Active and passive voice
Active voice
Active voice refers to a sentence where the subject is the doer of the action, and the object is the receiver of the action. For example:
The dog chased the cat.
In this sentence, the subject (dog) is performing the action (chasing), and the object (cat) is receiving the action.
Passive voice
Passive voice on the other hand, refers to a sentence where the subject is the receiver of the action, and the object is the doer of the action. For example:
The cat was chased by the dog.
In this sentence, the subject (cat) is receiving the action (being chased), and the object (dog) is performing the action.
Form & Usage
Subject + be + past participle verb
Passive voice is often used when the focus is on the action rather than the doer of the action. It can also be used to avoid mentioning the doer of the action or to be polite. However, in general, active voice is considered to be more direct and effective for communication.
Notes
It’s important to note that not all verbs can be used in the passive voice. Intransitive verbs (verbs that don’t have a direct object) cannot be used in the passive voice. Additionally, some transitive verbs (verbs that have a direct object) don’t make sense in the passive voice. For example: I am loving this pizza doesn’t make sense in the passive voice because loving is not a verb that can be used in the passive voice.