{"id":436758,"date":"2018-07-24T21:17:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-24T21:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essaypaper.org\/what-is-passive-voice-and-how-you-can-stop-using-it-by-habit\/"},"modified":"2018-10-24T08:53:26","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T08:53:26","slug":"what-is-passive-voice-and-how-you-can-stop-using-it-by-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/what-is-passive-voice-and-how-you-can-stop-using-it-by-habit\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Passive Voice And How You Can Stop Using It By Habit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/span> 5<\/span>\/5<\/span><\/span> (2<\/span>) <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"the<\/p>\n

What is passive voice and why should you avoid using it in your writing?<\/h2>\n

Whenever I edit or proofread a text or manuscript, one of the most common corrections I make is to turn passive and causative forms into active sentences.<\/p>\n

It is almost always better to use the active voice instead of the passive voice because it clarifies who or what is performing the action of the verb on the object.<\/p>\n

Using the active voice allows a writer to describe people, places, things and reasons in much more detail. A story or an article resonates better with a reader\u00a0when they know exactly what, when, where, who, how and why.<\/p>\n

By contrast, the passive is like\u00a0scientific writing;\u00a0<\/span>quite cold and devoid of information or vivid detail.<\/p>\n

But to avoid using passive forms, you first need to know how to recognise them, and then how to change them into more detailed active sentences.<\/p>\n

1. The Passive vs the Active Form<\/h3>\n

Here is\u00a0a very basic example of active and passive.<\/p>\n

Passive: The meeting was cancelled due to a train strike.<\/em><\/p>\n

Active: Our manager cancelled the meeting because of the train strike.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the passive sentence, we do not know who cancelled the meeting but in the\u00a0active sentence we know it was the manager. The use of due to<\/em> is common in passive forms but because<\/em> is more informal and suits the active form better.<\/p>\n

In general, the passive form is far less informative than the active form. This is why active voice is the preferred style in good communicative writing.<\/p>\n

The basic form of the passive is the verb to be + past participle <\/em>in all tenses.<\/h3>\n

However, this exact same structure is used with adjectives too, so it can cause confusion. For example:<\/p>\n

Active: He was confused.\u00a0 <\/em>Meaning he wasn\u2019t sure or couldn\u2019t make up his own mind.<\/p>\n

Passive: He was confused (by something or someone). <\/em>His manager told him to do one thing, but his director told\u00a0him to do another.<\/p>\n

Active: They were relaxed. <\/em>They were in a state of relaxation.<\/p>\n

Passive: They were relaxed\u00a0(by something or someone). <\/em>The music helped them to relax.<\/p>\n

The way to differentiate\u00a0between the two is to understand if there is or can be an operator. In passive form, the preposition by<\/em><\/strong> indicates that the subject\u00a0receives the action from the operator.<\/p>\n

The verb to be + past participle + (by) operator<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If it is the adjective form, there is no operator because\u00a0it is describing the\u00a0subject of the sentence.<\/p>\n

Use of the\u00a0passive can also create awkward\u00a0sentences, especially when used with a\u00a0prepositional phrase.<\/p>\n

Active: Martin abided by the decision.<\/em><\/p>\n

Passive: The decision was\u00a0abided by.<\/em><\/p>\n

Active: The burglar broke into the bank.<\/em><\/p>\n

Passive: The bank was broken into.<\/em><\/p>\n

The sentences above show why you should avoid the passive when there are dependent prepositions. When the form of the verb is a phrasal\u00a0verb with one or sometimes two particles, it can really become very ridiculous.<\/p>\n

Here is a grammatically\u00a0perfect example of the passive that is cumbersome.<\/p>\n

Active: David and Roger got down to business.<\/em><\/p>\n

Passive. Business was got down to.<\/em><\/p>\n

Clarity in writing comes from being precise about who\u00a0performs the action, which can then be described in far more detail. To achieve this, it is best to start a sentence with a verb phrase and avoid using an inanimate noun as the subject of a sentence.<\/p>\n

In the example\u00a0above, choosing between\u00a0active or passive voice is easy because\u00a0<\/span>writing about the burglar would be much more interesting than writing in vague boring terms about a bank.<\/p>\n

2. The Causative Form<\/h3>\n

Causative forms are similar to passive voice in that there is usually an invisible operator.<\/p>\n

There are two causative structures.<\/p>\n

1. Have\/has + (object) + past participle<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Get\/gets + (object) + past participle<\/strong><\/p>\n

