Active vs. Passive Voice

Kassie Howell Ling 3362

30 September 2014

The Rule: Use Active Voice Whenever Possible

History of Rule

Passive voice emerged in 4500 BC from the middle voice found in the Indo-European language, which English is derived.

“Is Being Done” The Galaxy by Richard Grant White (1869)

Had a strong bias against using passive voice.

More History

“Grammarians, with all their faults, do not deform language with fantastic solecisms, or even seek to enrich it with new startling verb combinations.” –Grant

The Elements of Style by Struck and E.B. White (1918 & 1956)

They showed a favoritism to active voice use.

“The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive voice.”

Highly popular work and very influential.

What is Active Voice?

Agent – the “doer” of the action.

Active voice always has the agent before the verb.

Example: “Jonas loves to play four square.”

Agent = Jonas. Formula for active voice:

T(M)(have + -en)(be + -ing)MV

Use active voice when you want to exemplify who is doing the action.

What is Passive Voice?

In the passive voice the receiver of action is located before the main verb and the agent is either excluded or included at the end.

In every case, sentences in passive voice include a form of the verb to be (is, been, was) and a past participle.

Formula for passive voice: T(M)(have + -en)(be + -ing) be + -en MV

Example: “The ball was being thrown by Jonas” or “The ball was being thrown.”

Note that the emphases is placed on ball.

Transitioning Between Voices

Active to Passive In order to make an active

sentence passive it must have a transitive verb.

We went to the lake yesterday.

The lake was being visited yesterday

Katie is walking the dog. The dog is being walked by

Katie.

Passive to Active If the agent in a passive

sentence is unmentioned then place someone in the noun phrase.

Water was pored into the pool. Someone pored water into the

pool. The book is being read by

Anne. Anne is reading the book.

Why Use Active Voice

Active voice clearly shows the agent in a sentence.

Sounds more confident compared to passive voice.

Is usually more direct and concise—requires less words to convey meaning.

Should be used predominately in academic writing, and news reporting, but not exclusively.

Why Use Passive voice?

Passive voice should be used when placing emphasis on the direct object is desired (e.g. when transitioning to a new topic, or when the agent is unimportant to the context of your sentence.)

Examples: “John and mark bought a used car. The car needed to be detailed, but they could not afford it.”

“The dog was hit by a car.” “The vase was broken.” “Help may be required to

understand Algebra.”

Why Use Passive Voice?

Passive voice is popular amongst the scientific community, fiction authors, and for use in court cases when the perpetrator is unknown.

It allows for the agent to be concealed.

Example: “Nicole was being followed.”

Example: “Jones and Brown pored two cc of iodine into the solution.” Verses: “Two cc of iodine were pored into the solution.”

Overuse of the Passive Voice

When used predominately, passive voice can make writing sound weak or uncertain.

Passive voice should only be used in select circumstances to avoid confusion.

Example: “Susan was being chased. As her pursuer drew close, fear was felt.”

This sentence would be clearer in active voice: “The man was chasing Susan. As her pursuer drew close, she felt afraid.”

Or by using both an active and passive sentence: “Susan was being chased. As her pursuer drew close, she felt afraid.”

Misuse of the Passive Voice

Passive voice should not be used when the agent of the sentence is important to the meaning, or deserves greater emphasis.

Example: “The guitar is being played by Kelly.” Verses: “Kelly Plays the guitar.”

Scholars Response

Many believe that passive voice is a unique and useful tool in writing.

Although writing is clearer when active voice is used predominately, passive voice is in no way inferior.

Allows for emphasis to be shifted in a sentence, which can be beneficial.

Provides variance in sentence structure.

Passive voice should be used in moderation to improve writing.

Teachers’ Response

Interviewed teachers consistently preferred active voice.

They believed passive voice greatly weakened their students’ writing.

They believed the “use active voice” rule still applies when teaching students at both Jr. high and freshman college levels.

Student interviewed did not have a firm grasp of passive voice and why it was costing her points on her essays.

Passive is often taught to be interchangeable with active voice yet inferior, rather than circumstantial and useful.

Teaching Active/Passive Voice

Teach students to use passive voice intentionally.

Show them how passive voice is not inferior to active voice.

Explain to students that their writing will sound more confident and precise if they predominately use active voice, but also demonstrate how intentional passive voice usage is beneficial.

Have students explain why they choose to use the passive voice in a sentence to help them understand that passive voice usage is important but should always be intentional.

Play games to help students understand. Making grammar enjoyable for students will help increase understanding.

Conclusion

Active voice and passive voice both play important roles in English.

The rule of ‘use active voice whenever possible’ should be revised to be use passive voice intentionally.

Students should be taught how and when to use passive and active voice.