Active and passive voice in informational texts (English, grade 9)
How it works
In English, the passive voice is used when the agent is unimportant or unknown, or when the action itself is the focus. The passive voice is formed with a form of ‹to be› and the ‹Past Participle›, e.g. ‹The cake was eaten›. In the active voice, the subject is the focus, e.g. ‹The dog ate the cake›. In informational texts, passive forms are often used to report objectively. The choice between active and passive affects the emphasis and style of a text. For example: ‹The experiment was conducted by the students› (passive) instead of ‹The students conducted the experiment› (active).
The passive in English is formed with a form of ‹to be› plus ‹Past Participle›. The subject of the active sentence becomes the ‹by› object in the passive or is omitted. The tense is determined by the form of ‹to be›. Example: Active: ‹People speak English all over the world.› Passive: ‹English is spoken all over the world.›
An example
Change the sentence ‹The teacher explains the rules› into the passive voice.
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: English. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.