Learn to Use ACTIVE and PASSIVE VOICE | Advanced Grammar Lesson

Summary

En este video, Wes de Interactive English ofrece una lección de gramática sobre la voz activa y pasiva. Explica las diferencias entre ambas, cómo transformar oraciones de activa a pasiva y cuándo es adecuado usar la voz pasiva. Se centra en los verbos transitivos, que permiten esta transformación, y proporciona ejemplos prácticos. También aborda situaciones comunes en las que es útil usar la voz pasiva, como cuando se quiere destacar la acción en lugar del actor o cuando el actor es desconocido. Finalmente, anima a los espectadores a practicar cambiando oraciones activas a pasivas.

Takeaways

• 📚 La lección de hoy se enfoca en la diferencia entre la voz activa y pasiva en inglés.
• 🤔 La voz activa se utiliza cuando el sujeto realiza la acción, mientras que en la voz pasiva el sujeto recibe la acción.
• 💡 Para cambiar una oración de activa a pasiva, el verbo debe ser transitivo, es decir, debe tener un objeto.
• 📝 Los verbos intransitivos no pueden transformarse a voz pasiva ya que no tienen un objeto directo.
• 🔄 Para convertir una oración a voz pasiva, el objeto pasa al inicio de la oración seguido del verbo 'to be' y el participio pasado.
• ⏰ La mayoría de las veces se usa la voz activa, ya que es más directa y clara, tanto en el habla como en la escritura.
• 🔍 Se usa la voz pasiva cuando se quiere enfatizar la acción en lugar del actor, como en el ejemplo 'Ese email fue escrito por mí'.
• 🙈 La voz pasiva también se emplea para evitar identificar al actor, por ejemplo, 'Se cometieron errores'.
• ❓ Otro uso común de la voz pasiva es cuando el actor es desconocido, como en 'Mi bicicleta fue robada'.
• 📢 Usar la voz pasiva puede sonar más firme pero educado, como en el ejemplo 'No se permite fumar'.

Q & A

¿Qué es la voz activa y la voz pasiva?

La voz activa es cuando el sujeto realiza la acción del verbo, mientras que en la voz pasiva el sujeto recibe la acción. La mayoría de las veces se utiliza la voz activa porque es más directa y clara.

¿Cómo se cambia una oración de voz activa a voz pasiva?

Para cambiar una oración a voz pasiva, se mueve el objeto de la oración activa al inicio, se usa el verbo 'ser' conjugado en el tiempo correspondiente, seguido del participio pasado del verbo principal y, opcionalmente, se añade la frase 'por' seguida del sujeto.

¿Cuándo se debe usar la voz pasiva?

La voz pasiva se utiliza en cuatro situaciones comunes: cuando se quiere enfatizar la acción sobre el actor, cuando se quiere evitar identificar al actor, cuando el actor es desconocido, y cuando se da una orden con un tono firme pero educado.

¿Por qué no se puede cambiar una oración con un verbo intransitivo a voz pasiva?

Los verbos intransitivos no tienen un objeto directo, por lo que no es posible cambiar la oración a voz pasiva. Para usar la voz pasiva, el verbo debe ser transitivo, es decir, debe tener un objeto.

¿Puedes dar un ejemplo de cómo cambiar una oración activa a pasiva?

Ejemplo de oración activa: 'Yo escribí ese correo'. Para cambiarla a pasiva: 'Ese correo fue escrito por mí'.

¿Qué cambios gramaticales ocurren al cambiar una oración activa a pasiva?

Se mueve el objeto al inicio, se ajusta el tiempo del verbo 'ser', se usa el participio pasado del verbo principal y el pronombre sujeto se convierte en pronombre objeto si se incluye al actor en la frase pasiva.

¿Cómo afecta el número del objeto en la transformación de activa a pasiva?

Si el objeto es singular, el verbo 'ser' debe estar en singular (por ejemplo: 'fue'), y si es plural, el verbo debe estar en plural (por ejemplo: 'fueron').

¿Por qué se evita identificar al actor en algunas oraciones pasivas?

En ocasiones se evita identificar al actor en una oración pasiva para evitar responsabilidades o cuando el foco está en la acción y no en quién la realizó. Un ejemplo común es 'se cometieron errores' en lugar de 'cometimos errores'.

¿Cómo se forma una pregunta en voz pasiva cuando el actor es desconocido?

