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LESSON NOTES


                                                   MODULE 36


            CHAPTER: Active and Passive Voice

            What is voice change?


            When a sentence is written, it can either be written in active voice or passive voice.
            Active voice is used when the subject performs the action stated by the verb.
            For example: Tom changed the flat tire.
            Passive voice is used when the subject is acted upon by the verb.
            For example: The tire was changed by Tom.

            Defining Active Voice

            Every sentence contains, at minimum, a subject and an action. The subject is the person or thing

            the sentence is about, and the action is what the subject is doing.
            When a sentence is in active voice, the subject is performing the action and the subject (typically)

            comes before the action in the sentence. For example:
           I swim.
            I is the subject. Swim is the action. The subject doing the action comes before the action, so it is
            immediately clear to the reader who is doing what.

            Defining Passive Voice

            When a sentence is in passive voice, the subject is being acted on by the verb and the subject

            typically comes after the action. For example:
           Swimming is something I do.
            Here, the action is swimming. The subject is I. The sentence is in passive voice, since the person
            doing the action (I) is not mentioned until after the action.

            Some sentences also contain objects - the thing being acted upon. This can make it more difficult
            to determine whether the sentence is in passive voice. For example, here is a sentence in active

            voice:
           Anna hits the ball.
            Anna is the subject. Hits is the action. The ball is the object.

            That same sentence in passive voice reads:
           The ball is hit by Anna.
            The ball is the object, not the subject of the sentence. The ball is not doing an action. Therefore, it
            should be after the subject (Anna).
            Tips to Recognize the Passive Voice


            Sometimes a sentence in passive voice doesn't necessarily sound "wrong" or wordy. However,
            it's still best to write in active voice whenever possible.



            In order to recognize that a sentence is in passive voice, watch out for these keywords:

                     A
                     Are
                     Be
                     Being
                     By
                     Has been
                     Have been
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