Writing 101

Over the next few days we will discuss verb tense. There is more to it than meets the eye. For example let's say i want to express how a lady named Liz takes her children to school by car everyday. Rather than saying "Liz takes her children to school by car every day" I can simply say "Liz drives her children to school every day" and the meaning is just as clear. As a former editor I can tell you the fewer words you use to get your point across the better. Choosing the proper verb makes all the difference. As we will learn over the next several days verbs come in various shapes and sizes. Essentially they fall into two major categories. These are active verbs and passive verbs.

Sentences themselves are either active or passive depending on whether the verb acts on something or is acted on by something. In active sentences the thing doing the action is the subject. In passive sentences the thing receiving the action is the subject.

Active: Shirley is riding the horse.

Passive: The horse is being rode by Shirley.

Your assignment is to write five active sentences and five passive sentences, identifying which are which.


MarvinDSchrebe