Active Voice and Passive Voice

(Kalimat Aktif dan Kalimat Pasif)

In Bahasa Indonesia we also learn about active and passive voice. We called it Kalimat Aktif
and Kalimat Pasif. Do you still remember about kalimat aktif or kalimat pasif?
(Dalam Bahasa Indonesia kita juga mempelajari mengenai active dan passive voice. Kita
menyebutnya sebagai kalimat aktif dan kalimat pasif. Apakah kamu masih ingat tentang kalimat
aktif dan kalimat pasif?)
Well, on Wikipedia written as follow: (Baiklah, di Wikipedia tertulis seperti ini)

Kalimat aktif adalah kalimat yang subjeknya aktif melakukan sesuatu. Sedangkan
kalimat pasif adalah kalimat subjeknya dikenai sesuatu pekerjaan.
Contoh:
Kalimat aktif: Renu sedang menyiram tanaman./ Kalimat pasif: Tanaman sedang disirami
Renu.
Kalimat aktif: Wahyu melihat buku pelajaran. / Kalimat pasif: Buku pelajaran dilihat Wahyu.
Kalimat aktif: Andre memasak ikan. /Kalimat pasif: ikan dimasak Andre.

So, is the “voice” in English have different form from the Bahasa Indonesia? Well, it’s was not
that different. Voice in English expresses the relationship of the subject to the action. Voice has
two values:
(Jadi, apakah “voice” dalam Bahasa Inggris berbeda bentuknya dengan yang dalam Bahasa
Indonesia? Ternyata tidak terlalu berbeda. Kalimat pasif dan aktif dalam Bahasa Inggris
menunjukkan hubungan antara subjek terhadap suatu aksi/perbuatan. Voice memiliki dua
nilai: )

When do I use passive voice?

In some sentences, passive voice can be perfectly acceptable. You might use it in the following
cases (Dalam beberapa kalimat, passive voice sangat dapat diterima. Kamu mungkin akan
menggunakannya dalam beberapa kasus:)

1. The actor is unknown (Pelakunya tidak diketahui)

The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old Stone Age.
[We don’t know who made them.]

2. The actor is irrelevant: (Pelakunya tidak relevan)

An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian desert. [We are not
interested in who is building it.]

3. You want to be vague about who is responsible: (Kamu ingin menyamarkan siapa
pelakunya)

Mistakes were made. [Common in bureaucratic writing!]

4. You are talking about a general truth (Kamu membicarakan tentang kebenaran umum)

Rules are made to be broken. [By whomever, whenever.]

5. You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on. For example, it may be your main
topic: (Kamu ingin menekankan orang atau hal yang ditindaklanjuti. Misalnya, ini
mungkin topik utama dalam tulisanmu)

Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the University of Toronto. It

is still the only treatment available for diabetes.

6. You are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally relies on passive voice. Passive
voice is often preferred in lab reports and scientific research papers, most notably in the
Materials and Methods section:
 (Kamu sedang menulis sebuah karya ilmiah yang biasanya menggunakan passive
voice. Passive voice biasanya digunakan dalam laporan laboratorium karya ilmiah,
biasanya pada bagian material dan metode:)

The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This solution was then titrated with
hydrochloric acid.e.

How to use passive voice ?

Form of the passive: be + past participle

In the passive, the object of an active verb
ACTIVE: (a) Mary helped the boy becomes the subject of the passive verb; “the
PASSIVE: (b) The boy was helped by Mary boy” in (a) becomes the subject of the
passive verb in (b).
(a) And (b) have the same meaning.
Pada bentuk passive, objek dari active verb
menjadi subjek dari passive verb; “the boy”
dalam kalimat (a) menjadi subjek dari passive
verb pada kalimat (b)
ACTIVE: (c) an accident happened Only transitive verbs (verbs that are followed
PASSIVE: (d) (none) by an object) are used in the passive. It is not
possible to use verbs such as happen, sleep,
come, and seem (intransitive verbs) in the
passive.
Hanya transitive verbs (kata kerja yang diikuti
oleh sebuah objek) yang dapat digunakan
dalam bentuk pasif. Tidak mungkin untuk
menggunakan kata kerja seperti happen,
sleep, come, dan seem (intransitive verbs)
dalam bentuk pasif.
Forms Active Voice Formula Passive Voice Formula
Simple Mary helps John S + verb 1 -s/es + John is helped by Mary S + to be (am, are,
Present object is) + V3 + by +
Object
Present Mary is helping John S + to be (am, John is being helped by S + to be (am, are,
Continuou are, is) + V1-ing + Mary is) + being + V3 + by
s object + object
Present Mary has helped John S + have/has + John has been helped by S + have/has + been
Perfect V3 + Object Mary + V3 + by + Object

Simple Mary helped John S + V2 + Object John was being helped by S + to be (was, were)
Past Mary + V3 + by + Object
Past Mary was helping John S + to be (was, John was helped by Mary S + to be (was,
Continuou were) + V1-ing + were) + being + V3
s Object + by + Object
Past Mary had helped John S + had not + V3 John had been helped by S + had + been +
Perfect + Object Mary V3 + by + Object
Simple Mary will help John S + will not + V1 John will be helped by Mary S + will be + V3 +
Future + Object by + Object

Be going Mary is going to help S + to be (is, am, John is going to be helped S + to be (is, am,
to John are) + going to + by Mary are) going to be +
object object
Future Mary will have helped S + will + have + John will have been helped S + will + have +
Perfect* John V3 + Object by Mary been + V3 + by +
Object

To make it easier for you to understand, please look at the examples below:
*The progressive forms of the present perfect, past perfect, future and future perfect are very
rarely used in the passive. (Bentuk present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future
continuous, dan future perfect continuous sangat jarang digunakan dalam bentuk pasif)