Eli5 How does passive/active voice work???

Question

Eli5 How does passive/active voice work???

In: 483

Answer 1

**Active** **voice** puts the thing (person, car, whatever) doing the action first in the sentence:

*Why did the chicken* [thing doing the action] *cross the road* [thing the action is happening to]*?*

**Passive voice** puts the thing doing the action after the thing the action is happening to:

*Why was the road* [thing the action is happening to] *crossed by the chicken [*thing doing the action]*?*

OR … passive voice leaves out of the sentence the thing doing the action (a favorite constructions of politicians):

*”Mistakes were made.”* [Leaves out who did the action (made the mistake).]