Differences between ACTIVE and PASSIVE sentences with EXAMPLES

In Spanish they exist grammatical categories linked to the verb whose function is to indicate what relationship is established between the verb form, its subject and the object, if any. Thus, thanks to these grammatical categories we establish whether the subject of the sentence is the one who performs the verbal action (agent subject) or, on the contrary, is the one who receives it (patient subject).

Depending on the morphological characteristics of the verb, the elements of the sentence are analyzed in one way or another. In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to study two of these grammatical categories related to the verb: the active voice and the active voice. Let's see what the differences of active and passive sentences with examples.

Index

1. When is a sentence active?
2. What are passive sentences and examples
3. Differences between active voice and passive voice
4. Examples of active and passive sentences
5. Active and passive sentence exercises (and solutions)

The active voice is a grammatical category through which the conjugation of the verb indicates the way or the way in which the subject performs the verbal action. Let's see it with examples:

• Julia reads a book.
• The students chose the class delegate.
• The government has approved the new state budgets.
• The policemen arrested the offender.

In the four examples above, all verb forms are in the active voice; namely, indicate that it is the subject who carries out the action described by the verb: "Julia", "The students", "The government" and "The policemen" are the subjects of these sentences.

All of them have in common a leading role in the development of the action. When the subject agrees with the verb and, semantically, performs the verbal function, it is called the agent subject.

In this video of a PROFESSOR we talk about the active sentences, its meaning and its characteristics.

Faced with the active voice, we find the passive voice, according to the subject is no longer the protagonist verbal action but who experiences it, so it is called patient subject. On the other hand, in passive sentences it is also frequent that it appears who has carried out the verbal action and, for this, a prepositional phrase is used that receives the name of complement agent.

In Spanish, the passive voice can be constructed in different ways:

1. Analytical passive: Also called peripheral passive, It is one of the most common passive formations in Spanish. The structure that follows is: verb "ser" or "estar" (working as an auxiliary) + verbal participle. Here we give you some examples of passive sentences of this type:

• The food is not cooked.
• My cats have been vaccinated by the vet.
• The movie "The Others" was directed by Alejandro Amenábar.
• This house is decorated by my best friend.

2. Passive reflex: When the agent complement is unknown or unimportant within the sentence, the passive construction follows the following scheme: particle "se" + conjugated verb in the third person. Here we give you others examples of passive sentences so that you better understand this concept:

• Spanish is spoken in this bar.
• Second-hand cars for sale.
• Masons wanted.
• Any public disorder will be penalized.

Notice how in the previous examples the agent complement does not appear anywhere, since it is not important to know who speaks Spanish in the bar, for example. With the passive reflex the action is highlighted, not so much who performs it.

In this video you will know how pass an active sentence to passive.

Well, now that we know what are the elements that make up active sentences and what are the characteristics of passive sentences, let's see how they differ from each other. For example, below we show you the examples used during this explanation as active prayer:

• Julia reads a book.
• The students chose the class delegate.
• The government has approved the new state budgets.
• The policemen arrested the offender.

And now the same sentences, but converted into passive sentences:

• A book is read by Julia.
• The class delegate was chosen by the students.
• The new state budgets have been approved by the government.
• The offender was arrested by the police.

Therefore, we can conclude that the differences between active voice and passive voice are as follows:

- Active sentences: Subject agent + verb in active voice + complements.

- Passive sentences:

• Patient subject + "to be" / "to be" and verbal participle + (agent complement).
• "Se" + conjugated verb in the third person + (complements).

Image: SlidePlayer

In order for you to better understand this lesson, we are going to leave you here a series of examples of active and passive sentences with which you will see all the theory applied in a practical way. Here you have them:

• The car was driven by my mother - PASSIVE
• My mother drove the car - ACTIVE
• The furniture was moved with the truck - PASSIVE
• The truck moved the furniture - ACTIVA
• The dog is walked by the owner of him-PASSIVE
• The owner walks her dog-ACTIVE
• The book was read by the girl very quickly - PASSIVE
• The girl read the book very quickly - ACTIVE
• The paella was cooked by a renowned chef - PASSIVE
• A renowned chef cooked the paella - ACTIVA

We finish this lesson with exercises of active and passive sentences with the solutions in the next section. In this way, you will be able to test your knowledge and see if, really, you have finished understanding this lesson well.

Statement 1. Indicate if these sentences are active or passive.

1. The woman took her son to the doctor. - ACTIVE
2. The dress was worn by the queen. - PASSIVE
3. The meat was simmered. - PASSIVE
4. The clothes were washed by my father. - PASSIVE.
5. The guys made the move - ACTIVE.
6. The rugs have been brought from Morocco - PASSIVE.

Solutions:

1. The woman took her son to the doctor. - ACTIVE
2. The dress was worn by the queen. - PASSIVE
3. The meat was simmered. - PASSIVE
4. The clothes were washed by my father. - PASSIVE.
5. The guys made the move - ACTIVE.
6. The rugs have been brought from Morocco - PASSIVE.

If you want to read more articles similar to Active and Passive Sentences - Differences and Examples, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.