Understanding Passive Voice and Silent Syllables in English: A Practical Guide

 Understanding Passive Voice in English: Present Simple Tense

In English, sentences can be written in either the active voice or the passive voice. These voices serve different purposes, and understanding them helps us communicate more effectively in both written and spoken forms.

What is the Active Voice?

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. For example, consider the sentence:

My mom sings that song.

Here, My mom is the subject, and that song is the object. The subject (my mom) is doing the action (singing).

What is the Passive Voice?

In the passive voice, the focus shifts from the subject to the object of the action. In other words, we emphasize what is happening to the object rather than who is performing the action. The sentence in the passive voice would look like this:

That song is sung by my mom.

In this case, that song becomes the subject of the sentence, while my mom is still the one performing the action, but now she is mentioned after the word "by."

The key difference is that, in the passive voice, the object (what is being acted upon) becomes the subject of the sentence.

Structure of the Passive Voice

To form the passive voice in the present simple tense, we use the verb to be (am, are, or is) along with the past participle of the main verb. The general structure looks like this:

• Subject + be (am/are/is) + past participle
  Example:
  The letter is written by Sarah.

In this example, The letter is the subject, is is the form of the verb to be, and written is the past participle of the verb write. The action is still being done by Sarah, but the focus is on the letter.

When to Use "By" in the Passive Voice

Sometimes, we may want to include the agent (the one who performs the action) in the sentence. In these cases, we use the word "by." For example:

The cake was baked by John.

Here, John is the agent who performed the action.

However, in many cases, the agent is either unknown or unimportant, so we leave out "by." For example:

This sweater is made in China.

In this case, the focus is on the sweater and where it is made, not on who specifically made it.

Examples of the Passive Voice in Everyday Life

Let's look at some practical examples from daily life to see how the passive voice works:

• The food is cooked by the chef. (Active: The chef cooks the food.)
• The documents are signed by the manager. (Active: The manager signs the documents.)
• The window is cleaned every morning. (This is an example where the agent is not mentioned.)

These examples show how the passive voice allows us to focus on the object (the food, documents, window) rather than the person doing the action.

Silent Syllables in English

When we speak quickly or casually, some syllables in words can become silent. This happens because certain syllables are stressed, and others are weak. Over time, these weak syllables may lose their sound and become silent. It is important to learn where these silent syllables are to improve your pronunciation and understanding of spoken English.

Here are some common words with silent syllables:

• Everyone (pronounced /ˈevriwʌn/)
• Everywhere (pronounced /ˈevriweə(r)/)
• Everything (pronounced /ˈevriθɪŋ/)
• Chocolate (pronounced /ˈtʃɒklət/)
• Comfortable (pronounced /ˈkʌmftəbəl/)
• Vegetable (pronounced /ˈvedʒtəbəl/)

By practicing these words, you can begin to recognize and use them correctly in everyday conversations.

Conclusion

Mastering the passive voice in English allows you to focus on what is important in a sentence, whether it's the action or the object. The passive voice is often used when the agent (the person or thing doing the action) is unknown, unimportant, or implied. It is also crucial to be aware of silent syllables in words to improve your spoken English and sound more natural. By practicing both the passive voice and the pronunciation of common words with silent syllables, you can enhance your fluency and understanding of English.

References

EngVid. (n.d.). Speak English naturally: Silent syllables. Retrieved from https://www.engvid.com/speak-english-naturally-silent-syllables/