Review verb tenses

What verb tense are these? The doors weren’t opened. The two dots are connected by one line. The report has been made by the police.

Actually… It’s kind of a trick The doors weren’t opened. They are verb tenses (past simple, present simple, and present perfect) But they look different because… They are written in a different voice The doors weren’t opened. The two dots are connected by one line. The report has been made by the police.

What is voice? Voice, in a story, relates to WHO IS TALKING, TELLING THE STORY, OR THE MAIN CHARACTER Imagine your favorite story. Now imagine how it would be different told in a different voice

Active Voice The subject is doing something to the object The first noun is doing something to the second noun The boy ate the potato. Then he beat up his brother. After that his mother punished him.

Passive Voice The subject is receiving an action from the object The first noun is receiving an action from another noun The potato was eaten by the boy. The brother was beaten up by the boy. He was punished by his mother.

How to write passive voice formula Start with a be verb Depends on your verb tense Was, were, been, being, am, is, are Next, add your verb + ED The ED is very important To finish, you can add “BY _____” You don’t have to It depends if that noun is important

Two voices Active voice Passive voice Right to left (backwards) Left to right (normal) Passive voice Right to left (backwards)

pop

eat

help

teach

allow

send

How to identify passive voice If you can add “by zombies” after the verb, and it still makes sense, it’s passive voice The money was spent The car was hit The boy was running. The car was hit by the oncoming truck The tree was knocked over by the storm

Practice: Passive or Active? The librarian read the book to the students. The employees are paid every Friday. I washed my car three weeks ago. His hair was cut by a professional stylist. The national anthem is always sung at football games.

When to use passive voice 1. When the doer of the action is not important, when the receiver of the action is more important Everyday children are harmed by bus drivers 2. When purposely hiding the real subject or causer of action in a sentence Politician= Mistakes were made Student=the desk was already broken when I came in 3. When purposely trying to minimize the guilt of the subject The theft was committed by the young man.