Active & passive construction

 Active and passive constructions are two different ways of expressing actions in a sentence, and they affect the focus and structure of the sentence. Let's explore each construction:

Active Construction:

In an active construction, the subject of the sentence performs the action.

The basic structure is: Subject + Verb + Object.

Example: "The cat (subject) chased (verb) the mouse (object)."

Here, the cat is the one performing the action (chasing), and it is in the subject position.

Passive Construction:

In a passive construction, the subject receives the action. The emphasis is on the receiver of the action rather than the doer.

The basic structure is: Object of the action + auxiliary verb (e.g., "is," "was") + past participle of the main verb + optional agent.

Example: "The mouse (subject) was chased (passive verb) by the cat (optional agent)."

Here, the focus is on the mouse (the receiver of the action), and the cat (the doer of the action) is mentioned as an optional agent.

Comparison:

Active: The focus is on the doer of the action.

Example: "She (subject) wrote (verb) a letter (object)."

Passive: The focus is on the receiver of the action.

Example: "A letter (subject) was written (passive verb) by her (agent)."

Note:

The agent (the doer of the action) is optional in passive constructions and may not always be included.

Passive constructions are often used when the doer of the action is unknown, not important, or when the speaker/writer wants to shift the focus to the receiver of the action.

Understanding when to use active or passive construction depends on the context and the emphasis you want to give to different elements in a sentence.

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