What is the difference between active and passive voice?

What is the difference between active and passive voice?

• A. The passive voice emphasizes the actor performing the action.
• B. Active voice makes the subject the recipient of the action.
• C. The passive voice has the subject performing the action.
• D. In active voice, the subject performs the action.

Answer: (D)

Active voice makes the subject the doer of the action, which makes statements direct and clear. For example, “The epidemiologist analyzed the data” shows who did the action. In the passive voice, the action is done to the subject, and the actor can be omitted or moved to the end: “The data were analyzed by the epidemiologist.” The best choice highlights that in active voice the subject performs the action, which is the defining feature. The other descriptions can misstate how passive voice works—for instance, passive voice does not emphasize the actor, and it is not the subject that performs the action in passive constructions.

Active voice makes the subject the doer of the action, which makes statements direct and clear. For example, “The epidemiologist analyzed the data” shows who did the action. In the passive voice, the action is done to the subject, and the actor can be omitted or moved to the end: “The data were analyzed by the epidemiologist.” The best choice highlights that in active voice the subject performs the action, which is the defining feature. The other descriptions can misstate how passive voice works—for instance, passive voice does not emphasize the actor, and it is not the subject that performs the action in passive constructions.