EXPLAIN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE TO A GIRL
Answers
For example, the sentence "I am holding a pen" is in active voice, but it uses the verb “am,” which is a form of “to be.” The passive form of that sentence is "The pen is being held by me." Notice that the subject, the pen, isn't doing anything in that sentence. It's not taking an action; it's passive.
Grammar Girl: Active vs. Passive voice
So what do I mean by 'voice', anyway? We're talking about a grammatical category that indicates the relationship between the subject (agent) of your sentence and your verb (action). If you've got an agent carrying out an action in your sentence, then you're using active voice. Verbs are our language's 'doing' words: when an agent in performing what you're describing in your verb, then you're using active voice. If the action of the sentence is happening TO your subject, then you've got passive voice.
Now, for my running man example (minus the dance): when I think of active voice, I think of a man out for a jog at 5AM. He's being ACTIVE - going out and actively carrying out an activity. In order for a sentence to use active voice, it has to do the same thing. Your agent (subject) has to be the one carrying out your verb. For example:
I (agent/subject) once created (action/verb) a fake wedding invitation marrying my brother to one of my friends. (true story - don't ask)
This is what the passive version of this sentence would look like with the subject of the sentence being acted upon.
A fake wedding invitation marrying my brother and one of my friends was created by me.
So we've got a difference in emphasis here. The active voice emphasizes the subject, and the passive voice emphasizes the object or receiver of the action. More examples:
Active: Hope bit her Dad in the leg.
Passive: Hope's Dad was bitten in the leg by Hope.
Active: Last night I dreamed about that hunky anesthesiologist from the show Offspring.
Passive: Last night the hunky doctor from the show Offpring was dreamed about by me.
Answer:
Active voice :-
means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb.
Passive voice:-
means that a subject is a recipient of a verb's action.
You may have learned that the passive voice is weak and incorrect, but it isn't that simple. When used correctly and in moderation, the passive voice is fine.
ACTIVE VOICE
•Cinderella met the prince at the ball.
PASSIVE VOICE
The prince was met by Cinderella at the ball.