The Articles &Active – Passive Voice

TEAM 3

Afzal Azeem ChowdharyAjeet KumarHemalatah J

Kavipreet SalujaSyed Imran

Introduction “Articles are a small set of words or affixes (as a, an, and the) used with nouns to limit or give definiteness to the application.”

In other words, articles are words that occur before nouns to describe or determine the noun .

The singular indefinite article is a or an. The plural indefinite article is some. The definite article is the.

Classification of Articles

Definite Article In-definite Article Partitive Article Negative Article Zero Article

Definite Article“the”

Indicates that its noun is a particular one which is identifiable to the listener.

Ex: The children know the fastest way home.

Children know the fastest ways home.

Use the definite article the to talk about the following:

● Species of animals● The domestic cat has lived alongside humans

since the time of Pharaohs.● Inventions● When was the telephone invented?● Rivers, seas and oceans● The river Ganges flows into the Bay of Bengal.● Mountain rangers● They went skiing in the Himalayas.● Island groups● The Seychelles are a group of islands in the

Indian Ocean

Indefinite Articles“a/an”

An article indicates that its noun is not a particular one.

There are two indefinite articles- a/an. A/an is used to modify non-specific

nouns. A - consonant. A boy, a car, a bike. An-vowel. An elephant, an apple.

Use the indefinite article a/an:

• With singular countable nouns (mentioned for the first time or when it doesn’t matter which one) There were over a hundred people at the party.

• With (singular) jobs, etc.She is a doctor.

• With these numbers: 100, 1,000, 1,000,000I need a pencil.

• In exclamationsWhat a lovely dress!

Examples1. Lets go to see a movie. There's an adventure film

that I have really been waiting to see.

2. It looks like it is going to be a rainy day. You should take an umbrella.

3.Because there was a huge rainstorm, the flight was delayed for more than an hour. The airport was full of angry passengers.

A: What's wrong?

B: I have __ bad headache.

A: What does he do?

B: He's __ engineer.

A: What did Tom buy?

B: He bought __ new camera.

ExerciseA: Why can't Shelly travel?

B: She doesn't have __ passport.

A: Where does Barbara live?

B: In __ apartment on 5th Avenue.

A: I don't understand what this word means.

B: You need to buy __ dictionary.

Partitive Article“some”

It is a type of indefinite article used with a mass noun such as water, to indicate a non-specific quantity of it.

Used in French and Italian in addition to definite and indefinite articles.

The nearest equivalent in English is some, although this is considered a determiner and not an article.

Ex : Do you want some coffee?

I bought some cheese.

Negative Article“No”

A negative article specifies none of its noun, and can thus be regarded as neither definite nor indefinite.

In English, this function is fulfilled by no, which can appear before a singular or plural noun:

Ex:No man has been on this island.

No dogs are allowed here.

No one is in the room.

Zero Article

It is the absence of an article. Specifically indicates that the noun is indefinite. In English, the zero article rather than the indefinite is

used with plurals and mass nouns, although the word "some" can be used as an indefinite plural article.

Use zero article to talk about:●ContinentsThey are traveling through Asia.

• CountriesHave you been to Russia?

• MountainsThey have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

• Villages, Towns, CitiesWe live in Hyderabad.

•LakesLucknow is on Gomti Lake.

Chicago is on Lake Michigan.

Active Voice and Passive Voice

Verbs and Voice

Voice is the form, a verb takes to indicate whether the subject of the verb performs or receives the action.

There are two types of voice: active voice and passive voice.

Active VoiceActive voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb.

Formula:Subject+Verb+Object

Example:I keep the butter in the fridge.I will clean the house every Saturday.

Passive voice is used when the subject is the recipient of the action.

Formula:Object+To be+Verb+By+Subject

Example:The butter is kept in the fridge.The house will be cleaned by me every Saturday.

In Active Voice the subject comes first.Example: Ram (subject) eats (verb) pizza (object).

In Passive Voice the object comes first.Example: Pizza (object) is eaten (verb) by Ram (subject).

Why does it matter?Active voice is more direct,less wordy sentences and more concise.Passive voice is indirect,more wordy sentences and less concise.Strong writing uses active voice.Active voice is like watching Aman play.

When would you WANT to use passive voice?

When intentionally trying to hide the subject of the sentence. For example, a politician might say, “The mistake was

made by someone.” Hiding the subject helps him/her hide the blame.

When intentionally trying to minimize the guilt of the subject. For example, a theif might say, “Theft was committed by

me.”

When passive voice better emphasizes the main point of the message, such as “Children were harmed by the drunk driver.”

Form of Passive Voice VerbsThe passive voice requires a "double verb" and will always consist of a form of the verb "to be" and the past participle (usually the "en/ed/t" form) of another verb.Example:

Active: John baked the bread.Passive: The bread was baked by John. (Was is a form of the verb “be”.)

Form of Passive Voice Verbs

Writers should be familiar with the forms of "to be" , often called linking verbs, so that they can easily identify the passive voice in their work.

Review the forms of "to be":am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been

Form of Passive Voice Verbs

Note the forms of "to be" in the examples of the verb "to kick" in various forms of the passive voice:

is kicked----------------had been kickedwas kicked-------------is going to be kickedis being kicked---------will be kickedhas been kicked-------can be kickedwas being kicked------should be kicked

Form of Passive Voice Verbs

Examples:Passive: The cookies were eaten by the children.Active: The children ate the cookies.

Passive: The tunnels are dug by the gophers.Active: The gophers dug the tunnels.

Let’s PracticeLabel the following sentences ACTIVE or PASSIVE.

1.Lisha made the chocolate cake.2.The chocolate cake was made by Lisha.3.The package was advertised by the travel agent.4.The travel agent advertised the package.5.The chain was broken by my brother.6.My brother broke the chain on my bike.7.I hemmed the prom dress.8.The prom dress was hemmed by me.9.The pencil on the floor was broken by him.10.He broke the pencil on the floor.

Let’s PracticeDirections: Change the sentences below to the active voice.1.The statue is being visited by hundreds of tourists every year.2.My books were stolen by someone yesterday.3.These books had been left in the classroom by a careless student.4.Coffee is raised in many parts of Hawaii by plantation workers.5.The house had been broken into by someone while the owners were on vacation.

Can you tell the difference?The potholes are being repaired by the workers.

Hot, black, asphalt was poured into the potholes by the crew. Safe driving on the part of the public is appreciated by the road crew

to insure their safety.

Passive sentences in paragraph. Active=The workers repaired the potholes. The crew poured hot, black asphalt into the potholes. To insure their safety, the crew appreciates the public driving safely.