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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Passive and active voice
Hi, is there any nice concise rule I can apply to texts to see if it's passive or active voice? I used to just assume that anything with 'was', was in the passive - sums me up really.
i) It was lying in the field.
ii) There was blood on the ground.
iii) He always carried it with him.
iv) I had better run.
v) I should have been better employed elsewhere.
I would have said that ii) and iii) were passive, but now I have no idea. I would appreciate any help, thanks!
i) It was lying in the field.
ii) There was blood on the ground.
iii) He always carried it with him.
iv) I had better run.
v) I should have been better employed elsewhere.
I would have said that ii) and iii) were passive, but now I have no idea. I would appreciate any help, thanks!
Top answer
For something to be passive, it requires that someone do (or did) something to someone/something else. That someone/something else that received the action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the person who did it may or may not be mentioned. Let's take iii: He always carried it with him.
- For something to be passive, it requires that someone do (or did) something to someone/something else.
- That someone/something else that received the action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the person who did it may or may not be mentioned.
- Let's take iii: He always carried it with him.
- " When you have Doer - action - recipient you have an active sentence.
- He carries it.
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6 Answers
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For something to be passive, it requires that someone do (or did) something to someone/something else. That someone/something else that received the action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the person who did it may or may not be mentioned.
Let's take iii: He always carried it with him.
He is the "doer."
What he does is "carry."
What he does it to is "It."
Wh
Let's take iii: He always carried it with him.
He is the "doer."
What he does is "carry."
What he does it to is "It."
Wh
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Is it - I should have been better employed elsewhere.
Since it says "I should have been employed by somewhere else", does making me the subject of somewhere else's action?
Since it says "I should have been employed by somewhere else", does making me the subject of somewhere else's action?
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You got it!
They employed me. I was employed by them.
Someone else should have employed me. I should have been employed by someone else.
They employed me. I was employed by them.
Someone else should have employed me. I should have been employed by someone else.
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Thank you for your help! I think I understand now. May take a while before I'm quite as adept at spotting them as you, but practice makes perfect! I assume it's therefore safer to assume an active voice until you can prove otherwise? Since the passive is seemingly less frequently used?
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Yes, I'd agree that active is used more often. Keep posting your questions.
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Anonymous is there any nice concise rule I can apply to texts to see if it's passive or active voice?Look for a form of be together with a past participle. That indicates passive.
It was lying ... -- Not passive. was is a form of be, but lying is not a past participle.
... was blood ... -- Not passive.
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