Active passive: how items are (how are items) placed on shelves?

[Queen09]

Which one is active and which one is passive?

how items are placed on shelves?
how are items placed on shelves?

[Alan]

Hi,

The second sentence is in the passive. The first one is not really a question but is ore half of a sentence. I would suggest:

You want to show me how items are placed on shelves. The verb 'placed' is in the passive.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Queen09]

Thanks Alan.

If the verb comes before the subject, such a sentence is in passive form. Is that always correct?

Second: The verb 'placed' is in the passive. I didn't get why "placed" is in passive? It all looks active to me.

[Alan]

I should have said 'are placed.' Your question: If the verb comes before the subject, such a sentence is in passive form . Is that always correct? Answer: It depends whether it is on the question form.

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Party Conferences

[Torsten]

Hi Queen,

Welcome to english-test.net and many thanks for your question. You might want to read Alan's lesson about the passive voice to get a better understanding of passive voice constructions.

Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Queen09]

Hi Torsten
I will check the link. Thanks for prompt replies.