Her cat ate a mouse.

Here, the subject ‘cat’ does the action. Thus, this sentence is in active voice.

Examples

• Leon shot the target.
• Annabelle cooked the dinner.
• Our principal punished two boys.
• The hunters killed a tiger.
• I gave him a puppy for his birthday.

Passive Voice

If the action is done to the subject, or if it’s the subject that undergoes the action, then that sentence is in the passive voice. For example,

A mouse was eaten by her cat.

Here, the action ‘eaten’ was done to the mouse. Thus, this sentence is in passive voice.

Figure 02: Active and Passive Voice

Examples

• • The target was shot by Leon
  • The dinner was cooked by Annabelle
  • Two boys were punished by our principal.
  • A tiger was killed by the hunters.
  • He was given a puppy for his birthday.

What is Speech in Grammar?

In grammar, speech refers to how we represent the speech of other people or ourselves. There are two types of speech as direct speech and indirect (reported) speech. Direct speech involves the repeating the words of someone directly indirect speech involves reporting the words spoken by someone.