Final answer:
The sentence 'The e-mail message was received by both Lee and me' is labeled as passive voice because the subject is not performing the action of the verb but rather receiving it, indicated by the structure that includes a form of 'to be' and a past participle.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sentence 'The e-mail message was received by both Lee and me' is an example of a passive voice construction. In this sentence, the action (receiving) is being done to the subject (the e-mail message), not by the subject. To determine if a sentence is in passive voice, you can look for a few key features:
- The subject is the receiver of the action rather than the doer.
- A form of the verb 'to be' (am, is, are, was, were) is used.
- The past participle form of the verb is present (received).
- Often, but not always, the sentence includes the preposition 'by' followed by the doer of the action.
When we examine the provided sentence based on these characteristics, we find that it includes a form of the verb 'to be' (was), a past participle (received), and the preposition 'by' indicating who received the action. Thus, it's a clear example of a sentence in the passive voice.