What And How To Teach Grammar?

How do you teach passive voice in grammar?

• Answer:

  Passive voice is basically taking the emphasis off the actor in a sentence and putting the emphasis on whatever or whoever was acted upon. For instance, in active voice you would say I smashed the car. In passive voice (like if you were telling your dad), you could say The car was smashed. ... no mention of you at all. Your dad has to ask follow up questions, because you used passive voice. You could also say The car was smashed by me. Still passive voice, still identifying the actor, but placing the emphasis on the car rather than you. Here is an excellent handout on the subject: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html