Active vs. Passive Voice
Asking “What’s going on?” is very likely to find you the verb in any given sentence. If this question works, you’re dealing with an active verb. Sentences written in active voice mean that the subject of the sentence is doing the action.
Compare the following:
1) Milton and Shakespeare drove to the bookstore.
2) Milton and Shakespeare were driven to the bookstore.
In sentence 1, Milton and Shakespeare are doing something. When you ask the question, “What’s happening?”, you find that driving is happening. But in sentence 2, the answer to the question “What’s happening?” is different. Milton and Shakespeare aren’t driving anymore—they’re being driven. In sentence 2, someone else not specified in the sentence is in the driver’s seat.
Sentence 2 contains a passive verb. In passive sentences, the subject (above, Milton and Shakespeare) doesn’t actually do anything; rather, action happens to the subject. The subject is not creating action but receiving it. It’s a subtle but important difference.
You might notice something else different about the verb in sentence 2. It has a helper, the word were. Passive voice verbs usually use some form of the word to be: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been. The versatile word to be doesn’t always indicate passive voice, but it’s a pretty good guideline.
So if you ask, “What’s going on?” in the sentence, take note about exactly where the action is happening. Sometimes the subject is doing the action (that’s active), and sometimes the subject is receiving the action (that’s passive).
Note: English teachers get a bad rap for hating passive, but active voice is usually easier to read and understand than passive voice. You should only use passive voice when there’s no way to express your ideas using active voice. That means that you should use active voice almost all the time.
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