Recognize Active And Passive Meanings

When there is no object (with or without by) after a verb, you must look at the meaning of the sentence to determine if the verb should be active or passive. Sentences with an incorrect passive verb and no by + object to tell you that the verb should be passive are the most difficult passive errors to recognize on the TOEFL test. Study the examples:

We mailed the package at the post office.

The letter was mailed by us today before noon.

The letter was mailed today before noon.

The letter mailed* today before noon.

The first three examples above are correct. The first example has the active verb mailed used with the object package; the second example has the passive verb was mailed used with by us; the third sentence has the passive verb was mailed used without an object.

The fourth example is the type of passive error that appears most often on the TOEFL test. This type of sentence has the following characteristics: (1) an incorrect passive verb that looks like a correct active verb, and (2) no by + object to tell you that a passive is needed. To correct the fourth example, the active verb needs to be changed to the passive was mailed.

To determine that such a sentence is incorrect, you must study the meaning of the subject and the verb. You must ask yourself if the subject does the action of the verb (so an active verb is needed) or if the subject receives the action of the verb (so a passive verb is needed). In the incorrect example, you should study the meaning of the subject and verb, the letter mailed. You should ask yourself if a letter mails itself (the letter does the action) or if someone mails a letter (the letter receives the action of being mailed). Since a letter does not mail itself, the passive is required in this sentence.

The following chart outlines the difference in meaning between active and passive verbs:

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MEANINGS

ACTIVE: The subject does the action of the verb.

PASSIVE: The subject receives the action of the verb.