Passive Voice be + past participle Active vs. Passive Active vs. Passive Active vs. Passive The police arrested the criminal. The criminal was arrested by the police. Subject is doing the action. Active voice Subject is receiving the action. Passive voice Active sentences focus on the agent (person or thing doing the action). Passive sentences focus on the object (person or thing receiving the action). Use the passive voice when the agent of the action is unknown or not important. Use of Passive Voice Pictures and fingerprints are taken. Jurors are selected. The person or thing performing the action is unknown. The window was broken. - A by-phrase is not used. The person or thing performing the action is not important. Too many books have been written about the Second World War. -To recognize that Beethoven is responsible for this musical composition. We want to highlight someone's work. (often artistic or creative work) This concerto was written by Beethoven. The form of be shows the tense. The portrait was drawn by a street artist. The portrait is being drawn by a street artist. The portrait will be drawn by a street artist. This photo was taken by him. He took this photo. focus on performing the action. focus on receiving the action. He took this photo. This photo was taken by him. Use a by phrase when it is important to know who performs the action. By Phrases The video store was burglarized by a former employee. The information is surprising. If you want to name who perform the action we use a by-phrase. I was given a recipe by a kind neighbor. Exercise Choose the sentence that goes with the picture. ...
Passive Voice be + past participle Active vs. Passive Active vs. Passive Active vs. Passive The police arrested the criminal. The criminal was arrested by the police. Subject is doing the action. Active voice Subject is receiving the action. Passive voice Active sentences focus on the agent (person or thing doing the action). Passive sentences focus on the object (person or thing receiving the action). Use the passive voice when the agent of the action is unknown or not important. Use of Passive Voice Pictures and fingerprints are taken. Jurors are selected. The person or thing performing the action is unknown. The window was broken. - A by-phrase is not used. The person or thing performing the action is not important. Too many books have been written about the Second World War. -To recognize that Beethoven is responsible for this musical composition. We want to highlight someone's work. (often artistic or creative work) This concerto was written by Beethoven. The form of be shows the tense. The portrait was drawn by a street artist. The portrait is being drawn by a street artist. The portrait will be drawn by a street artist. This photo was taken by him. He took this photo. focus on performing the action. focus on receiving the action. He took this photo. This photo was taken by him. Use a by phrase when it is important to know who performs the action. By Phrases The video store was burglarized by a former employee. The information is surprising. If you want to name who perform the action we use a by-phrase. I was given a recipe by a kind neighbor. Exercise Choose the sentence that goes with the picture. ...
