Leah G. answered • 10/25/22
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Common Core Standards English Expert 9-12
The first sentence is in the active voice. The sunbeams are the subject and they are piercing….
The second sentence is in the passive voice. The forest’s canopy is the subject but it isn’t doing anything. Instead, something is being done to it, i.e. piercing. When the subject of the sentence isn’t the thing doing the action, it’s in passive voice.
Most writers would agree that passive voice should be avoided.
Ethan B.
One sentence is present tense continuous, and the other isn't. But in both, the canopy has sunbeams going through it. So, are they both present tense continuous in a way? I know the passive one isn't literally, but i think logically it must be, right?
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10/25/22
Leah G.
Someone asked if the sentence mean the same thing. The answer is yes. They do mean the same thing. It's just that in formal written English, we prefer to have the subject of the sentence also be the actor in the sentence. It's less awkward and avoids confusion. Example: I ran on the path. vs. The path was run on by me. When you see it like this, it's obviously ridiculous. :)10/25/22