Para formar una pregunta pasiva cuando el actor es desconocido, se mueve el objeto al frente seguido de la forma correcta del verbo 'ser' y el participio pasado. Ejemplo: '¿Alguien alimentó al gato?' se convierte en '¿El gato ha sido alimentado?'

¿Cómo se puede dar una orden en voz pasiva de manera educada?

Para dar una orden educada en voz pasiva, se usa el participio pasado y se evita usar la palabra 'no'. Un ejemplo sería cambiar 'No fumar' a 'Fumar está prohibido'. Esto suena más formal y educado.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introducción al uso de voz activa y pasiva

En este párrafo, el presentador Wes introduce la lección sobre la diferencia entre la voz activa y pasiva. Menciona la importancia de entender cómo y cuándo utilizar la voz pasiva, ya que es una pregunta común de los estudiantes. Explica que para transformar una oración de activa a pasiva, es crucial identificar si el verbo tiene un objeto (verbo transitivo). También presenta ejemplos de verbos transitivos e intransitivos, como 'comprar' y 'reír', y señala que solo los verbos transitivos pueden ser usados en voz pasiva.

05:07

✍️ Transformar oraciones de activa a pasiva

Este párrafo explica cómo transformar una oración activa a pasiva. El objeto de la oración activa se mueve al inicio, seguido por el verbo 'to be' y el participio pasado. Se usa el pronombre objeto en lugar del pronombre sujeto en la pasiva. Se destaca la importancia de la concordancia entre sujeto y verbo, especialmente cuando el objeto es plural. Finalmente, se menciona que se utiliza la voz pasiva cuando se quiere enfatizar la acción en lugar del actor.

10:09

🛑 Evitar identificar al actor y usar la voz pasiva

Aquí se presentan razones para usar la voz pasiva, como evitar identificar al actor. Un ejemplo es la oración 'We made mistakes', que se transforma en 'Mistakes were made', comúnmente usado por políticos para evitar asumir responsabilidad. También se discute el uso de la pasiva cuando el actor es desconocido, como en la oración 'Someone stole my bike', que se convierte en 'My bike was stolen'.

15:11

🔇 Usar la voz pasiva para ser firme y educado

En este párrafo, Wes explica cómo usar la voz pasiva para dar órdenes de manera firme pero educada. Un ejemplo es transformar 'No talking' en 'Talking is not allowed'. Se menciona que este tipo de construcción es más cortés y formal. El párrafo también propone practicar cambiando oraciones activas a pasivas, como 'My ancestors farmed this land', que se convierte en 'This land was farmed by my ancestors'.

✏️ Actividad práctica: convertir activa a pasiva

Wes propone una actividad práctica para los espectadores, animándolos a escribir oraciones en voz activa en los comentarios y luego transformar las de otros usuarios a voz pasiva. Esto refuerza la importancia de la práctica continua para dominar el uso de la voz activa y pasiva. Termina agradeciendo a los espectadores e invitándolos a interactuar y seguir aprendiendo.

Keywords

💡Voz activa

La voz activa se refiere a las oraciones donde el sujeto realiza la acción. Es el enfoque principal en la mayoría de las conversaciones y textos escritos, ya que es más directa y fácil de entender. Un ejemplo del video es 'Wes enseña inglés', donde el sujeto, Wes, realiza la acción de enseñar.

💡Voz pasiva

La voz pasiva se utiliza cuando se desea destacar la acción en lugar del sujeto que la realiza. En esta forma, el objeto de la oración pasa a ser el enfoque. Un ejemplo del video es 'Ese correo fue escrito por mí', donde la acción de escribir se destaca en lugar del sujeto que la realiza.

💡Verbo transitivo

Un verbo transitivo requiere un objeto directo para completar su significado. Este concepto es clave para entender qué oraciones pueden transformarse en voz pasiva. En el video, se da el ejemplo de 'Comprar comida', donde 'comprar' es un verbo transitivo y 'comida' es el objeto directo.

💡Verbo intransitivo

Un verbo intransitivo no requiere un objeto directo y, por lo tanto, no se puede cambiar a voz pasiva. El video menciona el verbo 'reír', que es intransitivo en la oración 'Ella se ríe del chiste', ya que no hay un objeto directo en la frase.

💡Objeto directo

El objeto directo es lo que recibe la acción del verbo en una oración activa. Es fundamental para formar oraciones pasivas, ya que en la transformación pasa a ser el sujeto de la oración. Un ejemplo del video es 'Escribí el correo', donde 'el correo' es el objeto directo.

