More SAT Fun! Active & Passive Voice

The Subject of a Sentence Whom or what the sentence is about To determine the subject of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing "who?" or "what?" before it -- the answer is the subject.

For Example… The audience littered the theater floor with candy wrappers and popcorn. IDENTIFY THE VERB ASK “WHO” OR “WHAT” The subject is…

THE AUDIENCE! The audience littered the theater floor with candy wrappers and popcorn. The verb is “littered” Who littered? The audience littered. Therefore, “the audience” is the subject.

THE AUDIENCE! The audience littered the theater floor with candy wrappers and popcorn. The verb is “littered” Who littered? The audience littered. Therefore, “the audience” is the subject.

More Practice… The ball flew over the fence and into the neighbor’s yard. After we went shopping, Emily and I walked to the park.

ACTIVE VOICE In a sentence that uses active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. The dog bit the boy. The dog (subject) performs the action (bit).

WHY USE ACTIVE VOICE? Makes the meaning clear for the reader Keeps sentences from becoming too long or wordy

PASSIVE VOICE In a sentence that uses passive voice, the subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb. The boy was bitten by the dog. The boy (subject) receives the action (bitten).

WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID PASSIVE VOICE Can create awkward sentences Makes writing sound flat and uninteresting Typically only used in scientific writing (Ryan Leander should love passive voice)

RECOGNIZING PASSIVE VOICE If it includes “by somebody” at the end of a sentence or if you can add “by somebody” at the end of a sentence, it is passive. The ball was caught by Mike. The glass was tipped over by Sarah. The food had been delivered by Bob.

ACTIVE OR PASSIVE? All of the pickles were eaten by Zach. Ryan ditched class to go the dance show and tried to lie about it. The substitute was startled by Steve’s power clap.