by Genevieve Bergeson<\/p>\n
Many of us have heard it before; many of us will hear it again: the infamous term \u201cpassive voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some instructors say in bold, capitalized, and not-at-all passive voices, \u201cDO NOT USE PASSIVE VOICE,<\/strong>\u201d as if it stands alongside splint infinitives and end-of-sentence prepositions as the cardinal (albeit mythical in some circles) sins of writing.<\/p>\n I have a confession. Let me whisper it to you.<\/p>\n It is okay to use passive voice. Sometimes it’s even <\/em>preferable.<\/p>\n While it is true that passivization can impede clarity and concision (especially when used excessively), it is not a grammatical error; it is a stylistic tool for emphasis. Specifically, the subject of the sentence receives the action instead of doing the action.<\/p>\n Observe:<\/p>\n The mouse ate the cheese.<\/em> (Active)<\/p>\n The cheese was eaten by the mouse.<\/em> (Passive)<\/p>\n In the first case, the subject, the mouse, performs the action of eating; in the second, the subject, the cheese, experiences the action of being eaten. A nifty trick: <\/strong>To switch between passive and active voices, move the main words (e.g., cheese, eat, mouse) of the sentence.<\/p>\n Use passive voice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n The mice in the science lab were accidentally let loose by the teacher’s assistant<\/em>.<\/p>\n Class is canceled!<\/em> (Which, I must say, is much more exciting than \u201cThe science teacher canceled class.\u201d)<\/p>\n Be alert! While forms of \u201cto be\u201d (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) are good clues, they do not guarantee passive writing.<\/p>\n I invite you, therefore, to counter resistance\u2014passive and aggressive\u2014to this misunderstood element of style. Intentionally employing the passive voice can bespeak a mouse<\/em>terful command of the written word.<\/p>\n\n
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