In active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb. In passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb. If you feel like you need a little more than that, keep reading.

 

What is passive voice?

 

The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that sentence is about.

The passive voice is when an action happens to the subject.

In terms of format, passive voice generally combines a form of the verb to be with a past tense verb. In the sentence “Peter Parker was bitten,” for example, the to be verb is was and the past tense verb is bitten. The action (bite) is being performed upon the subject (Peter Parker), so this sentence is written in the passive voice.

Most sentences written in passive voice feature an agent that’s performing the action. For example, the above sentence could also be written as “Peter Parker was bitten by a spider.” Here, the agent (a spider) is performing the action on Peter.

 

Active Voice

 

In active voice, the subject itself performs the action rather than having the action performed upon it.

So you can think of this subject as actively doing things. For example, “The spider bit Peter Parker.” The spider is now the subject of the sentence, and performs the main action (bit) on Peter. So this sentence is written in active voice.

In active voice, the object of the sentence (typically a noun that receives the action) comes directly after the verb. Here, the object is Peter. (Sentences written in active voice don’t always need an object.)

 

Changing passive voice to active voice

 

To change passive voice to active voice, make the agent of the sentence into the subject, and turn the old subject into the object.

For example, this is a passive sentence: “The article is being read by most of my class.” The agent is most of my class, and the subject is the article.

Written in the active voice, this sentence would be “Most of my class is reading the article.” Here, the new subject is most of my class and the object is the article.

 

Advantages of passive and active voice

 

Active voice tends to sound more direct in tone because the subject leads the sentence. Asking “Why didn’t you answer your phone?” sounds more direct and authoritative than “Why wasn’t your phone answered by you?” It also makes the sentence sound much more clear.

Passive voice works well in instances when the agent is unclear, or when you want to de-emphasize the agent. It’s frequently used in scientific writing to neutralize perspective. This is particularly helpful when describing a specific process, as in “The flask was filled with a transparent solution.”

 

Passive Voice

What is the passive voice?

 

In general we tend to use the active voice. That is when a subject does an action to an object.

1. Somebody stole my laptop. (subject = Somebody / action(verb) = stole / object = my laptop)

he passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the action (the verb) and the object of a sentence rather than subject. This means that the subject is either less important than the action itself or that we don’t know who or what the subject is.

1. My laptop was stolen. (The object – now the subject = My laptop / action= was stolen)

1. Passive: Napa Valley is known for its excellent wines.
2. Active: [Many people] know Napa Valley for its excellent wines.
3. Passive: Twenty civilians were killed in the bomb explosion.
4. Active: Someone killed twenty civilians in the bomb explosion.

 

The passive agent

 

When we know who the subject is, we put it at the end with by. We call this an agent.

1. Passive: The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. (agent =Leonardo Da Vinci )
2. Active: Leonaro Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.

Most writing instructors and editors recommend against using the passive voice, when possible. The reason for this is that when you use the active voice, your writing is clearer and less complicated.

1. Active: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101, a police officer pulled him over and gave him a speeding ticket.
2. Passive: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101, he was pulled over and given a ticket by a police officer.

If it’s a long sentence and you know who the subject is, it’s best to use the active voice.

The passive is often used to report something or to state a fact.

1. Highway 15 was closed yesterday due to a serious road accident.
2. A lot of corn is grown in Iowa.

 

Forming the passive voice

 

The passive voice is not a tense in English. Each tense has its own passive voice which is created by using a form of the auxiliary verb to be + V3 (past participle)

The passive voice in each tense:

 

Tense	Auxiliary verb + sample V3 (past participle)	Examples
Present simple	am, is, are + made	Wine is made from grapes. Many cars are made in Japan.
Present progressive	am, is, are + being + sent	The document is being sent right now. I am being sent to work in the London office.
Past simple	was, were + invited	John was invited to speak at the conference. We were invited to Daniel and Mary’s wedding.
Past progressive	was, were + being + washed	The dog was being washed when I got home. Their cars were being washed while they were in the mall shopping.
Future (will)	will be + signed	The contract will be signed tomorrow. The documents will all be signed by next week.
Future (going to)	am, is, are + going to be + built	A bridge is going to be built within the next two years. New houses are going to be built in our neighborhood.
Present perfect	has, have + been + sold	That start-up has been sold for $5 million. The rights to his book have been sold for $250,000.
Past perfect	had + been + hired	The new manager had been hired before John left the company. All the employees had hired before the store opened.
Future perfect	will + have been + finished	The car will have been loaded by the time he gets home. The crates will have been loaded by then.
Modals: can/could	can, could + be + issued	A passport can only be issued at the embassy. He said the documents could be issued within the week.
Modal: have to	have to, has to, had to + be + arranged	A babysitter has to be arranged for this evening. Joan’s travel plans have to be arranged by December.
Modal: must	must + be + stopped	Criminals must be stopped before they commit crimes.

