![]() Not every passive verb can or should be made active. ![]() Fred’s peers selected him to serve on the student council.Put the agent or doer in at the beginning of the sentence followed by the verb (rearrange the sentence, in other words).Fred was selected by his peers to serve on the student council.Locate the agent who/that performs the action.Fred was selected by his peers to serve on the student council.Also, you can look for any ‘ by the’ phrases (something was done by someone). Identify the passive verb: find the “to be” verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been).and files were stolen (doesn’t specify who or what ransacked it-either because it is unknown or because the writer has chosen to put the focus of the sentence on the office being ransacked rather than who ransacked it). It essentially shifts the reader’s focus to what happened rather than who or what did it, which in certain situations may work to your advantage. For example, consider the following sentence: “Mistakes were made.” This sentence is problematical (and potentially unethical-see previous chapter on ethics) because it leaves out who made the mistakes, thereby deflecting blame and accountability. Passive voice also occurs when the agent is missing or left off. Passive: Jackie was given a gift by her mother.Passive: The man was bitten by the dog.Passive voice occurs when the subject is the recipient of the action. Active: Jackie’s mother gave her a gift.Subject-verb constructed sentences are the clearest and most effective way to communicate information. In technical writing, it is almost always preferable to put the subject at the front of the sentence, followed by an active verb. The person or object performing an action is called the agent. Active VoiceĪctive voice occurs when the subject of the sentence performs the action of the sentence. Good writing keeps passive voice to a minimum and uses active voice whenever possible. ![]() However, passive voice, instead of making a paper sound more professional, actually makes the writing unclear, hard to follow, and, at times, even boring. New writers often use the passive voice because they think it sounds more professional. English verbs have two voices- active and passive.
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