- English Grammar B1 Level - https://open.books4languages.com/english-b1-grammar -

Active Voice

Introduction

The active voice is a grammatical construction which expresses the idea of something or someone performing an action.
This person or thing performing the action is the subject of the sentence and the person or thing experiencing the action is the object.

Form

In active sentences the subject is the person or thing that is performing the action and the object is the person or thing experiencing the action.

The structure of the active voice is:
Subject + active verb + object

Example

  • I read a wonderful book. 
  • You painted all the walls of the hall. 
  • She enjoys dancing. 
  • My father teaches English. 
  • We watched a scary movie. 
  • You wash the dishes. 
  • They are repairing the car. 

Use

We use the active voice in those sentences where the subject performs a verb and the focus is on the person/thing that is performing the action rather than on the person/thing that is experiencing the action.

Summary

We use the active form to express the idea of something or someone performing an action.

The structure is: we start with the subject followed by the active verb and the object.

For example:
 “Many people in North America speak Spanish.” the focus is on the subject that performs the action of the verb.
♦ “Spanish is widely spoken in North America.” = in the passive structure the focus is on the language, Spanish, that is experiencing the action, and not on the agent of the action, which is the word “people” that is being implied here.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context sentence.