Passive
Voice
Vita Pierzchala
“In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the
sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.”
“In a sentence using passive voice, the subject is acted
upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb.”
- To be/to get + past participle
-
OWL Purdue
Active voice:
Janie operated the machine.
Agent
(do-er of
the
action)
Subject
Verb (is the
(performs the action)
verb)
Object
(receives
the action)
Passive voice:
The machine was operated by Janie.
Subject (is
receiving the
verb)
Verb (is the
action)
I guess Janie’s not that important… :(
Agent
(do-er of
the
action)
(Usually)
For example...
“I was bitten.”
→ By zombies?
● Yes!
“I was bitten by zombies”
vs
“Zombies bit me”
→ By zombies?
● ...No.
“Zombies bit me by zombies”
“The evidence was used by
the prosecutor in court”
vs
“The prosecutor used the
evidence in court”
Why should you avoid passive voice?
● Too wordy
o
“The snacks were eaten by me”
● Confusing
o
“Two books about Obama were written by him”
● Boring
● Reduces importance of intended subject [the
agent] or leaves out info
o
o
Janie & the machine
“The victim was murdered”
It looks like you’re trying to use
the passive voice.
But should you?
● Do you know the agent?
● Is the agent important?
● Do you want to identify the
agent?
● Is your agent a long noun
phrase?
When can you use passive voice?
Is the agent/“do-er”:
● Unknown?
● Unimportant?
● Should otherwise be kept deliberately vague?
○ Examples:
- “The bridges were built”
- Scientific papers
- “Mistakes were made”
● Would active voice be confusing?
“This lack of confidence is partially facilitated by instructors
noticeably valuing male students’ opinions over those of
female students.”
vs
“Instructors noticeably valuing male students’ opinions over
those female students partially facilitates this lack of
confidence.”
However...
● Use passive voice sparingly
● “To be” does NOT always indicate
passive voice -- but it often does, so
be careful
o “Mary was reading the book” =
active voice
o “The book was read by Mary” =
passive voice
● You can often replace “to be” with a
stronger verb
Quiz!
Additionally, girls are often treated unfairly in the
classroom, leading to lower self-confidence.
Additionally, teachers often treat girls unfairly in
the classroom, leading to lower self-confidence.
Students’ performance in higher education is
negatively affected by poor reading
comprehension in grade school.
Poor reading comprehension in grade school
negatively affects students’ performance in higher
education.
We are excited to empower girls to become the
leaders of tomorrow – and we are thrilled to
provide them with opportunities they previously
lacked.
Questions?
Sources
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https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/539/
http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2014/a-scary-easy-way-to-help-you-find-passive-voice/
http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/pasvoiceterm.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htm
http://blog.writeathome.com/index.php/2012/12/myth-buster-passive-voice-is-always-wrong/
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/passive-voice/
http://grammar.about.com/od/basicsentencegrammar/a/sentenceunit.htm
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/85063/subject-and-object-while-using-passive-voice
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/style-and-editing/passive-voice
http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass.htm
http://kelsieengen.com/2014/02/01/passive-voice-misunderstood/
http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/18234/some-complex-passive-voice-sentences