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Active and The Passive Voice

The Passive Voice
In other sections, you have seen verbs used in the active voice. The passive voice is sometimes used in English as well. With the active voice, the agent or subject comes before the verb. With the passive, the subject (either stated or implied) follows the verb and is usually preceded with the word by:
ACTIVE:
--The doctor wrote a preion.
PASSIVE
--The preion was written by the doctor.
NOTE: In the passive, the object of the active verb becomes the subject.
To make the passive, use the appropriate form of the verb to be + past participle. Only transitive verbs are used in the passive:
ACTIVE: Fred helps Jane.
PASSIVE: Jane is helped by Fred.
ACTIVE: He is helping her.
PASSIVE: She is being helped by him.
ACTIVE: He has helped her.
PASSIVE: She has been helped by him.
ACTIVE: He helped her.
PASSIVE: She was helped by him.
ACTIVE: He was helping her.
PASSIVE: She was being helped by him.
ACTIVE: He had helped her.
PASSIVE: She had been helped by him.
ACTIVE: He will help her.
PASSIVE: She will be helped by him.
ACTIVE: He is going to help her.
PASSIVE: She is going to be helped by him.

Usually the by phrase is omitted in a passive sentence. The passive is used mainly when it is not known or not important to know who was responsible for the action:
--The house was built in 1960.
(The by phrase is left out because it is understood that builders
built the house).
Adjectives
Using A Few, Few, A Little, and Little
A few and few are used with plural count nouns:
--a few friends, few ideas, a few things to do, etc.
A little and little are used with noncount nouns:
--little money, a little rain, a little wind, etc.
NOTE: Few and little give a negative idea, conveying the notion that something is largely absent:
--They have very little money.
--We have few options remaining.
NOTE: A few and a little give a positive idea, indicating that something exists or is present:
--I have a little free time today.
--Do you have a few moments?

Placement of Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives and adverbs are invariable in English. Adjectives always come in front of the noun they modify. Adverbs usually come after the verb they modify.
ADJECTIVES:
a good book
an excellent dinner
a fine wine
a charming person
a hot day
an unreasonable person
ADVERBS:
--This newspaper is published frequently.
--The Immigration Agent is speaking quickly.

Forms of Other
Forms of other are used as either adjectives or pronouns:
SINGULAR: another book (is)
another is
PLURAL: other books (are)
others (are)

SINGULAR: the other book (is)
the other (is)
PLURAL: the other books (are)
the others (are)
Note that a final -s is used only for a plural pronoun (others). Another means one more in addition to the one(s) already mentioned. Other/others (without the) refer to several more in addition to the one(s) already mentioned. The other(s) has a different meaning (all that remains from a given number or specific group):
--I have three apartments. Two are mine. The other is yours.