Vowel Sound /Ә/ & Active & Passive Voice – JSS3 English Lesson Note (Second Term)

The vowel /ə/ is the neutral vowel, a short, weak sound that is found only in unstressed syllables.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. describe the vowel sound /ə/ and say why it is called a neutral vowel;
2. identify /ə/ in the initial, middle and final positions of words;
3. transcribe given words and mark the vowel /ə/ in them;
4. change active voice sentences into the passive voice and passive voice sentences into the active voice;
5. read a comprehension passage and answer questions on it.

Speech work: what is the vowel sound /ə/?

The vowel /ə/ is a neutral vowel used for the weak form of other vowel sounds.

• Neutral vowel: it is a weak, relaxed sound that does not have a clear vowel quality of its own.
• Weak form: it stands in for other vowels when they are not stressed, as in about /əˈbaʊt/.
• Vowel and consonant: it is also used where a sound combines a vowel and a consonant, as in water /ˈwɔːtə/.
• Link to /ɜː/: it is a short version of the /ɜː/ sound (vowel number eleven).
• Peculiar feature: it is always found in unstressed syllables, so it never carries stress wherever it occurs.

How can /ə/ be spelt?

The /ə/ sound is written with many different letters, so spelling does not tell you where it occurs.

Where is /ə/ found in words?

The /ə/ sound can occur in the initial, middle or final position of a word.

How do you mark /ə/ when transcribing a word?

To transcribe a word, write each sound in phonetic symbols and mark the stress.

1. Say the word slowly and divide it into syllables.
2. Find the stressed syllable and mark it with ˈ before it.
3. Look at the unstressed syllables. A weak, short vowel there is usually /ə/.
4. Write /ə/ for each weak vowel and the correct symbols for the other sounds.
5. Read your transcription aloud to check it.

• away: /əˈweɪ/ (/ə/ at the beginning).
• sofa: /ˈsəʊfə/ (/ə/ at the end).
• banana: /bəˈnɑːnə/ (/ə/ at the beginning and the end).

Grammar: what are active and passive voice?

Voice shows whether the subject of a sentence does the action or receives it.

• Active voice: the subject does the action, as in “Chika cooked the rice.”
• Passive voice: the subject receives the action, as in “The rice was cooked by Chika.”
• Agent: the doer of the action. In the passive it comes after by.
• Past participle: the verb form used after be in the passive, such as eaten, seen, driven.

How do you change active voice to passive voice?

To form the passive, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject.

1. Find the subject, the verb and the object of the active sentence.
2. Move the object to the front as the new subject.
3. Change the verb to the correct form of be plus the past participle. Match the tense and the new subject.
4. Put by and the old subject at the end. This part may be left out when the doer is unknown or unimportant.

How do you change passive voice to active voice?

To form the active, the agent after by becomes the subject.

1. Find the agent (the noun after by) and the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Move the agent to the front as the new subject.
3. Change the verb back to the active form in the same tense.
4. Put the old subject after the verb as the object.

• Example 1: The letter was written by Musa. becomes Musa wrote the letter.
• Example 2: The cars are being washed by the boys. becomes The boys are washing the cars.

What are the passive forms in different tenses?

The passive always uses a form of be and the past participle, and the form of be shows the tense.

What are the common past participles?

Learn these verb forms, because they are needed to form the passive.

What other rules apply to the passive voice?

• Pronouns change: an object pronoun becomes a subject pronoun, for example him becomes he and them becomes they.
• Only some verbs: only verbs that take an object can be made passive.
• When to use it: use the passive when the doer is unknown, unimportant or less important than the action.
• Agreement: is/was goes with a singular subject and are/were with a plural subject.

Comprehension: how do you answer questions on a passage?

Read the passage in New Oxford Course for Junior Secondary School 3 and answer the questions on it.

1. Read the whole passage once to get the general idea.
2. Read the questions carefully and note what each one asks.
3. Read the passage again and underline the part that answers each question.
4. Answer in complete sentences, using your own words where possible.
5. Check your spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Evaluation

Speech work

Transcribe the following words and identify the vowel /ə/.

1. manner
2. library
3. other
4. wonder
5. forward

Grammar

Change the following active voice sentences into the passive voice.

1. The visitors saw the principal.
2. The doctors saw all the patients.
3. Four men lifted the load.
4. The steward served the food.
5. Ade drove the car.

Assignment

Speech work

Transcribe the following words and identify the vowel /ə/.

1. backward
2. harder
3. sector
4. failure
5. potato
6. captor
7. quiet

Grammar

Change the following sentences into the active voice.

1. Rice was eaten by Jennifer.
2. Bread was sold by Kola.
3. A new Bible has been bought by Mrs Essien.
4. The bell is being rung by Falade.
5. Ten eggs have been laid by the hen.