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A verb is in the Active Voice when its form shows that the person or thing denoted by the subject is the doer of the action.
In all these sentences the person denoted by the subject does something. These verbs are in Active Voice.
- Jim helps Joseph
- The cat, very cleverly, caught the rat.
- The man at the store is selling art work.
- The gardener mowed the lawn.
- He will finish the work in a week.
- The priest gave a sermon
A verb is in the Passive voice when its form shows that something is done to the person or thing denoted by the subject.
Active voice is generally used
- To give importance to the object of the action:
(i)
The gifts brought by Joseph were amazing.
- When the doer of the action is not known or is obvious:
(i)
The doctor's car was stolen. (by whom? doer of the action is not known)
(ii)
He was arrested for drunken driving. (by the policeman - doer of the action is obvious)
In all these sentences something is done to the person denoted by the subject. The verbs are in the Passive Voice.
- Joseph is helped by Jim.
- The rat was very cleverly caught by the cat.
- Art work is being sold by the man at the store.
The doer is not mentioned in these sentences:
- The bridge was built in record time.
- The ship was attacked on high sea.
- Ice cream and cola will be sold at the school fete.
Verb forms in the passive voice
| Present
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Is taken
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Is/ are being taken
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Has/ have been taken
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| Past
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Was taken
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Was/ were being taken
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Had been taken
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Is taken
The Simple Present Tense is used to express habitual action or general truths.
Is/ are being taken
Present Continuous Tense is used for an action going on at the time of speaking.
Has been taken
Present Perfect Tense is used to denote an action that began in the past and the effect of which has continued to the present moment. It is often used with since and for phrases. Remember that the specific time in the past when the action happened is often not important.
Was taken
Simple Past Tense
The Simple Past is used to indicate an action completed in the past. It often occurs with adverbs or adverb phrases of past time.
Were being taken
Past Continuous Tense is used to denote an action going on at some time in the past. The time of the action is generally indicated.
Had been taken
The Past perfect tense describes an action completed before a certain moment in the past. If two actions happened in the past, it may be necessary to show which action happened earlier than the other. Then the simple past is used in one clause and the Past Perfect in the other.
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