

The cows will be moved after tea by the farm-hands.In a passive sentence, the person or thing carrying out the action (often called "the agent") is introduced with "by."

Lieutenant Lavender was caught by the brilliant detective Educator Emerald.A trap was devised to catch the killer.The crime was illuminated shortly by flashes of lightning.The candles were extinguished as we rushed to the scream.A scream was heard coming from across the house.Everyone was startled by the power outage.Here are some more example sentences featuring passive verbs (shaded): Remember that if a verb is in the passive voice, its subject has the action of the verb done to it. (As its subject performed the action of the verb, "used" is a verb in the active voice. Step 3: Ask "Did the subject perform the verb?" (Yes, it did.) (As its subject did not perform the action of the verb, "was used" is a verb in the passive voice. Step 3: Ask "Did the subject perform the verb?" (No, it didn't) To identify a verb in the passive voice, identify its subject and then determine that the subject is being acted upon.Ĭompare these two examples of the passive voice and active voice (verbs in the passive verbs shaded): Make passive Make active Comparing the Passive Voice and Active Voice In these examples, the subjects are highlighted and the verbs are bold: Here are some interactive examples showing the difference between active and passive voice. Passive Voice vs Active Voice (Interactive Examples)

