Grammar Tips: Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

Active Voice:  
In the active voice, the subject of a sentence does the action named by the verb. 

For example: Tommy catches the ball. (Tommy is the subject, and he does the action: he catches)

Passive Voice:
In the passive voice, the subject of a sentence receives the action named by the verb.

For example: The ball is caught by Tommy. (The ball is the subject, and the ball receives the action: it is caught.)

Test Your Skills!

Identify the sentence as active or passive voice: 

1. The girls drive the car around town. 
2. An important lesson is learned by the teenagers when they get their first speeding tickets. 
3. These men are enraged by the new office building in their backyards. 
4. Good students work very hard to earn excellent grades. 

Rewrite these sentences in active voice

1. You are loved and cherished by many people.
2. All of my friends were stricken with Mono during their first year of college.
3. The bank robbers were tried and convicted by the federal court system.
4. The high school graduates were given diplomas and congratulations by the principal.

Rewrite these sentences in active voice, keeping the same subject.

1. The New York Yankees were defeated by the Oakland Athletics in the last inning of the game.
2. The good little boy was rewarded by his mother for making his bed.

Answers