Active & Passive Voice 🔄
Subject 🎭
👉 Who or what is this sentence about?
That word (or group of words) is the subject 🎯
🎩 Magic Question Trick
Read the sentence and ask the magic question:
Who or what is this sentence about?
Sentence: The dog is barking 🐕
❓ Who is the sentence about?
✔ The dog
🧠 Tip: The answer to the magic question is the subject!
👉 Point and Say
Look around the room or imagine a picture.
🖼️ Sentence: The teacher is talking.
👉 Point to who the sentence is about.
✔ The teacher is the subject.
Note: 🧠 The subject is the whole naming group, not just one word.
"The teacher" (not just "teacher") is the subject.
🧠 If you can point to it, it is often the subject!
Sentence: Yesterday, the children played in the park. 🌳
Let’s find the subject 👀
👉 A subject tells us who or what the sentence is about.
Who played? 🤔
✔ the children — so this is the subject ⭐
Now look at the extra parts of the sentence 🧩
⏰ Yesterday tells us when the action happened.
📍 in the park tells us where the action happened.
These parts are optional ✂️
If we remove them, the sentence still makes sense:
The children played. ✅
💡 Easy Rule to Remember:
⭐ The subject = who or what the sentence is about
⏰📍 Words that tell when, where, how, or why give extra information and are not the subject.
🌟 How to Find the Subject and Object (Easy & Safe Rule)
✅ YES — this rule works!
Follow these steps in active, passive, and inverted sentences.
🔎 Step 1: Find the Verb
Ask: What is happening? or What is being done?
Example:
👉 The teacher gave homework.
👤 Step 2: Find the Subject
Ask:
👉 Who / What + verb?
Example (Active):
👉 The teacher gave homework.
✔ Who gave? → the teacher (subject)
Example (Inversion):
👉 Under the tree slept a tiny kitten.
✔ What slept? → a tiny kitten (subject)
Example (Passive):
👉 The homework was given by the teacher.
✔ What was given? → the homework (subject)
📦 Step 3: Find the Object
After you know the subject, ask:
👉 Verb + what / whom?
Example:
👉 The teacher gave homework.
✔ Gave what? → homework (object)
Example (Two objects):
👉 The teacher gave the students homework.
✔ Gave whom? → the students (indirect object)
✔ Gave what? → homework (direct object)
⚠️ Important Corner Cases
1️⃣ Sentences with NO object
👉 The baby slept.
✔ Who slept? → the baby
❌ Slept what? → nothing → no object
2️⃣ Passive sentences often have NO object
👉 The cake was eaten.
✔ What was eaten? → the cake (subject)
❌ Eaten what? → no object
3️⃣ Prepositional phrases are NOT subjects or objects
👉 Yesterday, the children played in the park.
- ✔ Who played? → the children (subject)
- ❌ Played what? → nothing
- 📍 in the park → where (extra information)
- ⏰ Yesterday → when (extra information)
4️⃣ Inverted sentences (subject after the verb)
👉 At the corner stood a lonely street lamp.
✔ What stood? → a lonely street lamp (subject)
🚫 What NEVER gives subjects or objects
- 📍 Where?
- ⏰ When?
- 🛠 How?
- ❓ Why?
These only give extra information, not subjects or objects.
🏆 Final Golden Rule
🟢 Who / what + verb → Subject
🔵 Verb + what / whom → Object
✔ Works for active, passive, and inverted sentences
✔ A sentence has one subject but may have many objects
✔ Where / when / how / why are never subjects or objects
🎵📜 Subject Poem
A subject tells us who or what,
The star of the sentence, no ifs or buts! 🌟
It can be a person, place, or thing,
Or even an idea that makes us sing. 🎶
The cat runs, the dog barks loud 🐱🐶
The children play, the clouds are proud ☁️
Look at the start, that’s usually right,
The subject shines in every line, bright! ✨
Active Voice 🔄
Subject does the action.
👉 The cat chased the mouse 🐱➡️🐭
❓ Who is the sentence about?
✔ The cat
The subject (the cat) performed the action of chasing.
So, this sentence is in active voice.
Object → who or what gets the action 🎯
👉 Subject: She
👉 Object: the ball
👉 Subject: I
👉 Object: him, gift
A subject tells us who or what,
The star of the sentence, no ifs or buts! 🌟
It can be a person, place, or thing,
Or even an idea that makes us sing. 🎶
In most active sentences, the subject’s first,
The one doing the action, it comes first! 🏃♂️
“The dog runs,” “The children play,”
The subject shines at the start each day. ✨
In passive sentences, sometimes the doer hides,
The subject stays first, while the action rides. 🛶
“The homework was finished by Tom,” you see,
The subject is homework, the star of the spree! 📘
Look for who or what the sentence is about,
Even if other words or phrases make you doubt. 🤔
Whether first or after a verb or phrase,
The subject will always earn its praise! 🌈
Remember this chant and you’ll find with ease,
Subjects are everywhere — like the breeze! 💨
Active or passive, long or short,
The subject leads the sentence — that’s the report! 📜
Passive Voice 🔄
Subject: who or what the sentence is about.
The action happens to the subject.
👉 The mouse was chased by the cat 🐭⬅️🐱
🧠 Active → Who did it?
🧠 Passive → Who got it?
| Sentence Type | who or what the sentence is about? 👦 (Subject) |
Verb 🏃 always listens to the subject ⭐ |
Object/ Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Voice 🟢
🧠 Answers → Who did it? 🧠 Doer first |
The cat 🐱 (does the action 🏃) |
chased | the mouse 🐭 (gets the action 🎯) |
| Passive Voice 🔵
🧠 Answers → Who got it? Receiver first |
The mouse 🐭 (gets the action 🎯) |
was chased | by the cat 🐱 (does the action 🏃) |
👉 In Passive Voice:
• The action was done on subject
Fun Check 🎉
The ball was kicked by the boy ⚽
👉 Passive