In English, there are two voices--active and passive. If the subject of a sentence performs the action of the verb, the verb is said to be in the "active voice"; for example: I stopped. I bathed. The ...

A sentence is in the "passive voice" when the subject is being acted upon by the verb. For example, the following sentence is in the active voice: "She ate the hamburger." She is the subject, and she ...

When is it appropriate to use the passive voice? As I said above, it is appropriate to use the passive voice when it clarifies your meaning. Here is an appropriate example: "In the past three decades, ...

The passive voice is the marked voice: [+Passive], and the active voice is the unmarked or ... The implication is in the \semantics. In (18), for example, the theme is required, but the agent is ...

In the exercise below, you are to distinguish between true passive voice constructions and stative passive constructions. After reading each sentence, record your choice by clicking on either the word ...

We speak differently than we write. For comprehension development, children need exposure to syntax common to both.

One way to avoid using the passive voice is to look for a ‘by’ phrase. Rewrite the sentence so that the subject in the 'by' phrase is closer to the beginning of the sentence. For example ...

Both describe the same facts. However, in each pair one sentence uses the active voice and one uses the passive voice. Which sentence would you use? That would depend on what tone you wanted to ...