SILGLOBALGlossary of
Linguistic Terms

Glossary term V

Voice

Definition

Voice is a grammatical category that expresses the semantic functions attributed to the referents of a clause. It indicates whether the subject is an

  • actor
  • patient, or
  • recipient.

Examples

The following sentence is in active voice:

  • Jones built the house.

The following sentence is in passive voice:

  • The house was built by Jones.

Kinds

More specific concepts within voice.

Active Voice Antipassive Voice Middle Voice Passive Voice

See also

Referent Subject

Sources 8

  1. Pei and Gaynor 1954, 228–229
  2. Hartmann and Stork 1972, 251–252
  3. Nida 1949, 168
  4. Elson and Pickett 1988, 31
  5. Bybee 1985, 20–21
  6. Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985, 159
  7. Crystal 1985, 329
  8. Mish 1991, 1320
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