Knowing the difference between the active and passive voice will most certainly aid in completing the SAT test. Recognizing these distinctions will also improve speed through the test and also mastery of the written section. The SAT test maker will never reward the passive voice in a test answer, so when this voice is recognized it can be automatically thrown out. For example:
- The spices were put in the cabinet by me. (Passive)
- I put the spices in the cabinet. (Active)
The first sentence can be recognized as passive for the following reasons. The noun “books” is the subject, however, the true actor that is doing the “putting” is contained in the prepositional phrase. If the actor is not the actual subject of the sentence, then the author must use a wordy verb phrase to distinguish who is completing the action. This long-winded type of response is unnecessary and improper. The active voice allows for use of fewer words and a more assertive sentence.
A sentence that uses the passive voice can be identified by the following sentence structure: Linking Verb + Action Verb + Prepositional Phrase. When this sequence is spotted, the passive voice is in use. In conclusion, when a test-taker notices a question response that executes the passive voice, that response can be automatically thrown out. The correct response on an SAT exam will always be in the active voice form.