Generally, it is called have something done,\u00a0<\/strong>when you get\u00a0another person to do something, or want\u00a0someone to do something.<\/p>\n

Here are some causative examples, including some using\u00a0auxiliary verbs.<\/p>\n

Mary has her hair cut every two months.<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe got his car serviced last Tuesday.<\/em><\/p>\n

He had his computer replaced under guarantee.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am having my teeth cleaned on Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n

She\u2019s getting her hair done before the wedding.<\/em><\/p>\n

As with the passive, an operator can be added, but it is rare to do so.<\/p>\n

Mary has her hair cut every two months <\/em>by<\/strong> her hair stylist.<\/em><\/p>\n

He had his computer replaced under guarantee <\/em>by<\/strong> Apple.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference between,\u00a0have and get +\u00a0object \u2013 past participle?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We use have<\/em> when something is\u00a0arranged for someone, and with get, it\u00a0expresses the idea that the subject is in some way involved.<\/p>\n

I am having my teeth cleaned on Monday.<\/em> This says that\u00a0someone else, and in this case,\u00a0the dentist is doing everything.<\/p>\n

Joe got his car serviced last Tuesday. <\/em>By using get<\/em>, it indicates that Joe was perhaps in some way involved by either taking his car to the garage and waiting there, or possibly even participating in the service.<\/p>\n

The causative is also very often used when the subject has\u00a0paid someone to perform an action.<\/p>\n

Anytime you notice that you are using the\u00a0causative verb or\u00a0form of verbs, think about trying to express it in another way. By doing this, you can remove the simple use of\u00a0cause something<\/em> and rewrite it with more descriptive elements.<\/p>\n

Mary has her hair cut every two months.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mary goes to her hairdresser every two months because she likes to keep her hair very short.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sometimes it seems quicker and easier to use the passive or causative. However, it usually lacks detail or explanation. It is much better to rewrite these sentences in active form and add more compelling detail.<\/p>\n

I always use Grammarly to check my texts after I have finished writing my first draft. But you can use almost any decent grammar check to do the same.<\/p>\n

The first thing I do is look for\u00a0passive voice sentences\u00a0<\/span>and make sure that I replace every one that is possible to change.<\/p>\n

\"Grammarly<\/p>\n

Summary \u2013 Make it a habit to recognise the passive form in your writing and change it to active voice.<\/h3>\n

It is almost always possible to edit your writing to avoid the two passive forms and replace them with much more exciting and informative sentences.<\/p>\n

All it takes is the ability to recognise sentences that need changing and then use a little imagination to reconstruct them in a much better way.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\u00d7<\/span><\/strong> My Japanese maple was damaged in the storm and now has broken branches.<\/p>\n

\u221a<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0My Japanese maple looked wretched after the storm had torn off half of its beautiful flowing branches.<\/p>\n

\u00d7<\/span><\/strong> My new iPhone was replaced because of a pixel problem.<\/p>\n

\u221a<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0The guy at the Apple store was\u00a0so friendly when I showed him the missing pixels on my iPhone screen. And guess what? He gave me a brand new phone on the spot and didn\u2019t even ask for my receipt.<\/p>\n

\u00d7<\/span><\/strong> I have been told that coffee is good for you.<\/p>\n

\u221a<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0I read an article in Popular Science\u00a0a few days ago that explained all about a huge research project that proves that coffee is good for you.<\/p>\n

It is said that the passive is not a good choice. But who said it?<\/h3>\n

To round off this article, here are a few of my favourite quotes about why the passive should be avoided in all forms of writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passive voice invariably comes across as pontificating, patronizing, talking down. It sounds insincere, even dishonest, and it makes the reader uncomfortable, not trusting, though usually the reader cannot put her finger on why.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
Henriette Anne Klauser, author of Writing on Both Sides of the Brain<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c[The active voice is the] vigorous voice, unashamed to say whodunit. Passive voice is preferred by the weak, the cowardly, ashamed to name the fink who told them what they are evasively telling you.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
John Bremner, late professor of journalism at the University of Kansas and author of Words on Words<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cReduced to its essence, a good English sentence is a statement that an agent (the subject of the sentence) performed an action (the verb) upon something (the object).\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
John Ciardi, English dramatist, actor, author<\/em><\/p>\n

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How helpful was this article for you?<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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5\/5 (2) What is passive voice and why should you avoid using it in your writing? Whenever I edit or proofread a text or manuscript, one of the most common corrections I make is to turn passive and causative forms Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,293,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-436758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essay-paper-writing","category-grammar","category-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}