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ACTIVE / PASSIVE VOICE Active voice In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action

denoted by the verb. These examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action. 

Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, thesentences are said to be in the active voice. 

Passive voice One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those witha direct object) so that the subject is no longer active , but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb - or passive. 

Note in these examples how the subject-verb relationship has changed. 

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Because the subject is being "acted upon" (or is passive ), such sentences are saidto be in the passive voice. NOTE:  Colorful parrots live in the rainforests cannot be changed to passive voicebecause the sentence does not have a direct object. To change a sentence from active to passive voice, do the following:  

1. Move the active sentence's direct object into the sentence's subject slot 

2. Place the active sentence's subject into a phrase beginning withthe preposition by  

3. Add a form of the auxiliary verb be to the main verb and change the mainverb's form 

Because passive voice sentences necessarily add words and change thenormal doer-action-receiver of action direction, they may make the reader workharder to understand the intended meaning. As the examples below illustrate, a sentence in active voice flows more smoothlyand is easier to understand than the same sentence in passive voice. 

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It is generally preferable to use the ACTIVE voice.  

To change a passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence, simply reversethe steps shown above. 

1. Move the passive sentence's subject into the active sentence's direct objectslot 

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2. Remove the auxiliary verb be from the main verb and change main verb'sform if needed 

3. Place the passive sentence's object of the preposition by into the subject slot. 

Because it is more direct, most writers prefer to use the active voice wheneverpossible. The passive voice may be a better choice, however, when 

  the doer of the action is unknown, unwanted, or unneeded in the sentence Examples 

  the writer wishes to emphasize the action of the sentence rather than thedoer of the action Examples 

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   the writer wishes to use passive voice for sentence variety.  

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Present Tense - Third Person English Grammar Rules

Normally in the present tense we add S to the end of the verb in the 3rd person

(He, She, It).

Verb  3rd Person 

Speak  Speaks 

Play  Plays 

Give  Gives 

Make  Makes 

  He speaks three languages.

  She drinks coffee every morning.

  My dog hates my cat.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs in English in the present tense follow very simple rules. The only

change that is made to these verbs is in the third person  – for He, She or It.

1. If the verb ends in SS, X, CH, SH or the letter O, we add + ES in the third

person.

Verb  3rd Person 

Kiss  Kisses 

Fix  Fixes 

Watch  Watches 

Crash  Crashes 

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Go  Goes 

  A mechanic fixes cars.

  She watches soap operas every afternoon.

  He kisses his wife before he goes to work.

2. If the verb ends in a Consonant + Y, we remove the Y and + IES in the third

person.

Verb  3rd Person 

Carry  Carries 

Hurry  Hurries 

Study  Studies 

Deny  Denies 

  Isabel studies every night.

  The baby cries all the time.

  He denies all responsibility.

Negative Sentence

To form the negative we use the auxiliary do not. Again, the only variation

occurs in the 3rd person where we use does not.

Positive  Negative 

I talk  I do not talk 

She talks  She does not talk 

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You sleep  You do not sleep 

He sleeps  He does not sleep 

Carol studies  Carol does not study 

We study  We do not study 

In the negative, the main verb is always in the bare infinitive (without TO). It

doesn't change for the third person. We don't put an S on the end of the verb in

the negative form. In the examples above - talk, sleep and study do not change

in the 3rd person.

  He speaks Italian

He doesn't speak Italian.

Remember: Do not can be abbreviated to Don't and Does not can be

abbreviated to Doesn't.

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Conditional sentences - type I

Conditional sentences (if-clauses, main clauses)

Use

It is possible to fulfil a condition which is given in the if-clause.

Form

if clause main clause

Simple Present

will-future 

or

infinitive

or

Modal + infinitive 

Examples

If I study, I will pass the exams.

If you see John tonight, tell him to e-mail me.

If Ben gets up early, he can catch the bus.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

If I study, I will pass the exams.

I will pass the exams if I study.

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Conditional sentences - type II

Conditional sentences (if-clauses, main clauses)

Use

It is theoretically possible to fulfil a condition which is given in the if-clause.

Form

if clause main clause

Simple Past

would + infinitive 

or

could + infinitive

or

might + infinitive 

Examples

If I studied, I would pass the exams.

If I studied, I could pass the exams.

If I studied, I might pass the exams.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

If I studied, I would pass the exams.

I would pass the exams if I studied.

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Conditional sentences - type III

Use

It is impossible to fulfil a condition which is given in the if-clause.

Form

if clause main clause

Past Perfect

would + have + past participle 

or

could + have + past participle 

or

might + have + past participle 

Examples

If I had studied, I would have passed the exams.

If I had studied, I could have passed the exams.

If I had studied, I might have passed the exams.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

If I had studied, I would have passed the exams.

I would have passed the exams if I had studied.