Verbs - Active and Passive

Verbs can also be active or passive. When a verb is active, the subject does the action.

1. The happy man whistled a tune.

Who whistled the tune? 'The happy man' is the subject. 'Whistled' is an active verb, for the man did the whistling.

1.a. The tune was whistled by the happy man.

What was whistled? The tune is the subject of 'was whistled', but it was the man who did the action! 'Was whistled' is therefore a passive verb.

Look at this sentence.

2. The dog bit the man.

'Bit' is active because the dog, the subject, did the biting.

2.a. The man was bitten by the dog.

Who was bitten? The man is the subject of 'was bitten', but it was the dog who did the biting! 'Was bitten' is therefore a passive verb, because the action (biting) was not done by the man.

Now look at this sentence.

3. The man bit the dog.

Is 'bit' active or passive here? Yes, you're right! The man did the biting in this case, so 'bit' must be an active verb.

The dog bit the man/the man was bitten by the dog

Activity 3: Decide whether the verb is active or passive

Now look at these sentences. Decide whether the verb is active or passive.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY/HOMEWORK

Find 5 verbs that you think no-one will know and bring them to your next English lesson. You will need to use a dictionary to help you. Read them out to the class and let them guess what the verbs mean.