💡Sujeto

El sujeto es quien realiza la acción en una oración activa. En la voz pasiva, el sujeto pasa a ser el receptor de la acción. Un ejemplo del video es 'Wes enseña inglés', donde 'Wes' es el sujeto.

💡Pasado simple

El pasado simple se utiliza para describir acciones que ocurrieron en el pasado. En el video, se menciona su relevancia cuando se cambia una oración activa en pasado a voz pasiva, como en 'Ese correo fue escrito', donde 'fue' corresponde al verbo 'ser' en pasado simple.

💡Enfocar la acción

Uno de los usos principales de la voz pasiva es cuando se quiere dar énfasis a la acción en lugar del actor que la realiza. El video ejemplifica esto con 'Ese correo fue escrito por mí', donde se da más importancia al hecho de que el correo fue escrito que a quién lo escribió.

💡Estructura de la oración

La estructura de una oración pasiva cambia la posición de los elementos de una oración activa. En la pasiva, el objeto directo se coloca al inicio, seguido del verbo 'ser' en el tiempo adecuado y el participio del verbo principal. Un ejemplo del video es 'El correo fue escrito por mí'.

💡Pronombres objeto

En la transformación de voz activa a pasiva, los pronombres de sujeto cambian a pronombres de objeto. Por ejemplo, 'yo' en una oración activa se convierte en 'mí' en la pasiva, como en 'Ese correo fue escrito por mí'.

Highlights

Introduction to active and passive voice grammar lesson.

Explanation of transitive and intransitive verbs and their role in forming passive sentences.

Key point: Active voice focuses on the subject performing the action.

Active voice is generally more direct and preferred in both speaking and writing.

Example: 'Wes teaches English' is an active sentence emphasizing the subject performing the action.

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action rather than the actor.

Example: 'That email was written by me' shows a transformation from active to passive.

When to use passive voice: Emphasizing the action over the actor, avoiding identifying the actor, when the actor is unknown, and for firm but polite commands.

Example: 'Mistakes were made' is used to avoid identifying the actor.

Example: 'My bike was stolen' shows passive usage when the actor is unknown.

Passive voice can provide a firmer but more polite tone for commands, like 'Talking is not allowed.'

Subject-verb agreement is crucial when changing from active to passive.

Practice exercises include transforming sentences from active to passive and considering their context.

The lesson encourages learners to practice by writing active sentences and converting them to passive.

Summary of key grammar structures and examples in both active and passive voice.

Transcripts

Today I want to talk to you about using active and passive voice that's coming up

Hey everyone, my name is Wes. This is interactive English which is all about helping you practice and improve your English skills today

I have a grammar lesson for you. It's all about active and passive voice. I want to tell you

Well, what is the difference between active and passive how do you change sentences from active voice to passive voice?

And when should you use the passive voice because I think that can confuse learners from time to time

the reason why I'm doing this is because

Often in the comments I get questions and people like well, hey, how do you change this sentence to the passive voice?

It made me realize that okay

This is valuable information for you to know about when and how to use active and passive voice

So when you're thinking about okay?

Like let's start with the sentences that we can change from active to passive

so the first thing that I want to do is focus on the verb and

The verb tense does not matter what really matters is what?

Follows the verb does an object follow the verb

Because if it does then we can change it to the passive voice. Let me give you some more information about that

So verbs can either be transitive or intransitive if a verb is transitive

It means that it has an object in order to help complete the meaning of the sentence

For example the verb by we we will follow that with an object because it tells us what the person is buying

I buy some food

subject verb object so if a verb has an object than it is a

transitive verb if

A verb is intransitive then

well

that just means that there is no object the verb will likely be followed by a

Prepositional phrase or maybe even an adverb think about the verb laugh

All right, you know what, the meaning of that is and I could say the sentence

She laughs at the joke

subject verb

prepositional phrase or I could say they laughed

immediately

Subject verb adverb now there are some verbs that can be either

transitive or intransitive

Let's look at the verb eat I could say we will eat the sandwiches talking about the future

I have my subject verb and the sandwiches. That is my object now

I can use that same verb and follow it with a prepositional phrase and say well we will eat in the park in

That case I have subject verb

Prepositional phrase it is intransitive now

The reason why I'm telling you all this because you may be thinking what the heck does this have to do with?

