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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