I have difficulty with active and Passive voice .

Question

1. The letterbox wasn't emptied this morning. - Active?
2. Over one-third of the candidates have failed the exam. Passive?
3. Unfortunately, your car has been badly damaged. Passive
4. The repairs will probably have been completed by 4.30pm. Passive
5. They will definitely have published the book by next January. Passive
6. He was shocked when he heard the news. Active
7. The roof got blown off in the hurricane. Active
8. All my friends were very interested in going to see the new movie. Active

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Wrong:  #1, #2, #5, #7

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Just a passing two cents worth...
# 8 is actually consdiered a passive sentence. Interestd- is a past participle used as adjective, but nonetheless, many words like that (exhausted, humilated, sadden and tired, etc ) are past participles describing a state or being which is caused by something or a reason. So based on my learning, I consider "I am interested ...." a passive sentence.

Mister Micawber · Answer

No, they are -ed forms used as adjectives.  Best change your learning, Dimsum.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Sorry, my answer was a little terse; I posted from my iTouch.

There comes a conceptual point at which there is no rationale for considering the -ed form a verb anymore, and that point is when the agent becomes a mere 'reason' rather than an intrinsic part of the sentence's meaning. Those -ed forms as predicative adjectives can easily be re-cast as attributive adjectives:

My interested friends
The exhausted camel
The saddened multitudes
A tired old joke
etc.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Mister MicawberThere comes a conceptual point at which there is no rationale for considering the -ed form a verb anymore, and that point is when the agent becomes a mere 'reason' rather than an intrinsic part of the sentence's meaning. Those -ed forms as predicative adjectives can easily be re-cast as attributive adjectives:

Hi MM,
I fully appreciate your comment, and I understand the urge of many to oppose this apporach toward past participles. That's exact reason for my interest to share my view. Right or wrong, I am not the only one having this "passive" view toward past participles. If my understanding is not wrong, the content of this site also agrees with the passive approach: http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/structure1/partadjs.html.

What I found confusing is that the explanations between sites vary to certain degrees. Here,
http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/passive3b.html
if a prep is used, it's described as pasrticiple adj. As in " I am tired of eating the same thing everyday", "tired" as classified here, is an participle adj. Whereas without a prep, as in "I am tired", "tired" is classified as passive voice verb. This is not meant to be a disagreement, but a point to raise questions or interests. But I fully agreed with your examples that they are adjectives:

My interested friends
The exhausted camel
The saddened multitudes
A tired old joke

Compare active – passive – participle modifier:

ACTIVE VOICE (verb)	PASSIVE VOICE (verb)	PARTICIPLE MODIFIER (adjective)
The question surprised President Bush.	President Bush was suprised (by the question.)	President Bush was surprised at/by the question.
The response confused President Bush.	President Bush was confused (by the response.)	President Bush was confused with the response.

I have difficulty with active and Passive voice .

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