Active and passive voice if a verb is intransitive

You cannot change it to the passive voice

So all of those sentences that I just talked about that were intransitive she laughs at the joke they laughed

Immediately we will eat in the park

Those sentences cannot be changed to the passive voice in

Order to change a sentence from active to passive or even just to use the passive. You need to have an object

So now, you know the types of sentences that you can change to the passive voice. They must be transitive verbs

let's look at the difference between

active passive how to change it and when to use that passive voice so that I think just in general the main difference between

Active voice and passive voice is that with active voice? The subject is

performing the action when you're using the passive voice the subject is

Receiving the action keep in mind that the vast majority

of the time you're going to use the active voice when you're speaking you're gonna use active voice and when you're writing

You're gonna be writing those active sentences. The reason for this is because

Active voice. It's it's more direct and the focus is on the actor. It is on the subject

That is performing the action. For example, I could say

Well Wes teaches English it's direct

It's easy to understand and the focus is on. Well Wes who is doing the action?

The subject is doing the action. So the vast majority of the time just no

all right, you are going to use the active voice there are certain instances in which

it's common to use the passive voice and I want to talk to you about four different times in which you

you may want to use the passive voice and why and as we go through this I'm going to give you some examples and

We're going to change the sentences from active to passive

So let's begin with the first one which is when you want to emphasize the action over the actor

This is a great example of when you would want to use the passive voice. So let's take the sentence. I

Wrote that email. This is an active sentence

subject-verb-object

now if we want to change this to the passive voice we are going to take the object and

Move it to the front of the sentence. Then you are going to add the verb to be plus the past participle

Plus the phrase by and the subject. So let's look at this change a bit closer

We have our our active sentence. I wrote that email that email. That's the object

I'm going to move it to the front of the sentence

Then I'm going to follow it with the verb to be now

One thing you need to keep in mind is the verb tense because in the active sentence wrote is in the simple past

So that means I need to use the verb to be in the simple past that email was

Then the past participle the main verb in the active sentence is right

The past participle is written right wrote written that email

was written by

Me. Hey, that is the subject

The subject gets moved to the end notice the subject changes from a subject pronoun to an object pronoun

So in our active sentence, we're going to use the subject pronoun

I I you he she it we they if we're changing it to the passive then it's going to become an

object pronoun

Me me you him her?

Us them those are object pronouns one other thing that I think is important

It is subject verb agreement because in this case I'm saying that email was written

if in my active sentence

I were to say well

I wrote those emails and the object is plural

That's going to change the subject verb agreement

Then I would say those emails were

Written so that that's something you need to pay close attention to when changing from active to passive is the object

Singular or is the object plural?

So this this is kind of a difficult example to start out with because there are many changes that are occurring

You have a simple sentence like I wrote that email and you're going to change it to the passive

that email was written by me and

Again, I told you in this sense

You might use the passive if you want to

Emphasize the action over the actor another time that you may want to use the passive voice is when you want to avoid

Identifying the actor you want to avoid identifying that subject

So let's take let's take an active sentence. We made mistakes

We have our subject verb and our object. Our object is mistakes

Let's now change it to the passive and this time we're going to avoid we're going to avoid

Identifying the actor so I would take mistakes

I'm gonna move it to the front of the sentence mistakes were because again,

We're talking about the past tense and then the past participle made mistakes were made

Finished. I don't want to identify

Who made the mistakes and the reason why is because well we made the mistakes

so this in this example, I I think of

Government and politicians because they don't want to admit when they made a mistake

So instead of going up there and saying well look, sorry everyone

We made mistakes they would get up there and they would use the passive voice and say well

Mistakes were made. And in that case they are not

Identifying themselves because people would would would hate them for it and this is a way for them to avoid responsibility

So in this example, I I tend to think of politicians

I know I'm rather cynical instead of saying you know, oh we made mistakes

They might say mistakes were made and they avoid

Identifying the actor another time in which you may want to use the passive voice is when the actor is unknown

We don't know who the subject is. That is performing that action for example

Let's take the sentence

Someone stole my bike

Subject-verb-object. Now, let's change it to the passive. We're gonna take the object move it to the front my bike

Follow it with the verb to be was because it was the past tense. My bike was plus the past participle

Stolen so we have my bike was stolen by well, we don't know who the person is in the active voice

I just said someone I use the indefinite pronoun

But if we're changing this to the passive, you don't need to say by someone. It's not necessary

We don't know who it is. You just say, oh my bike was stolen

So this is a great example as to when you would use the passive

When you you don't know who the actor is, my bike was stolen my wallet was stolen

those are

examples of

When I think it's pretty common that you may hear someone use the passive or maybe you want to use the passive voice as well

another time in which you may want to use the passive is when you want to you want to have a firm tone you're giving

