The Difference between ‘Active Voice’ and ‘Passive Voice’
The difference between ‘ Active Voice ‘ and ‘ Passive Voice’ In Active Voice the subject is given more importance than the Object. Here the Subject-Verb-Object order is followed. But when we give more emphasis on the object, Passive Voice is used. The following are the relevant points which will clarify why Passive Voice is important. When the subject is not known/clear. When using of Active Voice becomes awkward. When more importance is given for the result rather than the doer(or Subject) The last but…
Active Voice and Passive Voice Compared.
Active Voice and Passive Voice Compared : All the three Perfect Continuous Tenses and Future Continuous Tense have no passive voice. So out of the 12 tense forms , only 8 have passive voice. Some typical examples are given in order to clarify the structural differences of Active Voice and Passive Voice. Once you study the examples carefully, you will become thorough with the grammatical rules behind. The examples are given only for the purpose of teaching the grammar and usage and at times they…
May have –ed and Might have –ed
May have –ed: Here the speaker makes a present supposition about the pre-present or past. He is late. ( or he was late). He may have been delayed by the rain. (One of the possible explanations of his lateness is (was) that he has been delayed by the rain.) A : I wonder why she didn’t come to the party. B : She may not have been well. (OR) She might not have been well. A: I wonder why she didn’t say hello. B: She…
May and Might
May and Might (1) We use ‘May’ or ‘ Might ‘ to say that something is a possibility. ‘ Might ‘ expresses the maximum degree of hesitancy. It may be true. (OR) It might be true ( more hesitant) She may (or might) know the details. It might not be true. Might I borrow your pen, please? ( more hesitant than ‘May’) Might this be the answer? That might be the answer but I doubt it. He may (or might) come to the party. What…
Make – special usage
Make – special usage : Here ‘ MAKE ‘ has the meaning ‘ to force’ OR ‘ to compel ‘. When ‘ Make’ or ‘Made’ is used in the active form , headless infinitive (bare infinitive) is used. And in the passive voice the usual form of infinitive is used. Structural differences when ‘ force, compel’ and ‘make’ are used may be clearly distinguished from the examples given below: Examples: The security staff forced us to stand in queue. The security staff made us stand…
Would – various usages
Would – various usages: ‘Would’ has various expressions of which a few are discussed here. (1) It is often meaningless to give students exercises requiring them to put ‘WILL’ into past tense unless ‘Past Reported Speech’ is intended. I said to her, “He will come for the party” (direct speech where ‘Will’ is used. I told her that he would come for the party. (indirect speech where ‘Will’ is converted into ‘would’. He said to us, “We will find a cure the deadly disease.” (direct…
Supposed to……..
(1) Be supposed to: it is believed/ said. It’s supposed to be the best restaurant available in the town. He is supposed to be a modern writer. He is supposed to be the richest person in the locality. (2) Something is supposed to happen = It is planned, arranged or expected. I am supposed to meet him at 10.00 am at the Hotel Casino. The attendant was supposed to keep the Board Room clean and tidy before the meeting. The train is supposed to arrive…
‘ENOUGH ‘ goes before nouns, but after adjectives and adverbs
‘ENOUGH’ goes before Nouns, but after Adjectives and Adverbs. (1) Before Nouns I haven’t enough money for a holiday. He has enough savings to purchase a flat. There are enough chairs for everyone to sit down. Please cooperate, we don’t have enough seats to accommodate all. You should have enough experience if you want to apply for the job. I get enough support from my parents in my studies. (2) After Adjectives and Adverbs. She is not old enough to apply for the job. He…
Either , Any , Neither ,None
Either : You can’t have either of these two books. (neither this, nor that one) Either of these two roads will take you to Nedumbassery Airport. Any : You can’t have any of these three( four, five…)books. Any of these three(etc..) roads will take you there. Neither : Neither of the two men was (or were) present. Neither of them is (or are) fit for the job. None : None of the three was ( or were) present. There were ten candidates for the post. …
Should have – various usages.
Should have – various usages. To denote something that was more desirable than what was available . Or a situation where one was doing something which was not the proper/appropriate thing compared to what they should have been doing. That is not the kind of job you should have been doing.(i.e the speaker thinks more appropriate kind of job was something else instead of what he was doing) He was sitting idle while he should have been studying his lessons. (i.e the speaker thinks that…