In Active Voice, the subject is the doer and is doing something. When we change this into a passive form, the object becomes active.
In Direct Speech the speaker’s direct narration is written as it is in double inverted commas and when it is changed in indirect form these quotations are removed.
Key Takeaways
- Active voice focuses on the subject acting, while direct speech is a quote that represents the speaker’s exact words.
- Active voice strengthens and clarifies writing, while direct speech adds authenticity and personality.
- Active voice emphasizes the subject, while direct speech emphasizes the spoken words and the speaker.
Active Voice vs Direct Speech
Active voice is a grammatical construction in which the subject performs the action expressed by the verb, while direct speech is used for reporting someone’s exact words using quotation marks. Unlike direct speech, active voice clearly and directly states who or what is performing the action.
When the subject of a sentence plays the verb’s action, we are saying that the sentence is withinside the active voice. Sentences inside the active voice have a strong, direct, and clear tone.
Examples of Active voice are:- John is eating an apple and Sam is organizing a party.
Direct speech is an illustration of the real phrases a person said. Direct speech is positioned inside quotation marks and followed through a reporting verb, sign phrase, or quotative frame.
Examples of Direct Speech are:- Sara said to Maya, “Give me a glass of water.” and She said, “I am going to London tomorrow.”
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Active Voice | Direct Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Rules | Subject + V1+s/es +object | Subject +V1st + Object |
| Advantages | Uses fewer words, making the writing extra concise and efficient and creating a faster-transferring narrative, which makes for less complicated writing and extra attractive reading. | It allows the reader to interact greater than mentioned speech does and it allows to expose what a man or woman is virtually like. |
| Importance | Active voice is beneficial in fiction to create vibrant photos and pass the plot along, however it is also vital in educational writing. | Indirect communication, debates, quarrels, and specific times of movement provide excitement, tension, and laughter. |
| Tense | Remains the same but converts in participle. | Present changes into past, past/future into a participle |
| Transformation Example | Ciya is learning the poem the poem is being learned by Ciya. | She said, “If I were a bird.”She wished that she were a bird. |
What is Active Voice?
The active voice is a grammatical voice used in many languages around the world.
In nominative-accusative languages, such as English and the majority of Indo-European languages, it is the unmarked voice for sentences proposing a transitive verb.
In such languages, a verb is frequently used in the active voice, with the verb’s challenge acting out the action. In a phrase whose challenge expresses the major verb’s agent, active voice is used.
That is, the verb’s characteristic action poses a challenge. An energetic clause is one in which the agent is designated as a grammatical challenge.
In contrast, a clause wherein the challenge has the function of affected person or subject matter is known as a passive clause, and its verb is expressed in passive voice.
Many languages have each a lively and a passive voice and this lets in for more flexibility in sentence construction, as both the semantic agent or affected person can also additionally take the challenge syntactic function.
Some examples of Active Voice:-
- Harry made chocolate cookies.
- The hunter killed the tiger.
- The grocer sells sugar.
- I read a book.
- Tulsidas wrote the Ramayana.
- My master’s is writing letters.
- Brinda is listening to music
- The company will hire new workers.
What is Direct Speech?
Direct speech is a sentence in which the precise phrases which can be spoken are written in speech marks, citation marks, or inverted commas.
Direct Speech may be utilized in more than one written text, mainly inside memories it could assist readers to experience engaged and apprehending characters better.
It is not an unusual place in novels and different writing in which the real phrases of a speaker are quoted.
It is likewise known as a quoted speech because it consists of citation marks that enclose the real phrases said. It is observed with the aid of using a reporting clause or sign phrase.
It facilitates delivering a great portrayal of the characters. Direct speech is famous the tone and moods of the characters.
Results do display that direct speech results in a more potent intellectual illustration of the precise wording of a sentence than does oblique speech.
These outcomes display that language has an extra diffused effect on memory representations than become formerly suggested.
Some examples of Direct Speech:-
- Raj said, “I am very busy now.”
- He said, “The horse died in the night.”
- Ela said, “How clever I am!”
- He said to me, “What are you doing?”
Main Differences Between Active Voice and Direct Speech
- When changing active voice to the passive subject and object interchange their position while in changing directly to indirect speech ‘said that’ is changed to ‘told or ordered or advised’ and the sentence must maintain its past form any continuous or perfect.
- Active voice can make sure readability with the aid of making it clear to the reader who’s taking movement withinside the sentence while Direct speech reveals the tone and moods of the characters.
- In Active voice transformation the tense is changed into participle but in the case of direct speech changing words like now, tomorrow, yesterday, this will change to then, the next day, the previous/last day, that respectively.
- Active Voice is used in non-scientific writing whereas Direct Speech is used in report writing.
- In Active Voice, the subject plays an important role but in Direct Speech words are important.
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
It’s fascinating how language can be used to convey different types of meaning and depth, both in active voice and direct speech. I appreciate the detailed comparison.
While both are beneficial in their own ways, the choice between active voice and direct speech depends on the intention of the writing and the desired impact on readers.
The comparison table provides clear insights into the differences – a great resource for those looking to better understand or utilize active voice and direct speech.
It’s amusing how direct speech brings characters to life, adding excitement and engaging readers. A clever narrative technique indeed.
I see direct speech as both a tool for impact and a reflection of the characters themselves.
I believe the report writing example of ‘direct speech’ adds an element of liveliness to it.
While active voice is indeed clear and direct, I’d argue that direct speech adds depth and personality to writing, making it more relatable.
The clarity offered by active voice is definitely vital in many forms of writing. It enhances understanding and makes language more impactful.