English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
VOICE
Voice is a grammatical concept that highlights whether the subject of a sentence is acting or is receiving the action expressed by the verb. A structure is in the active voice when the subject is acting or is the doer whereas it is in the passive voice if the subject is receiving the action.
a. Bola killed the goat (active)
b. The goat was killed by Bola (passive).
Some Uses of the Passive Voice:
1. It is used when it is not necessary to mention the doer of the action expressed by the verb: The thief was arrested yesterday.
2. The passive voice is used instead of having a sentence which has the word “people” as its subject: He is known to be industrious. This is preferred to: People know him to be industrious.
3. The passive voice is also used when we are more interested in the action than the doer: The programme has been launched.
4. The passive voice is used in officialese to hide or protect the source of authority when directives are issued: All e-tutors are hereby directed to be at the send off this afternoon.
Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
Academic Advisor, Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan;
&
Doctoral Student of English, University of Ibadan.
