Me (finishing lecture on active and passive verbs): Do I expect you to become experts overnight? Of course not.
Class: (starts to pack up)
Me: But there will be a quiz Wednesday.
- The subject of an active voice sentence performs the action of the verb: “I throw the ball.”
- The subject of a passive voice sentence is still the main character of the sentence, but something else performs the action: “The ball is thrown by me.
If a goggles-for-brains Lego character can master the difference between active and passive verbs, you can too. Troy Sterling and the Active and Passive Verbs
Contents
- How to Recognize Active and Passive Sentences
- Basic Examples
- Difference between Passive Voice and Past Tense
- Imperatives: Active Commands
- Sloppy Passive Construction
- Linking Verbs: Neither Active nor Passive
- Passive Voice is not Wrong
- Tricky Examples
- Links to Active & Passive Verb Resources
- Works Cited
Anything a Lego graphic says can be trusted. Anything a Minion graphic says should be doubted. Given their resemblance, this can be a confusing set of theorems to negotiate.