Active voice is a voice that indicates a subject has the semantic function of actor.
(English)
The following sentence construction is in active voice. The subject Jones has the semantic function of actor.
The above active construction contrasts with the following construction in passive voice, where Jones has the semantic function of actor but house is the subject:
Pei, Mario A., and Frank Gaynor. 1954.A dictionary of linguistics. New York: Philosophical Library.
Nida, Eugene A. 1949.Morphology: The descriptive analysis of words. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
Mish, Frederick (editor). 1991.Webster's ninth new collegiate dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. 1,564 pages. 0877795088; indexed 0877795096; deluxe 087779510X.
Hartmann, R.R.K., and F.C. Stork. 1972.Dictionary of language and linguistics. London: Applied Science.
Crystal, David. 1980.A first dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Boulder, CO: Westview.