PASSIVE VOICE Meaning and
Definition
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Passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of a sentence is the receiver of an action or is acted upon, rather than the doer of the action. In this structure, the focus is on the object or the recipient of the action rather than the subject. The passive voice is formed using a combination of the auxiliary verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.
In a passive sentence, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject, and the subject may not even be mentioned or may be placed after the verb. This results in a shift in emphasis and often makes the sentence sound more formal or indirect. The passive voice is commonly used when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or when the focus is on the action itself rather than the doer.
For instance, in the active voice sentence "John ate the cake," the subject "John" is the doer of the action "ate." However, in the passive voice, the sentence would be transformed to "The cake was eaten (by John)." Here, the passive voice emphasizes the cake (the object) rather than John (the subject).
The passive voice is frequently used in academic writing, scientific research, news reporting, and formal contexts. However, it is important to note that using the passive voice excessively can result in sentences lacking clarity or becoming overly complex.
Common Misspellings for PASSIVE VOICE
- oassive voice
- lassive voice
- -assive voice
- 0assive voice
- pzssive voice
- psssive voice
- pwssive voice
- pqssive voice
- paasive voice
- pazsive voice
- paxsive voice
- padsive voice
- paesive voice
- pawsive voice
- pasaive voice
- paszive voice
- pasxive voice
- pasdive voice
- paseive voice
Etymology of PASSIVE VOICE
The word "passive" derives from the Latin word "passivus", which means "capable of being acted upon" or "subject to a certain action without acting in return". This term was first introduced in the 14th century in the context of grammar and language. "Voice" refers to a grammatical category that indicates the relationship between a subject and a verb in a sentence. The combination of these two words, "passive voice", describes a construction in which the subject of a sentence undergoes an action rather than performing it.
