We have all had some practice using subjects and predicates in sentences. I hear you are now talking about OBJECTS as well. An example of a sentence with a subject + predicate + object might look like this: Maikai throws baseballs. The object of this sentence is "baseballs"...it is the noun that receives the action of our verb "throws". Objects don't do the action...the action is done to them.
It's important that we had a quick reminder about objects, because now we are going to talk about using something called the ACTIVE VOICE in our writing. Using the active voice is another way that we can strengthen our writing; it puts the spotlight on our subject AND reminds us to use action verbs. To use the active voice in your writing, make sure that you name your subject, then tell us what action your subject does, and then tell us what or who receives the action.
Simply, ACTIVE VOICE is just SUBJECT + PREDICATE + OBJECT again!
Check this out: Brancy feeds the tigers. Active voice! Easy, right!?
Now check THIS out...how is this different?: The tigers are fed by Brancy.* What do you think?
*This sentence seems to mean the same thing as "Brancy feeds the tigers", but the structure is different. This is because the object of the sentence appears first...even though the action isn't being done by the tigers! THIS kind of structure is called the PASSIVE VOICE. It's a perfectly good sentence, but it doesn't put the emphasis on our subject and it's not as easy to see who is doing what. Also, did you notice how the "are" crept into our predicate in the passive voice? The passive voice takes a little of the action out of our action verb!
Mrs. Bockius loves the active voice! (That's written in the active voice, by the way!) You try writing something in the active voice in the comments section. Remember, Mrs. Bockius loathes sentences using the verb "like" right now, so avoid that one! :) If you're feeling particularly adventurous, or if Mrs. Bockius tells you to do so, try and flip your active voice sentence into the passive voice. It will help you make sure you know which is which!
A few more examples:
ACTIVE: Several students aced the test!
PASSIVE: The test was aced by several students!
ACTIVE: Thorver's team won the game.
PASSIVE: The game was won by Thorver's team.
ACTIVE: Mrs. Bockius rewrote our comprehension packets. Yay!
PASSIVE: Our comprehension packets were rewritten by Mrs. Bockius. Yay!
It's important that we had a quick reminder about objects, because now we are going to talk about using something called the ACTIVE VOICE in our writing. Using the active voice is another way that we can strengthen our writing; it puts the spotlight on our subject AND reminds us to use action verbs. To use the active voice in your writing, make sure that you name your subject, then tell us what action your subject does, and then tell us what or who receives the action.
Simply, ACTIVE VOICE is just SUBJECT + PREDICATE + OBJECT again!
Check this out: Brancy feeds the tigers. Active voice! Easy, right!?
Now check THIS out...how is this different?: The tigers are fed by Brancy.* What do you think?
*This sentence seems to mean the same thing as "Brancy feeds the tigers", but the structure is different. This is because the object of the sentence appears first...even though the action isn't being done by the tigers! THIS kind of structure is called the PASSIVE VOICE. It's a perfectly good sentence, but it doesn't put the emphasis on our subject and it's not as easy to see who is doing what. Also, did you notice how the "are" crept into our predicate in the passive voice? The passive voice takes a little of the action out of our action verb!
Mrs. Bockius loves the active voice! (That's written in the active voice, by the way!) You try writing something in the active voice in the comments section. Remember, Mrs. Bockius loathes sentences using the verb "like" right now, so avoid that one! :) If you're feeling particularly adventurous, or if Mrs. Bockius tells you to do so, try and flip your active voice sentence into the passive voice. It will help you make sure you know which is which!
A few more examples:
ACTIVE: Several students aced the test!
PASSIVE: The test was aced by several students!
ACTIVE: Thorver's team won the game.
PASSIVE: The game was won by Thorver's team.
ACTIVE: Mrs. Bockius rewrote our comprehension packets. Yay!
PASSIVE: Our comprehension packets were rewritten by Mrs. Bockius. Yay!
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