Introduction

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Common Errors Workbook

Grammar

11. Passive voice

Introduction

Passive voice exists in the English language because it is useful in certain contexts. In most speaking and writing, however, active voice is the better choice because action is more interesting. As the core element of all sentences, verbs provide the energy necessary for them to work. Active voice, therefore, powers your arguments more than passive voice.

What is Passive Voice?
Passive voice places the object of the verb in the subject position, uses some form of to be plus the past participle of the verb, and can either omit the real subject or embed it in a prepositional phrase beginning with by.
Active Voice: Juliet is picking the strawberries.
Passive Voice: The strawberries are being picked by Juliet.
Notice that passive voice inverts the subject and object; rather than Subject-Verb-Object, which is the typical word order in English, passive voice employs OV. The phrase by Juliet is not necessary. Is picking is active present progressive, and are being picked is the passive present progressive. The verb always must agree in number with the noun it follows.
Why is Passive Voice frowned upon?
Because passive voice lacks energy and adds unnecessary words to your writing, you should avoid it whenever possible. Count the number of words in the example in Section I. Rather than creating a more academic-sounding sentence, passive voice undercuts the energy of Juliet's action and lards the sentence with extra words.
When is Passive Voice appropriate?
We all use passive voice in certain contexts, most often to focus attention on the object. In these cases, we often omit the real subject.
Examples
Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
Prague's famous Charles Bridge was built in 1367.
The United Nations was founded in 1945.
The suspect was apprehended three hours ago.
We also use passive voice when we want to shift attention from the real subject, especially when we cannot or do not want to name the real subject. In the following examples, see if you can guess whether the subject is deliberately omitted.
Examples
The information was misplaced.
A decision has been made to transfer funds into a promising new stock.
It is often said that people get the kind of government they deserve.

Remember: With its focus on experiments, research, and gadgets, science and technical writing needs to use some passive voice in order to give the object the prominence it deserves. In these situations, the writer must take special care to use active voice whenever possible so that the writing remains energetic and engaging.

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