What does passive voice indicate in a sentence?

In a sentence, the passive voice indicates that the subject receives the action rather than performing it. In passive constructions, the focus shifts from the doer of the action to the recipient. For example, in the sentence "The book was read by the student," "the book" is the subject that is receiving the action of being read, rather than performing it. This structure is particularly useful when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or implied.

Understanding this distinction is essential for recognizing how different sentence structures influence the focus and clarity of communication. It also helps identify the relationships between subjects, verbs, and objects in sentences.