Active and passive voice
Who does the action, how to turn a sentence round, and the was trap that fools children.
The answer
In an active sentence the subject does the action (The dog chased the ball); in a passive sentence the subject has the action done to it (The ball was chased by the dog).
Examples
Mo kicked the ball.
Active: Mo, the subject, does the kicking.
The ball was kicked by Mo.
Passive: the ball, now the subject, has the kicking done to it.
The window in the greenhouse was broken (by me).
The national curriculum’s Year 6 example.
The cakes were eaten before anyone noticed.
Passive with no by: we are not told who ate them.
How to spot it
- Look for a form of be (is, was, were, has been) with a past participle such as eaten, broken or kicked.
- Ask who did it. If the doer comes after by, or is not mentioned at all, the sentence is passive.
- Turn it round: The ball was kicked by Mo becomes Mo kicked the ball.
The common mistake
Thinking any sentence with was in it is passive.
‘Mo was kicking the ball’ is active: Mo is doing it. And ‘He received a warning’ is active too, even though something happened to him, because it is not the passive of another sentence.
When it is taught
- First met
- Year 6
- On the pupil word list
- Year 6, as “passive”
Year 6 names active and passive, and uses the passive to change how information is presented in a sentence.
Try a question
Rewrite this sentence in the passive.
The children planted the trees.
Show the answer
Answer: The trees were planted by the children.
The object (the trees) becomes the subject, the verb becomes were planted, and the doer moves after by.
Related terms
More grammar terms
Questions parents ask
Why would a writer use the passive?
When the doer is unknown or unimportant, or to put the focus on what happened. A report might say ‘The results were checked twice’ because who checked them matters less.
Do children learn the word voice?
The Year 6 terms are active and passive. Many schools and books say active voice and passive voice, which means the same.
Can a passive use get instead of be?
Yes. ‘The window got broken’ is a passive too. The national curriculum glossary gives an example with got.
Grammar turns up in 11+ English too
Many 11+ English papers include grammar and punctuation questions alongside comprehension. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.