Active and Passive Verb Forms

Active and Passive Verb Forms

Sentences can be active or passive.Therefore,tenses also have "active forms" and "passive forms".
You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English.

Active Form
In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence. and the thing
receiving the action is the object.Most sentences are active.

[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Examples:

The professor         teaches       the student.
      subject                 verb              object
doing action                                receving action

John            washes           the dishes.
 subject             verb               object



Passive Form
In passive sentences,the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence
and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence.
You can also use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is
more important or should be emphasized.You can also used the passive form if
you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is
doing the action.

[thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [thing doing action]

Examples:

The student        are taught           by the professor.
      subject           passive               doing action
receiving action      verb                                          .

The dishes              are washed       by John.
   subject                   passive           doing action