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passive voice

kellykelly
edited November 2005 in - Writing Problems

Comments

  • kellykelly
    could someone please explain in easy terms what is meant by passive voice?
    Thank you for your time on this.
  • BetsieBetsie
    Hi Kelly, tricky one this.  Active voice and passive voice always cause confusion.  It is good to aim for active voice when writing fiction because it is more direct and gives immediacy to the goings on.

    PASSIVE VOICE:  the car was driven by John

    ACTIVE VOICE:  John drove the car

    You can write in passive voice without realising (I do it all the time) but a lengthy piece entirely in passive voice might develop a 'flatness'. 

    The difference between active and passive is quite subtle but it is worth getting to grips with this concept.
  • kellykelly
    Thank you, Betsie.
  • HowardHoward
    One of the great benefits of the passive is that you can hide the agent of the action.... e.g. The diamonds were stolen.
  • Stan2Stan2
    Are you confessing to the crime Howard? (Is this question active or passive?).
  • PennyPenny
    Unless you are taking an exam, do we really need to know?  And if so, why?
  • HowardHoward
    I'm no expert but I'd say it's a useful tool for analysing your own writing.

    I also agree with Betsie that overuse of the passive would certainly make for dull writing. Imagine all those transitive verbs with their objects cut off!

    p.s. The only thing I'll admit to, Stan, is that I could have chosen another example, such as "Stuart was done in!"
  • Stan2Stan2
    Oh, no, not Stuart again! Will Stuart tell us if he alive or dead - or should I say, passive or active?
  • kellykelly
    Thank you all for the advice.
    Kelly
  • JaceyJacey
    Still no word from Stuart...he's passive under the patio I reckon!
  • HowardHoward
    Or very active under the influence...
  • Stan2Stan2
    We may never know.
  • JennyJenny
    So - did Howard steal the diamonds or not?
  • Stan2Stan2
    He did!!
  • Phots MollPhots Moll
    edited January 2011
    [quote= Penny]Unless you are taking an exam, do we really need to know? And if so, why?[/quote] Yes - possibly not all the technical terms, but we need to understand that the same information can be presented in different ways and why one technique might be better than another in a certain situation.

    If an editor kept refusing work because the voice was too passive then I imagine you'd want to know what they meant and how to correct the problem.
  • collide-o-scopecollide-o-scope
    It is worth knowing which is which because both voices can be used to create different effects. The active voice is more direct than the passive, as demonstrated by betsie above. Or in this,

    Macdonald was hit in the face by the ball.

    The ball hit Macdonald in the face.

    The latter of those has far more impact.

    Unless your settings have been adjusted to do otherwise, Microsoft Word will post a squiggly line under any passages where you use the passive voice.
  • Marc.BMarc.B
    Col, re the below. I typed the two eg's above into a document but didn't get the green line.

    "Unless your settings have been adjusted to do otherwise, Microsoft Word will post a squiggly line under any passages where you use the passive voice".
    How do you set Microsoft to do this?

    Cheers

    Marc
  • collide-o-scopecollide-o-scope
    You should find it at

    Tools > Options > Spelling & Grammar > Settings - and then check the 'passive sentences' box.
  • SilentTonySilentTony
    edited January 2011
    If you're trusting Bill Gates with your style you may need to worry a little bit.
  • doradora
    Why? Does he wear orange trousers with a lime green shirt?
  • DwightDwight
    The passive voice alert setting throws up some amazing surprises. I discovered I was using the passive voice more than I ever imagined. BTW, 'I was using', as in what I've just written, is an active imperfect tense of the verb 'use', to indicate an action that was going on for some time, so 'was' followed by a verb participle is not always an indication of passive voice.

    The face hit by the ball examples given by COS above show the essential difference - and shows the trap to avoid if you want to wow agents/editors with the immediacy of your writing. I think we'd be amazed at how totally they pick up on such things. However, another trap to avoid is the passive construction: There is... or There were... An examination of these will show how weak they are and a bit of thought will find a better, more active way of putting them:

    Bad: "There's nothing to worry about during the night, darling."
    Good: "Don't get stressed over zombies breaking in while we're asleep, darling."

    In other words, avoid vagueness and think one step further to couch your writing in specifics. It's a form of replacing telling with showing.
  • girl fridaygirl friday
    In Word 2010:

    1.Click the File tab, and then click Options.
    2.Click Proofing.
    3.Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, click Settings.
    4. Scroll down until you find the 'passive sentences' check box.
  • Marc.BMarc.B
    Col and GF

    Thanks Guys. I have Microsoft Word 2007. Suggestions?
  • Marc.BMarc.B
    I found it. Wow, there's so much in there and i never knew about it. This is why this is such a great site for us all. Well, that and the Panto!

    :) :) :)
  • doradora
    So much in where?

    I don't understand.
  • RedRed
    Word is crap for scrutinising documents, especially when it becomes confused by 'passive sentences' when in fact they're anything but, and thinking you are being colloquial when you are not, and telling you that your verb and subjects are getting in a tizz when clearly they're not and then having a funny turn and checking everything in American English.

    Get a dictionary.
  • dorothyddorothyd
    what annoys me is the 'fragment of sentence' thing when it comes up. Yes, I say to it, it's how the character speaks! but it ignores me.
  • PiperPiper
    Oh I just ignore the squiggly line unless it's a spelling error. Grammar can go take a hike.

    What amuses me is when it flags up my quotes from classic novels.
  • RedRed
    The most heinous offence to me so far is getting 'Your' and 'You're' confused. It's a computer, and even IT don't know. I mean, jeez, it aint brain surgery to know something so simple and basic.
  • Baggy BooksBaggy Books
    LOL! There certainly ain't anything passive about Red tonight!
  • girl fridaygirl friday
    I tell it how stupid it is when it gets 'it' and it's' wrong. It has also been trying to turn 'him' into 'himself' a lot today. E.g. Word wants to change 'Tom dropped the cup in shock. Alice looked at him' to 'Tom dropped the cup in shock. Alice looked at himself.' Doh.
  • Marc.BMarc.B
    You're all right, now I have it set it's causing me some headache when I check the document. Some of it I agree with, I always ignore 'mistakes' picked up in dialogue. I too wish it would sort its and it's out. Confused.com? You bet!
  • girl fridaygirl friday
    It does make me feel sort of superior though. When I point out to Word that its suggested corrections are wrong, I feel like I am a bit of an English language expert! ;-)
  • Marc.BMarc.B
    Mmmm, with yor name in lower case? not sure! :)
  • collide-o-scopecollide-o-scope
    If you find the squiggles distracting you can effectively disable them by going to Tools > Options > Spelling & Grammar and uncheck the 'Check spelling as you type' box for spelling and the 'Check grammar as you type' box if you want to stop grammar squiggles. You can disable either or both.
  • ClaudiaClaudia
    Well done, Stan for bringing this 2005 thread back for discussion.

    I leave the grammar and spelling checks on because I find them useful - and I simply ignore any squiggles I disagree with. ;)
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