English

Active and passive Verbs.

This topic can cause major problems for some pupils and it should not.
One major problem is that you might find this hard to follow. 

Verbs are active when the subject of the sentence does the action.

Verbs are passive when the subject of the sentence has the action done to it.

How did you find that?
Do you understand it?
If you didn't, don't worry I will show you why it looks harder than it is.

There are many reasons why this seems hard to follow, however the two main ones are:
1. That you don't understand what the subject of the sentence is
2. You don't know what the verb is in a sentence.

Before we discuss active and passive verbs let us review both the subject and the verb in a sentence.

SUBJECT (revision)

VERBS (revision)


 

 

 

 

 

 

 












The subject 

The subject of a sentence is the thing that the sentence is about.

E.g. The box of matches fell on the floor. Here the subject of the sentence is the box of matches.

David ran to the window. 
What do you think is the subject of this sentence?

Answer





 

 






















David is the subject.
Try these 3 and see how you do

Questions




 

 

 




















1. Mark and I walked down the lane.
2. The flag was blowing in the wind.
3. Lying down in the shade of the tree, the cat felt drowsy.

Answers



 

 

 

 

 




















1. Mark and I are the subject in this sentence.
2. The flag is the subject in this sentence.
3. The cat is the subject in this sentence.

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VERBS(revision)

Go to active and passive verbs



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







VERBS

A Verb is the action word in a sentence.

The box of matches fell on the floor. Here the verb of the sentence is fell is the past tense of (falling).

David ran to the window. What do you think is the verb in this sentence?

Answer





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 















Ran is the verb running is an action and ran is the past tense of (running).

Try these 3 questions and find the verb in each sentence

Questions








 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 















4. Mark and I walked down the lane.
5. The flag was blowing in the wind.
6. He was shouting and waving frantically after the bus

Answers




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 













4. Walked is the verb in this sentence (the action).
5. Blowing is the verb in this sentence (the action).
6. Shouting , waving are the verbs (shouting and waving)

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Go to active and passive verbs




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 












ACTIVE and PASSIVE verbs.

Now we have done the review I will state the following:

Verbs are active when the subject of the sentence does the action.
E.g. The lamp lit up the room. Here the subject is the lamp doing the lighting.

Verbs are passive when the subject of the sentence has the action done to it.
E.g. The room was lit by the lamp. Here the subject is the room being lit by the lamp.

Notice how the subject has changed and the action can be done to the subject (passive) or the subject can do the action (active).

Here are some more examples.

Look at the sentences below and see if you can see which one of the pair contains the active verb

1. The letter was written by David 
David wrote the letter.

Answer

2. The men grabbed the sails.
The sails were grabbed by the men.

Answer

3. The old man lived in the house.
The house was lived in by the old man.

Answer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
















1. David wrote the letter (active).

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2. The men grabbed the sails (active).

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3. The old man lived in the house (active).

That wasn't hard was it? 

Finally, rewrite the following sentences with the verb changed from passive to active.

The sails were blown by the wind.
The sky was lit by the stars.
The room was covered in dust.

Answers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 












The wind blew the sails.
The stars lit the sky.
Dust covered the room.

Well that is it for today. I hope you find the active and the passive verb changes easier than before.

When we write using the active verb our writing is more punchy and exciting.


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