Passive voice is a grammatical construction in English where the subject of a sentence is acted upon by the verb, rather than performing the action itself. In passive voice sentences, the focus is on the recipient of the action rather than the doer. It is often used to shift the emphasis or to make the sentence sound more formal or impersonal. Passive voice is formed using the auxiliary verb “to be” followed by the past participle of the main verb.
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- Chapter No. 2 Solving a Biological Problem
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The basic structure of a passive voice sentence is as follows:
Subject (recipient of the action) + auxiliary verb (to be) + past participle of the main verb + optional agent (doer of the action, introduced by “by”)
Example:
Active Voice: The chef prepared the meal.
Passive Voice: The meal was prepared by the chef.
In the active voice sentence, “the chef” is the subject performing the action (“prepared”), while “the meal” is the direct object receiving the action. In the passive voice sentence, “the meal” becomes the subject, and “was prepared” is the passive construction indicating that the meal is receiving the action.
Some important points to note about passive voice:
Use of “to be” verb: The auxiliary verb “to be” is conjugated according to the tense and subject of the sentence. Examples of “to be” in different tenses: am/is/are (present), was/were (past), will be (future).
Omitting the agent: In passive voice sentences, the agent (doer of the action) is optional and can be omitted if it is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from the context.
Example:
Active Voice: The students wrote the essay.
Passive Voice (with agent): The essay was written by the students.
Passive Voice (without agent): The essay was written.
Use in formal writing: Passive voice is commonly used in formal writing, academic papers, and scientific reports when the focus is on the process or results rather than the individual performing the action.
Clarity and emphasis: Passive voice can be used to shift the emphasis of a sentence, drawing attention to the receiver of the action.
Example:
Active Voice: The storm damaged the house.
Passive Voice: The house was damaged by the storm.
In the passive voice sentence, the focus is on “the house,” the recipient of the damage.
While passive voice has its uses, it is generally advisable to use active voice in most cases, as it tends to be more direct, clear, and concise. However, passive voice can be an effective tool for writers in certain situations to achieve specific rhetorical or stylistic effects.