Active and passive voice, pg 126 in All the Verbal

[yo4561]

The book provides examples on the difference between passive and active tense.

Passive example: It has been decided by Jason that he will not attend college.
Active example: Jason has decided not to attend college.

First question: Would "Jason decided not to attend college" be active or passive? Why do you need the "has" for active?

Thank you

[esledge]

First question: Would "Jason decided not to attend college" be active or passive? Why do you need the "has" for active?

"Jason decided (something)" is active and past tense.
"Jason has decided (something)" is active and present perfect tense.
"The matter has been decided by Jason" is passive and present perfect tense.

When there's more than one helping verb, usually the first one sets the tense and the second one sets the voice. In other words, "has" was in both the active and passive book examples because both examples were in the same tense. "Been" was the word that made passive voice.