Name That Voice!
Is this active or passive voice?
The dog chased the squirrel.
Active
Revise to emphasize the "doer": The window was broken by Marcus.
Marcus broke the window.
Revise to emphasize the action: The chef prepared the meal.
The meal was prepared by the chef.
Change to passive voice: The students completed the assignment.
The assignment was completed by the students.
Active voice is useful when the "doer" is unknown.
False.
Is this active or passive voice? Identify the "doer" and action.
The holiday of Cinco de Mayo commemorates an 1862 Mexican military victory.
Active; Cinco de Mayo = "doer", commemorates = action.
A headline reads: A cure for the disease was discovered by a team of local scientists.
Revise it to emphasize the scientists, and explain why active voice works better for that purpose.
A team of local scientists discovered a cure for the disease. Active voice highlights who made the discovery.
Revise to emphasize the action: The principal canceled the assembly.
The assembly was canceled by the principal.
Change to passive voice: During spring break, the Masseys will visit a handful of colleges in the Boston area.
During spring break, a handful of colleges in the Boston area will be visited by the Masseys.
“Dr. Patel discovered a new species of frog.” This sentence is written in active voice because the writer wants to emphasize the discovery rather than the person who made it. True or False?
False. Active voice puts Dr. Patel, the actor, in a prominent position. If the discovery were the focus, the writer might say, “A new species of frog was discovered.”
Is this active or passive? Why might the writer have chosen this voice?
Mark Twain is remembered for his dry humor and sharp wit.
Passive. The writer emphasizes Mark Twain, rather than who remembers him.
Revise the sentence to emphasize the "doer."
By this time tomorrow, the theater will have been demolished by a wrecking ball.
By this time tomorrow, a wrecking ball will have demolished the theater.
Revise to make emphasize the action.
When flying, I am practically paralyzed by fear.
When flying, fear practically paralyzes me.
Rewrite the following sentence in passive voice. Then explain how the emphasis changes between the two versions.
The storm destroyed several homes.
Several homes were destroyed by the storm.
Active emphasizes the storm; passive emphasizes the homes and what happened to them.
“Several safety rules were ignored during the experiment.” The writer may have chosen passive voice to focus attention on the rules being ignored or to avoid directly identifying who was responsible. True or False?
True. Passive voice can emphasize the action/result and can also leave the responsible actor unnamed.
Is it active or passive? Identify the "doer" and the action.
Antibiotics should not be prescribed for the treatment of viral infections.
Passive. Action = prescribed; "doer" = not stated.
Revise the sentence to emphasize the New Deal agencies.
Hundreds of public works projects were initiated by New Deal agencies during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.
New Deal agencies initiated hundreds of public works projects during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.
A report says: A student accidentally damaged three computers during lunch.
Revise it to emphasize what happened rather than who did it, and explain why passive voice might be appropriate.
Three computers were accidentally damaged during lunch. Passive voice focuses on the damage rather than blaming the student.
Rewrite the following sentence in active voice.
Oprah Winfrey, a philanthropist with her own media empire, has been called one of the most influential women in the world.
Many sources have called Oprah Winfrey, a philanthropist with her own media empire, one of the most influential women in the world.
“The mayor approved the controversial plan despite objections from residents.”
Changing this to “The controversial plan was approved by the mayor despite objections from residents” would have no effect on the sentence’s emphasis because both sentences contain exactly the same information. True or False?
False. The basic information stays the same, but the emphasis changes. The active version emphasizes the mayor and their responsibility; the passive version emphasizes the controversial plan.