Definition:
The verb form in which the subject of the sentence performs or causes the action expressed by the verb. Contrast with passive voice.
Examples and Observations:
- "The distinction between active and passive applies only when the verb is transitive, since only a transitive verb can be accompanied by an object. Typically, the active subject is the doer of the action (Ted in Ted was repairing the computer), whereas the passive subject (like the active object) is the person or thing affected by the action (computer)."
("Voice," in The Oxford Companion to the English Language, 1992) - "Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face."
(Dave Barry) - "Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status."
(Laurence J. Peter) - "You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing. Oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage."
(Ruth Gordon as Maude in Harold and Maude, 1971) - "After an hour of pregame warmup, I wanted to shave my head. Finally, Hillary swept in and moved down a line of huggers toward a raised platform centered in the room.
"Her positioning meant that she had to keep turning in order to hug back. Around and around and around she turned, 360 degrees, over and over, her arms outstretched in perpetual greeting, like a jewel-box ballerina whose battery has run low."
(Kathleen Parker, "Hillary's Once in a Lifetime," Oakland Tribune, February 21, 2007) - "If you shoot at mimes, should you use a silencer?"
(Steven Wright)
Pronunciation: AK-tiv voys