 

All of the rules for passive negatives and questions are the same as for the active voice.

Note: Verbs that have no object (no one to “receive” the action) cannot be put into the passive, such as, arrive, come, die, exist, go, happen, have, live, occur sleep, etc.

10 Ways To Improve Your English Language Skills

  

When we learn our native language, first we listen, then we speak, then we read and finally we write. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are the four language skills we need to develop for complete communication.

Listening and reading are receptive:  input, i.e. the exposure you have to authentic language in use. Speaking and writing are productive: output, i.e. the action of producing language as part of the process of second language learning.

To achieve these four basic language skills, you need to surround yourself with English: make English part of your life at home, at work, during your free time.

Read on to find tips that will help you overcome the difficulties you might be experiencing to improve your English skills.  

Expose yourself to the language as much as possible:

practice makes perfect, which means that if you want to improve a certain skill you have to practice it. As a beginner learner you will need to achieve all 4 language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

 

Listening

 

It plays a very important part in learning any language. Effective listening ensures understanding and it helps improve accuracy when speaking , among other things. How can you improve your listening skills? By listening actively, i.e. paying attention not only on what is said, but also how it is said. So, listen:

 

1. To music –old or modern; the type you prefer, but pay attention to the lyrics. (sometimes reading the lyrics may help you understand the song)

 

2. To movies, TV shows, news, entertainments, the radio – try the classics. If you can watch DVD’s you can watch the movie several times. Watching with subtitles and then, when you feel more comfortable, without them. You can have English radio at home or on your mobile phone. Even if are not actually listening to it, your ears will be getting used to the sounds of the language.

 

3. Attend plays, exhibitions, talks, etc. in English organized by English speaking schools or communities.

 

Speaking

 

It is often the hardest of the four language skills, but as soon as you can speak a little English there are lots of ways to improve quickly and have tons of fun.

 

4. Join voiced chats. Technology has advanced a lot in terms of social networks so, wherever you live, you’ll find a chat-room to join.

5. Talk and record yourself. This may sound funny, but it will help you realize how you can improve by repeating the recording several times till you feel happy with the results.

 
6. Talk to your classmates in English when you are not in class. You can even make a group to play games, have a meal or just chat together.

 

Reading

 

It is a process of the brain and it takes time to develop: your mind has to attach meaning to the words, phrases and expressions represented by symbols, plus get to understand the grammar and structure of the language used in the passage to read. If you develop strong reading skills, it’ll be very helpful to your future. You can read:

 

7. Books in English and articles on the web. Maybe, books you have already read in your mother tongue or which have been turned into movies. Try to start with easy books, even children’s books and comics: The images will help you understand even if you don’t know all the words

8. Switch the operating system of your mobile phone, your PC or tablet into English. Associating a function with a certain word, will improve your vocabulary.

 

Writing

 

Even though it may be intimidating to a lot of people, anyone can get used to writing with a little discipline and a willingness to learn.

 

9. Write down words or expressions you think useful with their meaning and examples. If you see them in sentences you will remember them better. You can use them if you keep a diary.

 

10. Write comments in English blogs. At present blogs are websites that resemble journals. Lots of people use them to expose their ideas on a certain topic or to explain things – from how to knit a scarf, to very complicated ones where technical or philosophical topics are dealt with. One common feature of all these blogs is that they are interactive: the readers can make comments or debate the ideas stated in the blog. Even if you are not a blog fan, you may find some that really encourage you to take part. So, just do it. You don’t need to be an expert to write a few sentences about what you think or feel about the content of the blog.

 

All the above mentioned tips can be reduced to just one: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!! Whatever learning style you have, whatever your native language is, the key to acquire and master a foreign language is PRACTICE it as much and as often as possible.

Advanced English Grammar

  

Not sure if your grammar is on point? Do you find yourself in awkward situations where the lack of understanding of English grammar gets the better of you? Does your profession require you to be great at grammar and communication? Well, let's face it… Getting a grip over English Grammar can be tough – especially if you have just learned to speak and write from other people without paying attention to the detail. But hey! Chin up! Because you only need to get the basics right to achieve grammar perfection and we're here to help with that!