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. In academic writing, it is generally preferred to choose an active verb and pair it with a subject that names the person or thing doing or performing the action. Active verbs are stronger and usually more emphatic than forms of the verb “be” or verbs in the passive voice. Active: The award-winning chef prepares each meal with loving care. Passive: Each meal is prepared with loving care by the award-winning chef. In the above example of an active sentence, the simple subject is “chef” and “prepares” is the verb: the chef prepares “each meal with loving care.” In the passive sentence, “meal” is the simple subject and “is prepared” is the verb: each meal is prepared “by the award-winning chef.” In effect, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence. Although both sentences have the same basic components, their structure makes them different from each other. Active sentences are about what people (or things) do, while passive sentences are about what happens to people (or things).
The passive voice is formed by using a form of the auxiliary verb “be” (be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
He loves me. I am loved. We took our children to the circus. The children were taken to the circus. A thief stole my money. My money was stolen. Notice how the “be” auxiliaries change the meaning of the verbs from action to condition or from “doing” to “being.” He remembers his grandmother. (“he” is doing an action: remembering) His grandmother is remembered. (“she” is in a condition: being remembered) In this way, the past participle functions very much like an adjective; it describes the subject. The woman is pretty. She is a pretty woman The woman is married. She is a married woman.
The following is a summary of active and passive forms of all verb tenses. Remember that in active forms the subject of the sentence is the person or thing that does the action. In passive constructions, the verb is performed by someone or something other than the subject; often, the action is done to the subject by someone else.
Although active voice is generally preferred in academic writing, passive voice is acceptable under certain conditions. Use passive voice