Active voice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a grammatical voice. For the Seattle skyscraper, see Active Voice Building.
For advice and arguments about the use of active or passive voice, see English passive voice.
Active voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. It is
the unmarked voice for clauses featuring a transitive verb in nominativeaccusative languages,
including English and most otherIndo-European languages.
Active voice is used in a clause whose subject expresses the agent of the main verb. That is,
the subject does the action designated by the verb.[1] A sentence whose agent is marked as
grammatical subject is called an active sentence. In contrast, a sentence in which the subject
has the role of patient or theme is named a passive sentence, and its verb is expressed
in passive voice. Many languages have both an active and a passive voice; this allows for
greater flexibility in sentence construction, as either the semantic agent or patient may take the
syntactic role of subject.[2]

Examples[edit]
In the following examples the active and passive voice are illustrated with pairs of sentences
using the same transitive verb.

Languag
Active voice Passive voice
e

English The dog bit the postman. The postman was bitten by the dog.

. (The dog bit the

. (The postman was

Arabic postman.) bitten by the dog.)
'ed alklbu sa'ey albryd 'eud sa'ey albryd bwasth alklb

Brackett a crit ce livre.(Brackett Ce livre a t crit par Brackett. (This book was
French
wrote this book.) written by Brackett.)

Der Hund biss den Postboten.(The Der Postbote wurde vom Hund gebissen. (The
German
dog bit the postman.) postman was bitten by the dog.)

(A dog bit [someone].) (By a dog [I] was bitten.)

Japanese
Inu-ga kanda Inu-ni kamareta

Pies ugryz listonosza.(The dog bit Listonosz zosta ugryziony przez psa. (The
Polish
the postman.) postman was bitten by the dog.)
 La polica detuvo el trfico. (The police El trfico fue detenido por la polica. (The traffic
Spanish
stopped the traffic.) was stopped by the police.)

Tjnaren br vinet. (The servant carries Vinet brs av tjnaren. (The wine is carried by the
Swedish
the wine.) servant.)

1. Tutankamons tomb was discovered by Howard Carter.

1. All the money was spent in the market by us.

1. My house was lent to Paul in the weekend by me.

1. Some subjects were being found boring by children.

1. The sensation could not be felt by my parents.

1. Modern hats were bought by the smart woman.

1. A box of chocolates had been bought for my birthday by Mary.

1. A big surprise has been promised to me by Sally.

1. The information is shared by Brighton and Pam.

1. A parked car was accidentally damaged by me.

1. A new pair of sunglasses is given to me by Michael and Margaret.

1. The fence is going to be fixed by William.

1. A new apartment has been rented in Paris by my parents-in-law.

1. The truth has been told to your mother by me.

1. A good advice has been given to me by my boyfriend.

1. Your address and phone number will be asked to you by my secretary.

1. My wallet was lost this morning by me.

1. The bedrooms were cleaned by the maid.

1. A dozen of white roses was ordered for the guest by the butler.

1. A new job has been offered to my father by the boss.

1.
Howard Carter discovered Tutankamons tomb.

1. We spent all the money in the market.

1. I lend Paul my house in the weekend.

1. Children were finding some subjects boring.

1. My parents could not feel the sensation.

1. The smart woman bought modern hats.

1. Mary had bought a box of chocolates for my birthday.

1. Sally has promised me a big surprise.

1. Brighton and Pam share the information.

1. I accidentally damaged a parked car.

1. Michael and Margaret give me a new pair of sunglasses.

1. William is going to fix the fence.

1. My parents-in-law have rented a new apartment in Paris.

1. I have told your mother the truth.

1. My boyfriend has given me a good advice.

1. My secretary will ask your address and phone number.

1. I lost my wallet this morning.

1. The maid cleaned the bedrooms.

1. The butler ordered a dozen of white roses for the guest.

1. The boss has offered a new job to my father.