What option describes a passive voice in a sentence?
a. The subject preforms the action stated by the verb.
b. The subject is acted upon by the verb.
c. The sentence uses past tense verbs
d. The sentence uses present tense verbs.
b. The subject is acted upon by the verb.
Option b. "The subject is acted upon by the verb" describes a passive voice in a sentence.
To identify the passive voice in a sentence, you need to determine if the subject of the sentence is being acted upon by the verb rather than performing the action. Passive voice is formed by using a form of the verb "to be" (such as "is," "are," "was," "were") followed by the past participle of the main verb. This construction shifts the focus from the subject of the sentence to the object or receiver of the action.
For example, consider the sentence "The book was read by Anna." In this sentence, the subject "book" is being acted upon ("read") by the verb "was," indicating a passive voice construction.