What is passive voice and active voice?

Answer 1

Active sentences tell us who did the action of the verb. They have the form: subject + verb + object

eg The dog chased the cat.

Passive sentences allow us to put something that is not the doer of the verb in the subject position.

eg The cat was chased

You can if you want, say who or what chased the cat by adding the agent at the end of the sentence.

eg The cat was chased by the dog

Passive is used when the actor/agent is not important or is not known. Often when describing a process passive is used

eg Tea is grown in Sri Lanka. It is picked and taken to processing plants where it is dried and packed for export

Or if the actor is the most important bit of information we can add it at the end for emphasis.

The Mona Lisa is a very well known painting. It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci

Answer 2

In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action, while in passive voice, the subject receives the action. Active voice is generally more direct and engaging, while passive voice can be useful for shifting focus or showing neutrality.