How to spot passive voice (the general idea):
1) Look for any "to be" verbs - was, were, would, had, etc. these can often (but not always) be an indicator of passivity.
2) Does the subject of the sentence receive, instead of perform, the verb's action? If so, it's passive
3) Is the sentence ended with "by INSERT NAME, PRONOUN, OR NOUN." The preposition "by" can also signal passive voice.
Simple examples:
Active - John mailed the letter.
Passive - The letter was mailed by John.
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Passive - They ran towards the cells where the Duke's political prisoners were being held.
Active - The Duke held political prisoners in the lower dungeons. They ran off in that direction.
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*Forgive the hasty examples, they're off the cuff but I think you get the idea. The subject of the sentence should perform the action if you want it written in active voice.
1) Look for any "to be" verbs - was, were, would, had, etc. these can often (but not always) be an indicator of passivity.
2) Does the subject of the sentence receive, instead of perform, the verb's action? If so, it's passive
3) Is the sentence ended with "by INSERT NAME, PRONOUN, OR NOUN." The preposition "by" can also signal passive voice.
Simple examples:
Active - John mailed the letter.
Passive - The letter was mailed by John.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Passive - They ran towards the cells where the Duke's political prisoners were being held.
Active - The Duke held political prisoners in the lower dungeons. They ran off in that direction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*Forgive the hasty examples, they're off the cuff but I think you get the idea. The subject of the sentence should perform the action if you want it written in active voice.