Active and Passive Voice

• How to Emphasize an Action in a Sentence

• Active and Passive Voice

• English Lesson – Grade IX

By Mr. Koko Andrian Tan / English Teacher / Junior High School (SMP Negeri 6 Samarinda)

Active Voice
Definition: 👉 Subject does the action.

Pattern:
Subject + Verb + Object

Examples:

• The teacher explains the lesson.

• My father repaired the bike.

​Passive Voice
Definition:
👉 The object receives the action.

Pattern:
Object + be + V3 (Past Participle) + by + Subject (optional)

Examples:

• The lesson is explained by the teacher.

• The bike was repaired by my father.

​Why Passive Voice?

Used to:

1. Emphasize the action, not the doer.

2. When the doer is unknown.

3. When the doer is not important.

Example:

• English is spoken in many countries.

Emphasizing Action

Active: The students cleaned the classroom.
Passive: The classroom was cleaned by the students.

👉 Passive voice emphasizes what was done rather than who did it.

​Tenses in Passive Voice

Tense	Active	Passive
Present Simple	They make cakes.	Cakes are made.
Past Simple	She painted the wall.	The wall was painted.
Future Simple	He will write a letter.	A letter will be written.

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Practice (Change into Passive)

1. The students read the book.

2. My mom is cooking the dinner.

3. They built the bridge in 2005.

4. She will send the invitation tomorrow.

5. The police have arrested the thief.

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Answers

1. The book is read by the students.

2. The dinner is being cooked by my mom.

3. The bridge was built in 2005.

4. The invitation will be sent tomorrow.

5. The thief has been arrested by the police.