To explain an action when the subject is Unknown
A: passive voice
B: active voice
When explaining an action with an unknown subject, both passive and active voice can be used.
A: Passive voice: The action is emphasized, and the subject is not known or mentioned. For example, "The cake was baked."
B: Active voice: The subject is unknown, but the action is still highlighted. For example, "Someone baked the cake."
A: passive voice
When the subject is unknown and we want to explain an action, we often use the passive voice. The passive voice allows us to focus on the action itself rather than who performed the action. By using the passive voice, we can place emphasis on the action itself and maintain objectivity.
For example:
"The window was broken." Here, the subject who broke the window is unknown or not mentioned. The focus is on the action of the window being broken rather than the person who did it.
B: active voice
In some cases, we can also use the active voice to explain an action when the subject is unknown. However, using the active voice would require us to assign a generic subject or use non-specific terms.
For example:
"Somebody broke the window." Here, 'somebody' is a generic subject representing an unknown person who broke the window. Although the subject is unknown, the active voice allows us to provide more specific information about the action by indicating that 'somebody' actually performed the action.
To explain an action when the subject is unknown, we can use the passive voice or the active voice, depending on the information we have or want to convey.
A: Passive voice
In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is not known or is not important. The focus is on the action being done rather than who is performing it. The form of a passive sentence is: "Subject + auxiliary verb + past participle + by + object (optional)."
Example: The action was done (by someone).
Explanation: Here, we know that an action was done, but we don't know who did it. This emphasizes the action itself.
B: Active voice
In active voice, the subject of the sentence is known and performs the action. The subject takes the role of the doer of the action. The form of an active sentence is: "Subject + verb + object."
Example: Someone did the action.
Explanation: In this case, we don't know who the subject is, but we can still express the action performed by someone.
Choose between using passive or active voice based on the context and what you want to emphasize. If you want to focus on the action itself, use passive voice. If you want to emphasize who performed the action, use active voice.