GRAMMAR (PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE)
An action of a subject, in relation to an object, is expressed in two ways. These two ways of expressing action of a subject are known as Voice.
1. Active Voice
2. Passive Voice
Example
I write letter (Active Voice)
A letter is written by me (Passive Voice)
The structure of same sentence changes when expressed as Active Voice or Passive Voice. The meaning of a sentences, either expressed as Active or Passive Voice, remains the same.
Difference between Active Voice and Passive Voice
The meaning or main idea of sentence, either expresses as Active Voice or Passive voice does not change. The structure of a same sentence changes for Active Voice and Passive voice. We know that every sentence have a subject, a verb and a object. Subject is an agent who works on an objetc in a sentence. In the above example, “I” is the subjetc of the sentence that is doing some work on the objetc “letter” in the same sentence.
To undestand the difference in the both Voices, we should focus on the subjetc and the objetc of a sentence. In Active Voice, the subjetc acts upon the objetc. In the Passive Voice, the objetc is acted upon by the subjetc. The meaning remains the same in both Voice but the sequence of the words (subjetc & objetc) changes. The sequence, of objetc and objetc as in Active Voice, is reserved when it is expressed in Passive Voice. Read the following example for better understanding this difference.
ACTIVE VOICE |
PASSIVE VOICE |
I eat an apple |
An apple is eaten by me |
He bought a car |
A car was bought by him |
The sequence of the subject and the object of the sentence is reversed while converting the sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice.
The structures of a same sentence, for both Voice, are as follows:
Active Voice = subject + verb + object
Passive Voice = object + verb + subject
1. Example
Active Voice = He buys a camera
Passive Voice = A camera is bought by him
2. Example
Active Voice = She drinks water
Passive Voice = Water is drunk by her