University of Scranton Writing Center

 Verb ◦ The action.  Subject ◦ The actor.  Object ◦ The action’s recipient.  Voice ◦ Relationship between the three.

 Passive Voice ◦ Subject and object have swapped roles. ◦ “We were told to leave by the supervisor.”  Active Voice ◦ Subject and object properly placed. ◦ “The supervisor told us to leave.”

 Symptoms ◦ “To be” Verbs:  Am  Is  Are  Was  Were  Be, Being, Been

 Identify the sentence’s active verb. ◦ What action is performed?  Identify the sentence’s subject. ◦ Who performs this action?  Identify the sentence’s object. ◦ Who receives this action?  Place the subject before and the object after the verb.

 Students are given exams by faculty members.  Does the sentence exhibit passive voice?  What is the sentence’s active verb?  Who performs this action?  Who receives this action?  Can we rewrite the sentence by placing the subject (faculty members) before and the object (students) after the active verb (give)?  Faculty members give students exams.

 In laboratories, chemicals are researched by scientists.  Does the sentence exhibit passive voice?  What is the sentence’s active verb?  Who performs this action?  Who receives this action?  Can we rewrite the sentence by placing the subject (scientists) before and the object (chemicals) after the active verb (research)?  In laboratories, scientists research chemicals.

 Gregor was portrayed by Kafka as an isolated insect.  Kafka portrayed Gregor as an isolated insect.

 Presently, more books are being read by students during the summer than ever before.  Presently, students read more books during the summer than ever before.

 We were travelling through Europe for an entire month.  We travelled through Europe for an entire month.

 Identify the sentence’s active verb. ◦ What action is performed?  Identify the sentence’s subject. ◦ Who performs this action?  Identify the sentence’s object. ◦ Who receives this action?