Active
& Passive Sentences
Active
Sentences
In active sentences the
subject is the person / thing that does the action. The subject comes at
the start of the sentence. Most English is made up of active sentences.
Take a look at this example using Paul as the subject and book
as the object:
'Paul wrote a book.'
Passive
Sentences
In passive sentences the focus of
the sentence is the 'recieving' object of an action and it comes at the
start of the sentence; therefore, the object and the subject
change positions in the sentence:
'The book was written by Paul.'
How
to make a passive
To make a passive sentence you need
to start with object first and then use the be form of the verb (depending on
the tense) and then add a past participle:
object + be + past participle
Examples
Active: 'The gardener grows flowers.'
Passive: 'Flowers are grown by the gardener.'
Passive: 'Flowers are grown by the gardener.'
Active: 'My grandfather planted that tree.'
Passive: 'That tree was planted by my grandfather.'
Passive: 'That tree was planted by my grandfather.'
Active: 'The dog is chasing the sheep.'
Passive: 'The sheep are being chased by the dog.'
Passive: 'The sheep are being chased by the dog.'
Now choose the correct word to make
passive sentences:
Some examples of active and passive sentences:ACTIVE: They speak English.
PASSIVE: English is spoken.
ACTIVE: They spoke English.
PASSIVE: English was spoken.
ACTIVE: They will speak English.
PASSIVE: English will be spoken.
ACTIVE: They are going to speak English.
PASSIVE: English is going to be spoken.
ACTIVE: They are speaking English.
PASSIVE: English is being spoken.
ACTIVE: They were speaking English.
PASSIVE: English was being spoken.
ACTIVE: They have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English has been spoken.
ACTIVE: They had spoken English.
PASSIVE: English had been spoken.
ACTIVE: They will have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English will have been spoken.
The active voice is the "normal" voice.
This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already
familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives
the action of the verb:
active
|
subject
|
verb
|
object
|
>
|
|||
Cats
|
eat
|
fish.
|
The passive voice is less
usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the
verb:
passive
|
subject
|
verb
|
object
|
<
|
|||
Fish
|
are eaten
|
by cats.
|
The object of the active verb
becomes the subject of the passive verb:
subject
|
verb
|
object
|
|
active
|
Everybody
|
drinks
|
water.
|
passive
|
Water
|
is drunk
|
by everybody.
|
Example
of article which contains passive sentences (underline sentences)
Once upon a time, on
the north coast of Sumatra lived a poor woman and his son. The boy was called
Malin Kundang. They didn’t earn much as fishing was their only source of
income. Malin Kundang grew up as a skillful young boy. He always helps his
mother to earn some money. However, as they were only fisherman’s helper, they
still lived in poverty. “Mother, what if I sail overseas?” asked Malin Kundang
one day to his mother. Her mother didn’t agree but Malin Kundang had made up
his mind. “Mother, if I stay here, I’ll always be a poor man. I want to be a
successful person,” urged Malin kundang. His mother wiped her tears, “If you
really want to go, I can’t stop you. I could only pray to God for you to gain
success in life,” said his mother wisely. “But, promise me, you’ll come home.”
In the next morning,
Malin Kundang was ready to go. Three days ago, he met one of the successful
ship’s crew. Malin was offered
to join him. “Take a good care of yourself, son,” said Malin Kundang’s mother
as she gave him some food supplies. “Yes, Mother,” Malin Kundang said. “You too
have to take a good care of yourself. I’ll keep in touch with you,” he
continued before kissing his mother’s hand. Before Malin stepped onto the ship,
Malin’s mother hugged him tight as if she didn’t want to let him go.
It had been three months since Malin Kundang left his mother.
As his mother had predicted before, he hadn’t contacted her yet. Every morning,
she stood on the pier. She wished to see the ship that brought Malin kundang
home. Every day and night, she prayed to the God for her son’s safety. There
was so much prayer that had been
said due to her deep love for Malin Kundang. Even though it’s been a year she had not heard any news from
Malin Kundang, she kept waiting and praying for him.
After several years
waiting without any news, Malin Kundang’s mother was suddenly surprised by the arrival of a big ship in the
pier where she usually stood to wait for her son. When the ship finally pulled
over, Malin Kundang’s mother saw a man who looked wealthy stepping down a
ladder along with a beautiful woman. She could not be wrong. Her blurry eyes
still easily recognized him. The man was Malin Kundang, her son.
Malin Kundang’s mother
quickly went to see her beloved son. “Malin, you’re back, son!” said Malin
Kundang’s mother and without hesitation, she came running to hug Malin Kundang,
“I miss you so much.” But, Malin Kundang didn’t show any respond. He was
ashamed to admit his own mother in front of his beautiful wife. “You’re not my
Mother. I don’t know you. My mother would never wear such ragged and ugly
clothes,” said Malin Kundang as he release his mother embrace.
Malin Kundang’s mother
take a step back, “Malin…You don’t recognize me? I’m your mother!” she said
sadly. Malin Kundang’s face was as cold as ice. “Guard, take this old women out
of here,” Malin Kundang ordered his bodyguard. “Give her some money so she
won’t disturb me again!” Malin Kundang’s mother cried as she was dragged by the bodyguard,
”Malin… my son. Why do you treat your own mother like this?”
Malin Kundang ignored
his mother and ordered the ship crews to set sail. Malin Kundang’s mother sat
alone in the pier. Her heart was so hurt, she cried and cried. “Dear God, if he
isn’t my son, please let him have a save journey. But if he is, I cursed him to
become a stone,” she prayed to the God.
SUMBER :
1.http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/do-you-know-how-make-passive-sentences
2.http://faculty.deanza.edu/flemingjohn/stories/storyReader$22