ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Definition Of Active and Passive Voice

Active sentence (active voice) is the subject of his sentence which does the job, on the contrary, 

the passive voice (passive voice) is a sentence in which the subject of his work by the object subject 

of the sentence. Active voice is more frequently used in daily life compared to the passive voice. 

However, we often find the passive voice in newspapers, articles in magazines and scholarly writings. 

Passive voice is used as the object of active voice is information that is more important than its subject.

Pattern of Active and Passive Voice

1.      Active Voice

Subject + V (verbs that are tailored to its tenses) + Object

Example Active voice: I eat a pear.

2.      Passive Voice

Subject + be + past participle + (by agent)

Example Passive voice: A pear is eat by me.

The pattern of active and passive voice at every tense

1.      Present simple :

Active Voice	Passive Voice
S + verb-1 + direct object	S (direct object) + is/am/are + past participle +/- by … (agent)
S + modal + bare infinitive + direct object	S (direct object) + modal + be + past participle +/- by … (agent)

Example :

Active Voice : My parents treat me like a baby.

Passive Voice : I am treated like a baby by my parents .

2.      Simple Past Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice
S + verb-2 + direct object	S (direct object) + was/were + past participle +/- by … (agent)

Example :

Active Voice   : Someone left the letter when he was away from his desk.

Passive Voice : The letter was left when he was away from his desk.

3.      Present continuous tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice
S + am/is/are + present participle + direct object	S (direct object) + is/am/are + being + past participle +/- by … (agent)

Example :

Active Voice   : You are usually watching TV when I come.

Passive Voice : TV is usually being watched when I come.

4.      past continuous tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice
S + was/were + present participle + direct object	S (direct object) +was/were + being + past participle +/- by … (agent)

Example :

Active Voice   : They were discussing exchange rates at 7 o’clock this morning.

Passive Voice : Exchange rates were being discussed at 7 o’clock this morning.

5.      Present Perfect Tenses

Active Voice	Passive Voice
S + have/has + present participle + direct object	S (direct object) + have/has + been + past participle +/- by … (agent)

Example :

Active Voice   : He has prepared great slides for the presentation.

Passive Voice : Great slides has been prepared for the presentation.

6.      Past Perfect Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice
S + had + past participle + direct object	S (direct object) + had + been + past participle +/- by … (agent)

Example :

Active Voice   : He had helped you so many times.

Passive Voice  : You had been helped so many times.

TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS

Transtivie verbs

Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object to receive that action. In the first sentence above, the direct object ball received the action of the verb hit.

Here are some more examples of transitive verbs:

I baked some cookies.

I rode the bicycle.

I moved the chair.

I stitched a quilt.

All of the verbs in the above sentences are transitive because an object is receiving the action of the verb.

But what about the sentence “The bird sang.” Is the verb in that sentence a transitive verb? No, in this case the verb sang is an intransitive verb.

Intransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs are action verbs but unlike transitive verbs, they do not have an object receiving the action. Notice there are no words after the verb sang.

More examples of intransitive verbs:

I laughed.

I cried.

The book fell.

The horse galloped.

The sun set.

In all of the above cases the subject is performing the action of the verb and nothing is receiving the action.

What about this sentence?

I walked to the park today.

Is walked transitive or intransitive? Think about the rules. Since walked has words coming after it, the verb must be transitive, right? WRONG! The phrase to the park is a prepositional phrase and today is an adverb. There is no object receiving the action of the verb walked so the verb is intransitive.

To recap, a transitive verb must be an action verb plus there must be an object to receive that action.

SOAL TOEFL ACTIVE PASSIVE VERBS

1.       The proposal ______ discussed when I called the office this morning.
    A. was being
    B. been
    C. being
    D. have been

Jawaban : A
Keyword : when I called
Pembahasan : Tense pada anak kalimat berupa past, jadi tense pada induk kalimatnya juga harus berupa past yaitu was being.

2.       Many books _____, but one of the best is “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carniegie.
    A. Have written about success
    B. Written about success
    C. Have been written about success
    D. About successful

Jawaban : C
Keyword : Many books
Pembahasan : Kalimat ini memerlukan predikat dan bentuknya pasif.

3.       I like all abstract paintings ______ by famous painters especially Affandi.
    A. drawing
    B. drawn
    C. which are drawing
    D. which draw

Jawaban : B
Key word : by
Pembahasan : Kalimat ini merupakan bentukan dari I like all abstract paintings which are drawn by famous painters especially Affandi. Which are kemudian dihilangkan menjadi drawn saja.

4.       Network employees of associated companies are not allowed to participate in TV quiz games.
Choose the one word or phrase which would best keep the meaning of the original sentence if it were substituted for the underlined word.
    A. subsidiary
    B. connected
    C. social
    D. member

Jawaban : B
Key word : associated; substituted
Pembahasan : Kata associated berarti “berhubungan”. Jadi kata penggantinya (substitute) juga harus yang bermakna sama. Pada pilihan jawaban masing-masing kata dan maknanya adalah subsidiary (tambahan), connected (berhubungan), social (social), member (anggota). Kata yang bermakna sama dengan associated adalah connected.

5.       The Federal Reserve System, _____ under President Wilson, plays a key role in regulating the U.S. economy.
    A. The establishment in 1913
    B. Was established in 1913
    C. Established in 1913
    D. In 1913 they established it

Jawaban : C
Key word : under President Wilson
Pembahasan : Karena menerangkan The Federal Reserve System bermakna pasif dan berfungsi sebagai appositive maka jawaban yang paling sesuai adalah established in 1913 (yang dibangun tahun 1913).