![]() While the passive voice can weaken the clarity of your writing, there are times when the passive voice is OK and even preferable. Myth: You should never use the passive voice. Here’s an example: “I was hit by the dodgeball.” 4. On the contrary, you can very easily use the passive voice in the first person. Myth: The passive voice always avoids the first person if something is in first person (“I” or “we”) it’s also in the active voice. Using “to be” can weaken the impact of your writing, but it is occasionally necessary and does not by itself constitute the passive voice. The passive voice entails more than just using a being verb. Myth: Any use of “to be” (in any form) constitutes the passive voice. It’s a stylistic issue that pertains to clarity-that is, there are times when using the passive voice can prevent a reader from understanding what you mean. Use of the passive voice is not a grammatical error. Myth: Use of the passive voice constitutes a grammatical error. ![]() Below, we’ll list some common myths about the passive voice: 1. So what is the passive voice? First, let’s be clear on what the passive voice isn’t. We hope this handout will help you to understand the passive voice and allow you to make more informed choices as you write. If you think your sentences sound stilted or cumbersome, try rewriting any passive constructions as active to see if that improves the flow.This handout will help you understand what the passive voice is, why many professors and writing instructors frown upon it, and how you can revise your paper to achieve greater clarity. Unless you’re required to use passive voice, you may want to reserve it for times when the actor is unknown or unimportant. Passive voice can, however, lead to convoluted sentence structure and misplaced emphasis. Some disciplines, especially those in the sciences, prefer the use of passive voice, in part because the person conducting research is less significant to the writing than the findings or results. Here the fact that the last ticket is gone is more significant than who bought it. The last remaining ticket to the World Cup final was purchased yesterday. Passive voice might also be the better option if you want to shift the emphasis.Įx. ![]() Most of the tickets for the World Cup final were purchased by the end of January. While it’s true that active voice lends immediacy to writing and is often the preferred construction, there are times when it’s appropriate to use passive voice.įor instance, passive voice might be the better option if you don’t care who performed the action or if the actor isn’t relevant.Įx. The emphasis is on the tickets.ĭeciding Whether to Use Active or Passive VoiceMany guidebooks suggest that writers should avoid the passive voice whenever possible. Here we don’t know who did the purchasing we know only that it happened. Most of the tickets for the World Cup final were purchased. It’s also possible in passive voice to omit any mention of who or what is performing the action.Įx. Passive voice sentences are often longer than their active voice counterparts and may be more cumbersome or confusing. Here the grammatical subject of the sentence is “Most of the tickets.” The group doing the purchasing is relegated to a prepositional phrase: “by the English fans.” They receive the action of the verb. Most of the tickets for the World Cup final were purchased by the English fans. Passive VoiceIn a passive voice sentence, the person or object undertaking the action described is NOT the grammatical subject of the sentence.Įx. ![]() Active sentences are more common in English than passive ones. The emphasis in an active voice sentence is on the actors-in this case, the fans. In the above example, “The English fans,” the group undertaking the action described in the sentence, are also the grammatical subject of the sentence. The English fans purchased most of the tickets for the World Cup final. Which one you select depends on the circumstances and what you want to emphasize.Īctive VoiceIn an active voice sentence, the person or object performing the action is the grammatical subject of the sentence.Įx. As an author, one of the choices you can make about a sentence is whether to use active or passive voice.
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