- Active. Richard shot the bear.
- Passive. The bear was shot by Richard.
In this change, (1) bear, the object of the active verb shot, becomes the subject of the passive verb was shot; and (2) Richard, the subject of the active verb shot, becomes by Richard, an adverbial phrase, modifying the passive verb was shot. Thus we have the rule:—
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive, and the subject of the active verb becomes in the passive an adverbial phrase modifying the predicate verb.
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| My cat caught a bird. | A bird was caught by my cat. |
| Austin thanked Charles. | Charles was thanked by Austin. |
| The bullet penetrated a tree. | A tree was penetrated by the bullet. |
| Sargent painted that portrait. | That portrait was painted by Sargent. |
| The fireman had saved the child. | The child had been saved by the fireman. |
250. Intransitive verbs are ordinarily used in the active voice only.
- The bystanders laughed.
- The watchdogs bark.
- Snow is falling.
251. An intransitive verb followed by a preposition is often used in the passive, the object of the preposition becoming the subject of the verb.
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| Everybody laughed at him. | He was laughed at by everybody. |
| The attorney general has not yet passed upon this bill. | This bill has not yet been passed upon. |
| He has tampered with this lock. | This lock has been tampered with. |
| The cart ran over me. | I was run over by the cart. |
Other examples are:
- talk about (= discuss),
- look or inquire into (= investigate),
- look upon (= regard),
- jeer at (= deride),
- reason with,
- object to,
- insist upon,
- act upon.