Passive vs. Active Voice The class was bored by the grammar lesson that was given to them by Mr. Shulkin.

What is it? Active: I love you. Passive: You are loved by me. First of all, using the passive voice isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s just an issue of how clear, descriptive and specific you want to be in your writing. Here’s the boring grammatical explanation (from the University of Wisconsin writing lab): In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in the passive voice the subject receives the action. For example: Active: I love you. Passive: You are loved by me.

More examples Active Passive The candidate believes that Congress must place a ceiling on the budget. Researchers earlier showed that high stress can cause heart attacks. It is believed by the candidate that a ceiling must be placed on the budget by Congress. It was earlier demonstrated that heart attacks can be caused by high stress.

So if it’s not wrong, why should we avoid it? -The passive voice can prevent a reader from understanding what you mean -It can lead to imprecise or unclear arguments -Using an active voice makes for more forcible writing and encourages the writer to use more exciting verbs and nouns

Give it a try… Here’s a famous joke written in the active voice: Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To get to the other side. Try and re-write this in the passive voice.

The Passive chicken Q: Why was the road crossed by the chicken? It should look something like this: Q: Why was the road crossed by the chicken? A: So the other side could be gotten to by it. *This focuses on the action, rather than the person/thing doing the action

See the difference In clarity? Q: Why was the road crossed by the chicken? A: So the other side could be gotten to by it. Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To get to the other side.

So if it’s unclear, then why do people use it? It’s good for certain and specific situations: - When the receiver of the action is more important than the doer Example: Barack Obama was elected president by the voters last November. - When the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant or so obvious it’s not worth mentioning Example: The store was robbed last night. (It’s obvious who robbed the store, right? Robbers.) - When someone wants to avoid blame or responsibility Example: I apologize for whatever it is alleged that I have done. Example: If they are offended, then I certainly offer an apology. Example: Mistakes were made.

How to avoid the Passive voice Avoid “to be” verbs Replace “to be” verbs with strong verbs -Am -Were -Was -Been -Being -Is -Demonstrates -Shows -Corroborates -Exemplifies -Argues -Disagrees -Contradicts

Passive to active: Notice the verbs The working class was marginalized. = Business and factory owners marginalized the working class.   Because they couldn’t vote until 1921, Women were not treated as equals. = By not allowing them to vote until 1921, men treated women unequally. A number of treatment possibilities are indicated by these results. = These results indicate a number of possible treatments.

Put these sentences into Active voice 1) When her house was invaded, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage.   2) The ball was thrown. 3) Every dawn the crowing of a rooster can be heard. 4) The class was bored by the grammar lesson that was given to them by Mr. Shulkin.

Put this paragraph into active voice Last summer our house was painted by me. The job took about two weeks. First, the exterior was washed using warm water and a mild detergent. Then all the chinks and pores in the walls were sealed with putty. After the putty had had a chance to dry, the exterior could be painted. A latex paint was used because it is easy to apply and cleans up with water. A whole week was needed to finish this part of the job. I was very careful to apply the paint evenly because I did not want to have to apply two coats. A color was used that was very close to the original color. Our house is a two-story house, which meant that a tall ladder was needed to do the second story. The paint can had to be balanced on the top rung of the ladder while I worked. When the job was finished, a great deal of satisfaction was felt by me. I had to pat myself on the back. Even my dad said that a good job was done.