It was returned to summer after summer-always on the first Was thought that there was no place like that lake in Maine. Vacation was thought to be a success, and from then on it Some kittens, and Pond's Extract had to be rubbed on our armsĪnd legs night and morning, and a canoe was rolled over inīy my father with all his clothes on outside of that the Rescue his writing! Convert the passage toĬamp was rented by my father on a lake in Maine, and we were White's active voice sentences into passive Does the subject sit passively while some outside agent does the action to it? If so, it's passive voice.Ĭonverted E. Agency Test: In the case of action verbs, identify the subjectĪnd the main verb(s) in the clause. The verb? If so, would the sentence still make grammatical sense?
Zombie Test: Could one insert the phrase " by zombies" after (Passive voice clauses usually have or imply one.)Ģ. Verb Test: Look for helping verbs, especially forms of the verb " to be "Īm/ are/ was/ were/ be/ being /been/ have/ had /has ? If the sentence fails all three rules, you spot the dreaded passive voice, cleanse your paper from its infernal taint by converting the sentence to active voice:ġ. Of the Unholy Sentence Construction (Passive Voice)Īsk yourself three questions to identify the evil sentence. The material you spent so much time writing, you have aīetter chance at creating an argument that will stick with Passive voice sentences somehow derail that mental Mind remains geared toward a "Subject-Verb-Object" Material they read in active voice than the same material That native English speakers are better able to remember Twisted format, the writer will drive the reader insane If sentence after sentence appears in this "scholarese" rather than useful, direct, rhetoricalĮxhortations. It is fitting that their analysis be based upon the latestĬompromises should be made, and then negotiationsīe undertaken by both parties with arbitration In academic arguments in which the student dons a "pseudo-scholarly"īy readers for an argument that has been made by a writer, Voice often leads to awkward or stilted writing, especially In sentences like these, it is difficult to assert whether it would be better to leave the passive voice (which in this case is fairly concise), or to add active voice structure (which in these cases, adds extra length). Know who did the action either.The agent doing the action To tell with passive voice structure in the last clause.) Wall? Or did someone else entirely plaster the terroristĪgainst the wall before the FBI arrived? It is impossible The terrorist had plastered himself against the Room, and the terrorist was plastered against the wall.Īgents plastered the terrorist against the wall? Orĭoes it mean when the five FBI agents entered the room, Voice consistently is one way to ensure that doesn'tĬan be confusing or unclear, especially in long sentences. Prepositions and articles clog your sentences. That, your writing will be more direct and powerful Prepositions and articles can become dead weight. You could express the same idea in active voice with less length, but no lost content:īeats in its strong verbs, concrete nouns, and vivid Verbs and the prepositions do not add much to the sentence Leave out this phrase and let the sentence become unclear.
Of clauses, such as "by so-and-so," or they must Passive voice must either tag unwieldy phrases at the To make clear who is doing what, writers using Weak words and replace them with strong words. It uses abstract wordsĪre dull and colorless compared to concrete nouns, powerful verbs,Īnd vivid adjectives. House was built by the family, and a new brood of children (Passive voice-14įamily built a new house and raised a new brood of children. Same idea in passive voice frequently takes 30% to 40% moreĪnd then an uppercut was dodged by him. It is a better choice for severalĪre often more concise than passive voice. You can also use passive voice to focus the reader’s attention on specific words or for variety’s sake. That last sentence, the one doing the action is painfullyĬlear! This type of situation is one of the few times thatįorm proves useful, albeit in a somewhat deceptive way Iĭiscourage. It would be uncomfortableįor him to tell potential voters, "In the last election, Taxes were raised over the course of the year." The Up for reelection might say, "In the last election, Voice sentence is necessary when the speaker wants to Passive grammatically, this sentence is passive Sitting, doing nothing, while some outside agent performs Hit? It is not clear unless we stick a prepositional
What is the subject doing? (Nothing.) The subject is not hittingĪnything else. This virtuous sentence is in active voice. That subject is actively performing the verb it is actively "doing" the What does the hitting? The answer is the subject,īoy. Subtle at first, but it's easy to master once the grammarian
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