little girl in a small town: April 2017

Active Voice

A feature of sentences in which the subject performs the action of the verb and the direct object is the goal or the recipient: The mechanic fixed the car.

Passive Voice

A feature of sentences in which the object or goal of the action functions as the sentence subject and the main verb phrase includes the verb to be and the past participle: The car was fixed by the mechanic.

In an active sentence, the subject performs the action of the verb.

An active sentence is the opposite of a passive sentence. Examples:

The dog ate all the biscuits.

(In this example, The dog is the subject of the sentence. The dog is the subject of the verb to eat. The dog is performing the action of the verb; i.e., it is the thing doing the eating.)

Compare this to a passive version:

The biscuits were eaten by the dog.

(In this example, the biscuits did not perform the action of the verb. In fact, it was done to them. Therefore, this is a passive sentence.)

Here are some more examples of passive sentences:

Anita was driven to the theatre. (In this example, Anita did not perform the action of the verb to drive. The action was done to her. She was the recipient of the action.)

 Nowadays, black kites are protected. (The action is being done to the subject, black kites.)

 The olives are stoned and crushed in this room. (The action is being done to the subject, The olives.)

With a Passive Sentence, Use By to Show the Actor

In a passive sentence, the person or thing doing the action (the actor) is usually preceded by the word by. For example:

Anita was driven to the theatre by Carla.
Nowadays, black kites are protected by law.
The olives are stoned and crushed in this room by my son.

The opposite of a passive sentence is an active sentence, in which the subject does perform the action of the verb.

Rumus :

Simple past tense :

Active => verb 2 (ed)

Passive => was/were + verb 3

Simple present tense :

Active => verb 1 (+ s/es)

Passive => Is/am/are + verb 3

Present perfect tense :

Active => has/have + verb 3

Passive => has/have + been + verb 3

Present continous tense :

Active => is/am/are + verb ing

Passive => is/am/are + being + verb 3

Present future tense :

Active => will + verb 1

Passive => will + be + verb 3

Past perfect tense :

Active => had + verb 3

Passive => had + been + verb 3

Present perfect continous tense :

Active => has/have + been + verb ing

Passive => has/have + been + being + verb 3

Active Tenses & Passive Tenses:

Lihatlah tabel berikut ini untuk mengetahui pasangan kata kerja aktif dengan bentuk pasifnya dalam berbagai bentuk waktu (tenses).

Bentuk kata kerja aktif dan pasif
Tense/Verb Form	Active Tenses	Passive Tenses
Simple Present Simple Past Present Continuous Past Continuous Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Conditional Perfect Conditional Present Infinitive Perfect Infinitive Present Participle / Gerund Perfect Participle	do / does did am / is / are doing was / were doing have / has done had done will do would do would have done to do to have done doing having done	am / is / are done was / were done am / is / are being done was / were being done have / has been done had been done will be done would be done would have been done to be done to have been done being done having been done

Contoh-contoh active and passive voice:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
We sell computers. We keep the butter here. Babbage invented ‘The Analytical Engine’. They broke the window. We will link the device to the central computer. People have seen tigers in the forest. He has installed the programs. They are repairing the bridge. They were carrying the man off the field.	Computers are sold. The butter is kept here. ‘The Analytical Engine’ was invented in 1830. The window was broken. The device will be linked to the central computer. Tigers have been seen in the forest. The programs have been installed. The bridge is being repaired. The man was being carried off the field.

A. Choose the correct answer. Passive voice.

1. Somebody cleans the room every day.

(A) The room was clean by somebody every day.

(B) The room is cleaned by somebody every day.

(D) Somebody is cleaned the room every day.

2. Sam has taken an English course.

(A) Sam has been taken an English course.

(B) An English course taken by Sam.

(D) English courses have taken by Sam.

3. The students are using the computers now.

(A) The computers are being used by the students now.

(B) The computers are used by them now.

(D) The computers is being used by them now.

4. My father fixed the car yesterday.

(A) My father was fixed the car yesterday.

(B) My father was being fixed the car yesterday.

(D) The car was fixed by my father yesterday.

5. The kid has broken the window.

(A) The window has been broken by the kid.

(B) The window will be broken by the kid.

(D) The window is broken by the kid.

Active passive voice

1.Rubahlah kalimat berikut ini menjadi passive voice: He meets them everyday

Jawaban: They are met by him everyday
Pembahasan: Jika active voice dalam simple present tense, maka ‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah is, am atau are.

2.Rubahlah kalimat berikut ini menjadi Active voice: They were met by him yesterday

Jawaban: He met them yesterday
Pembahasan : Jika active voice dalam, maka ‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah was atau were simple past tense

3.Rubahlah kalimat berikut ini menjadi Active voice: They have been met by him

Jawaban: He has met them
Pembahasan : Jika active voice dalam present perfect tense, maka ‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah been yang diletakkan setelah auxiliary has atau have, sehingga menjadi ‘has been’ atau ‘have been’

4.Rubahlah kalimat berikut ini menjadi Active voice: This plant had been watered by her for 5 minutes when I got here

Jawaban: She had watered this plant for 5 minutes when I got here
Pembahasan: Jika active voice dalam past perfect tense, maka ‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah been yang diletakkan setelah auxiliary had, sehingga menjadi had been

5.Rubahlah kalimat berikut ini menjadi passive voice: He will meet them tomorrow

Jawaban: They will be met by him tomorrow
Pembahasan: Jika active voice dalam past perfect tense, maka ‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah been yang diletakkan setelah auxiliary had, sehingga menjadi had been

Transitive Verbs:

Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object to receive that action. In the first sentence above, the direct object ball received the action of the verb hit.

Here are some more examples of transitive verbs:

I baked some cookies.

I rode the bicycle.

I moved the chair.

I stitched a quilt.

All of the verbs in the above sentences are transitive because an object is receiving the action of the verb.

But what about the sentence “The bird sang.” Is the verb in that sentence a transitive verb? No, in this case the verb sang is an intransitive verb.

Intransitive Verbs:

Intransitive verbs are action verbs but unlike transitive verbs, they do not have an object receiving the action. Notice there are no words after the verb sang.

More examples of intransitive verbs:

I laughed.

I cried.

The book fell.

The horse galloped.

The sun set.

In all of the above cases the subject is performing the action of the verb and nothing is receiving the action.

What about this sentence?

I walked to the park today.

Is walked transitive or intransitive? Think about the rules. Since walked has words coming after it, the verb must be transitive, right? WRONG! The phrase to the park is a prepositional phrase and today is an adverb. There is no object receiving the action of the verb walked so the verb is intransitive.

To recap, a transitive verb must be an action verb plus there must be an object to receive that action.