Passive:В The papers will be graded according to the criteria stated in the syllabus.

The introductory phrase to the sentence (When I returned to my room) is in the active voice.В The second phraseВ (my luggage had been stolen)В uses the passiveВ voice.ДЄs weвЂ™ve mentioned, the passive voice can be a shifty operator-it can cover up its source, that is, whoвЂ™s doing the acting, as this example shows:.

It links Carlos with the phrase very seriousВ scientist. In this case wasВ is acting as a linking verb.

In this case was indicates that the sentence happened in the past it does not indicate the passive voice in this instance. If this sentence were written in the active it would be something like this: вЂњ prepared the samples in a clean room before sending them out for further examination.вЂќ Since we do not know who prepared the samples, the active sentence is incomplete. The action (prepared) was done to the subject of the sentence (samples). If this sentence were written in the passive it would read вЂњMore sodas were drunk by Jayden than by anyone else at the party.вЂќ Jayden does the action ( drank) to the object ( more sodas).

This is the general principle to follow as you compose in the active voice: Place concrete nouns that can perform work in front of active verbs. To revise the above, all I did was look for the two buried things (simulations and zones) in the original version that could actually do something, and I made the sentence clearly about these two nouns by placing them in front of active verbs. Two model simulations (Figures 1 and 2) illustrate how zones of fracture concentration influence groundwater flow. But the readerвЂ™s task gets much easier in the revised version below: As often happens, the passive voice here has smothered potential verbs and kicked off a runaway train of prepositions. The sentence is becoming a burden for the reader, and probably for the writer too. Groundwater flow is influenced by zones of fracture concentration, as can be recognized by the two model simulations (see Figures 1 and 2), by which one can see. So why all the fuss? Because passive constructions canВ produce grammatically tangled sentences such as this: The passive choice slightly emphasizes вЂњthe rate of evaporation,вЂќ while the active choice emphasizes вЂњthe size of an opening.вЂќ Simple. Active voice: The size of an opening controls the rate of evaporation.Passive voice: The rate of evaporation is controlled by the size of an opening.The subject of the sentence is not doing that thing.ДЄs you readВ at the two sentences below, think about the how the different voice may affect the meaning or implications of the sentence:.

Something is happening (the sentence has a verb that is not a linking verb).There are two key features that will help you identify a passive sentence: If there is no вЂњrealвЂќ action taking place, is is simply acting as a linking verb. However, in вЂњShe was falling,вЂќ wasВ simply indicates that the sentence takesВ place in the past. ItвЂ™s easy to mistake a sentence like вЂњShe was falling.вЂќ or вЂњHe isВ short.вЂќ for a passive sentence. Unfortunately, my car was being towed awayВ by the time I got to it.Д«ecause to beВ has other uses than just creating the passive voice, we need to be careful when we identify passive sentences.Mirella is being pulled away from everything she loves.Note: To beВ also hasВ more complex formsВ like had been, is being, and was being. Its forms include am, are, is,В was, were,В and will be, which we learned about earlier in the course. Remember that to be conjugates irregularly. The passive is created using the verb to beВ (e.g., the song is sung it was struck from behind). Despite these sentences being completely grammatically sound, we donвЂ™t know who hit вЂњmeвЂќ orВ what struck the car. The passive voice вЂњhidesвЂќ who does the action. You may have noticed something unique about the previous two sentences: the subject of the sentence is not the person (or thing) performing the action. JasperВ was thrown from the carВ when it was struck from behind.LetвЂ™s look at a couple more examples of the passive voice: In the simplest terms, an active voice sentence is written in the form of вЂњA does B.вЂќ (For example, вЂњCarmen singsВ theВ song.вЂќ) A passive voice sentence is written in the form of вЂњB is done by A.вЂќ (For example, вЂњThe song is sung by Carmen.вЂќ) Both constructions are grammatically sound and correct. YouвЂ™ve probably heard a lot about them-and youвЂ™ve probably been warned away from the passive voice. There are two main вЂњvoicesвЂќ in English writing: the active voice and the passive voice.