Active and Passive Voice Active Voice The voice

Active and Passive Voice

Active Voice The voice of a verb tells you whether the subject is doing the action or is receiving the action. A verb is in the active voice if the subject is doing the action in a sentence. o The dog bit the boy. Here the subject dog is doing the action bit.

Passive Voice A verb is in the passive voice if the subject is receiving the action instead of personally doing the action. o The boy was bitten by the dog. Here the subject boy receives the action was bitten.

Why should I care? Sometimes the use of passive voice can create awkward sentences. Overuse of passive voice makes your writing seem flat and uninteresting.

Compare ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE � Over one-third of the applicants to the school failed the entrance exam. � She slammed on the brakes as the car sped downhill. � . The brakes were slammed on by her as the car sped downhill � Noah will present his research at the conference. Research will be presented by Noah at the conference. � The committee is considering action on the bill. Action on the bill is being considered by the committee. The entrance exam was failed by over one-third of the applicants to the school.

Why would someone use the passive voice? Objectivity Scientists use passive voice to remain objective. § The test tubes were studied.

To Avoid Blame o Passive voice is also used to avoid blame. § The bomb was dropped. § The lamp was broken.

In most cases, however, you should avoid the passive voice. You want your writing to be strong. Additionally, when discussing author’s style, you can now analyze this feature! When Winston Churchill said, “Mistakes were made, ” his use of the passive voice makes no mention of the person who made mistakes. When the boss said, “The expectation is that you will work late, ” she did not say it was her expectation. Therefore, by using the passive voice, she is taking the blame away from herself.