Passive and Active Voices
Verbs are also said to be active ( the Executive Committee approved
the new policy ) or passive ( The new policy was approved by the
executive committee ) on vocals . In the active voice , the subject and
verb relationship is straightforward : the subject is a - er or a do- er
and the verb moves the sentence along . In the passive voice, the
subject of the sentence is not a doer or a - er , but is acted by some
other agent or something unnamed ( The new policy was approved ) .
Grammatical computer can pick a passive voice construction from miles
away and asked to review a more active construction . There is nothing
inherently wrong with the passive voice, but if you can say the same in
the active mode , it does ( see exceptions below) . The text will have
more momentum , as a result , since passive verb constructions tend to
lie about their pajamas and avoid actual work.
We find an excess of the passive voice in sentences created by self
interests of business , educators grandiloquent and bombastic military
writers ( who are weary of this accusation ) , which use the passive
voice to avoid responsibility for the actions taken. Thus " Cigarette
ads were designed to appeal especially to children " places the burden
on the ads - instead of " cigarette ads designed to appeal especially to
children " , in which "we" accepts responsibility . In a White House
press conference could hear that " the President was informed that some
members of Congress were being audited " rather than " The Head of the
Internal Revenue Service informed the President that his agency was
auditing certain members of Congress," because the passive construction
avoids responsibility for advising and auditing . One more caution about
the passive voice : do not mix active and passive constructions in the
same sentence : " The Executive Committee approved the new policy, and
the calendar of meetings for the next year was revised " should be
recast as " The executive committee approvedthe new policy and revised
the calendar for next year's meeting . "
Take the quiz ( below) as an exercise in recognizing and changing passive verbs .
The passive voice there for a reason, however, and their presence is
not always negligible. The liability is particularly useful (although
recommended ) in two situations:
• When it is more important to draw our attention to the person or
thing acted upon : The unidentified victim was reportedly beaten during
the early hours of the morning.
• When the actor in the situation is not important : The Aurora Borealis can be seen in the early hours of the morning.
The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as
mandatory) in writing or laboratory scientists or technical reports , in
which the actor is not really important , but the process or principle
being described is of utmost importance. Instead of writing " I poured
20 cc of acid in the glass , " we write "Twenty cc of acid is / was
poured into the glass. " Passive voice is also useful when describing ,
for example , a mechanical process in which the details of the process
are much more important than anyone take responsibility for the action :
" the first coat of primer is applied immediately after rinsing the
acid. "
We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which you
want to change the emphasis of what was the object of a first sentence
that becomes the subject in the following sentences .
The Executive Committee approved a new policy to address the academic
suspension and withdrawal. The policy had been written by a
subcommittee on student behavior . If students withdraw from course work
before suspension can take effect, the policy states, a brand of " IW "
. . . .
The paragraph is clearly about this new policy so it is appropriate
that policy move to be the subject of the first sentence to the subject
of the second sentence. The passive voice allows for this transition.
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