Active & Passive Voice

In active voice the subject performs the action (the nurse gave the medication); in passive voice the subject receives it (the medication was given by the nurse), built from a form of 'be' plus a past participle.

Identify passive by the ‘be + past participle’ frame, often with a ‘by’ phrase naming the real actor. Scientific writing tolerates passive voice to keep focus on the procedure rather than the researcher.

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