A command you want to be firm, but you also want to be polite as well

So this is a great example of when you may hear someone using the passive or you can use it, too

So let's start with just a general command, which is no talking

So if we want to change this to the passive, it can be a little tricky. So let's expand that sentence out too

We do not allow talking now. We have something to work with and can change it to the passive voice

So we're going to take talking. We're gonna move it to the front

We're gonna follow it with the verb to be in the present tense talking is not

Because we're talking about something in the negative talking is not

Allowed that is the past participle and and that's basically how you would say it

You don't need to identify the actor you're giving a command. It's understood so you would just say

Talking is not allowed and I said it's a little more polite because if if somebody's going to tell you hey

No talking. I think that can be come off as a little rude instead

I think it's a little more polite to just say hey, you know talking is not allowed

so these are four great examples as to when you may want to try and use the passive voice or

You may likely hear somebody else using the passive voice. So let's practice a little bit

I want to go back through each and every one of these instances

I'm gonna give you a sentence in the active voice and I want you to change it to the passive and I want you to

Say the passive sentence out loud

I'll give you a moment to think about it and then I will tell you the answer and I'm gonna try and give you

sentences that I think are relevant

That I think people would actually say in the passive voice

So let's begin with that first instance in which you may want to

Emphasize the action over the actor and the sentence that I'm going to give you is this one right here my ancestors

Farm this land

Change it to the passive voice. I'll make it a little easier for you. Alright, I'm giving you part of the answer right here

What would you say? How would you change this to the passive? I?

Hope that you said in the passive voice

This land was farmed by my ancestors. And this is something yeah, you may want to emphasize that

Especially if maybe something is going to happen to the land. We can't we can't destroy this land

This land was farmed by my ancestors

It's very important to me the next sentence that I want you to change and I want you to avoid

Identifying the actor is this one they will put their dog to sleep. It is it's it's a sad sentence

It's a fact of life

if you don't know what it means to put an animal to sleep is basically to

The animal mostly because of old age or they're sick and they have a poor quality of life

So you could say in the active voice they will put their dog to sleep

How would you change it to the passive?

Here is part of it. How would you complete that sentence? I?

Hope that all of you said their dog will be put to sleep

We're talking about something that will happen in the future will be put in this case

You're not identifying the actor you're not saying by them if you're talking to somebody else about this

Family situation and you know, it's difficult for them

You're just going to tell somebody what would happen without identifying the actor and say

Their dog will be put to sleep

The next one is when the actor is unknown and this time I have a question for you

I want you to change this question from the active to the passive

And that question is has anyone fed the cat. This is a question in the active voice

How would you change it to the passive and I'm not going to give you any hints this time?

So what do you think? Has anyone fed the cat again?

The actor is unknown. We have that indefinite pronoun anyone

So if we change this to the passive, I think a very common question

Someone might ask is has the cat been fed

We're still using the present perfect in the question

And in the grammar is going to remain the same has

The cat you remember that object is going to move to the front and it will go

After that, helping verb has the cat the verb to be been plus the past participle fed

Has the cat been fed, we don't need to say by anyone because well

It's not really relevant. We don't know so it's very common just to a say has the cat been fed

And then I have a a command for you that I want you to change and that is no smoking

Now we did this before I gave you that example, no talking

I want you to change no smoking to the passive

But I don't want you to use the word not and because of that

I really want you to think about what verb should you use what verb is commonly used and

This is actually I think a sign that you may see

Quite often out in public. Let's stretch this out. I'll make it a little easier for you the verb you could use is prohibit. We

prohibit smoking and

then if I give you that I think it's much easier to change and make a passive sentence and you would say

smoking is

prohibited

Smoking is prohibited

passive voice it is a

It's a firm tone, but it's also I think a little more polite than just saying. Hey, no smoking

Just tell somebody smoking is prohibited. So I hope you have a perfect understanding of active voice passive voice

How do you change these sentences as well as when to use the passive voice?

I think that is very important because like I said most of the time you are going to use the active voice

What I want you to do right now is let's do some more practice

I want you to write an

Active sentence in the comments and then I want you to go to someone else's comment

Reply to their common and change it to the passive

So what I want is just to have this

Long list of comments in the active and then you can respond to those comments and change the sentence from active to passive

So this is a great way to continue practicing

Active voice passive voice and changing sentences from active to passive

If you enjoyed this lesson, please hit that like button as always. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next time