I am learning about active voice and passive voice. I was given some exercises to do, and I'm not sure if my answers are right or not. I'm confused because my worksheet says the verb to be is passive. Is it always passive? Can you help me understand if these verbs are active or passive please? Thanks!
A community center will be opened to everyone.
There was discussion about the project after the meeting was over.
When the verb "to be" is used in a sentence, the sentence will not be in the active voice.
In active voice sentence, the subject does something.... that is why it is called active.
In those sentences what action is the subject taking?
A community center will be opened to everyone.
Is the center doing anything? <G> Did it get up and open the door?
Also remember... if there is any form of the verb "to be" in the sentence, it is not active.
There was discussion about the project after the meeting was over.
Discussion is the subject, and there is a be verb.
Active voice would be "We discussed the project." We are doing something. No "be" verb.
Thanks for answering Guru! I get the general idea of active and passive.
I cooked dinner. (active)
The dinner was cooked by me. (passive--I'm doing the cooking--not the dinner)
But I'm still not sure of these sentences...
A community center will be opened to everyone.
The center is the subject as it is doing the opening (not everyone).
So, that is in active voice?
There was discussion about the project after the meeting was over.
Is the subject really the project?
Are (there) was and (the meeting) was over both in passive voice?
The project was discussed after the meeting.
Is that active voice now?
Sorry I'm having a hard time with this. Thanks for your help.
damn 2008. i was only 1 years old, i wonder where these people are in life now.
Sure! I'd be happy to help you understand active and passive voice, and determine whether the given sentences contain active or passive verbs.
Active voice: In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action directly. The sentence structure typically follows the pattern of subject + verb + object. For example, "The cat ate the mouse."
Passive voice: In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action rather than performing it. The sentence structure usually follows the pattern of object + verb + subject or object + verb. For example, "The mouse was eaten by the cat."
Now let's analyze the sentences you provided:
1. "A community center will be opened to everyone."
In this sentence, the verb is "will be opened." To determine whether it is active or passive, we need to identify the subject and the object. The subject is "a community center," which is receiving the action of being opened. Since the subject is receiving the action, the sentence is in the passive voice.
2. "There was discussion about the project after the meeting was over."
In this sentence, the verb is "was." However, the verb "was" is not necessarily passive by itself. To determine whether the sentence is active or passive, we need to identify the subject and the object. In this case, the sentence lacks a clear object, so it cannot be determined if it is active or passive. The sentence describes the existence of discussion, but does not specify who is conducting the discussion. Therefore, we cannot definitively label this sentence as either active or passive.
I hope this clarifies the concept of active and passive voice for you! If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.