{"id":1048,"date":"2020-01-17T17:39:47","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T17:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/coreqenglish1\/chapter\/text-active-and-passive-voice\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T19:16:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:16:14","slug":"using-the-active-voice","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/using-the-active-voice\/","title":{"raw":"Using the Active Voice","rendered":"Using the Active Voice"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Use active voice effectively<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Use Active Voice<\/h2>\r\nYou may have heard that it is best to use active verbs when you write. What does that mean? The active voice emphasizes the person or thing doing the action in a sentence. For example, here is a sentence that uses the active verbs:\u00a0<em>The outfielder throws the ball<\/em>. The subject, \u201coutfielder\u201d actively performs the action of the verb \u201cthrow.\u201d\r\n\r\nIf you wrote the same sentence in the passive voice, it would emphasize the recipient of the action. In other words, something is being done to something by somebody:\u00a0<em>The ball was thrown<\/em>\u00a0<em>by the outfielder.\u00a0<\/em>While the passive voice has a place, particularly in some subjects like the sciences and social sciences, its overuse can result in writing that is wordy, vague, and stuffy. When possible, use the active voice to convey who or what performs the action of the verb.\r\n<h2>Active and Passive Voices<\/h2>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Key Takeaway: Active Vs. Passive Voice<\/h3>\r\nIn the simplest terms, an active voice sentence is written in the form of \u201cA does B.\u201d\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Example: Carmen sings\u00a0the\u00a0song.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nA passive voice sentence is written in the form of \u201cB is done by A.\u201d\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Example: The song is sung by Carmen.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nBoth constructions are grammatically correct, but the active voice is a more powerful sentence construction for most academic writing.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Active Vs. Passive Voice<\/h3>\r\nLet's look at a couple more examples of the passive voice:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>I\u00a0have been hit!<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The car was struck from behind.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nYou may have noticed something unique about the previous two sentences: the subject of the sentence is not the person (or thing) performing the action.\u00a0<span class=\"s1\">The passive voice \"hides\" who does the action. Despite these sentences being completely grammatically sound, we don't know who hit \"me\" or\u00a0what struck the car. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"s1\">If these sentences used an active voice, they could read:<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The paintball hit me in the arm!<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The aggressive truck hit the car from behind.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThese two active voice sentences are more specific, and you get a bit more information as a reader.\r\n\r\nLet's look at a few more examples.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Passive:<\/strong>\u00a0Changes in gun laws were made as a result of student protests in Florida.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Active:\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">The Parkland student protests created changes in Florida gun laws.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Passive<\/strong>:\u00a0Studying can improve your grades.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Active<\/strong>:\u00a0Students who study hard typically earn strong grades.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nLet's look at a few more examples.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Amy<\/span><strong style=\"font-size: 1em;\">\u00a0grabbed\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">the zombie survival guide.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"purple-example shorten\">\r\n<div class=\"example\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The zombie survival guide<strong>\u00a0was grabbed\u00a0<\/strong>by Amy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nCan you see how these sentences are different? In the first sentence, the verb\u00a0<strong>grabbed<\/strong>\u00a0is active because its subject,\u00a0<strong>Amy<\/strong>\u00a0is the doer or agent. Amy did the grabbing.\r\n\r\nIn the second sentence,\u00a0<strong>was grabbed<\/strong>\u00a0is passive because it describes an action done to its subject,\u00a0<strong>guide<\/strong>. The doer of the action, Amy, is now the object of the preposition\u00a0<strong>by<\/strong>.\u00a0Amy comes last here, almost as if she is an afterthought instead of the important doer of the grabbing or agent of the action.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nWe want to use active verbs whenever possible as they allow us to express ourselves clearly, succinctly, and strongly. Active verbs imply that we are confident with what we\u2019re saying; we believe in our words. Looking back at the two sentences, we can see that the first one uses fewer words and offers no ambiguity about who did the action. The latter sentence is wordy and does not directly address Amy.\r\n<div class=\"teal-example \">\r\n<div class=\"example\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>TIP!\u00a0<\/strong>A little strategy you can use to test to see if you\u2019re using passive voice is to see if you can add \"<strong>by zombies\"<\/strong>\u00a0after the verb. If you can, then you likely have passive voice and may want to restructure your sentence. In the example above, you could certainly say, \"<strong>was grabbed by zombies<\/strong>,\" so you know this is passive voice.\u00a0Or, changes in gun laws were made \"by zombies\" as a result of student protests in Florida (again, passive voice).<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nAre the following sentences in the active or passive voice? How can you tell?\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>The samples were prepared in a clean room before being sent out for further examination.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Karen was dancing with Joshua when she suddenly realized she needed to leave.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Carlos was a very serious scientist with unique interests.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"206851\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"206851\"]\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>This sentence uses the passive\u00a0voice. The action (<strong>prepared<\/strong>) was done to the subject of the sentence (<strong>samples<\/strong>). If this sentence were written in the active it would be something like this: \"[Actor] prepared the samples in a clean room before sending them out for further examination.\" Since we do not know who prepared the samples, the active sentence is incomplete.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>This sentence uses the active voice. In this case\u00a0<em>was<\/em> indicates that the sentence happened in the past; it does not indicate the passive voice.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>This sentence uses the active voice. In this case\u00a0<em>was<\/em>\u00a0is acting as a linking verb. It links\u00a0<strong>Carlos<\/strong> with the phrase\u00a0<em>very serious\u00a0scientist<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2547\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"213\"]<img class=\"wp-image-2547 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4975\/2020\/01\/27180101\/head-46204_1280-213x300.png\" alt=\"Cartoon bug reading a piece of paper and scratching his head.\" width=\"213\" height=\"300\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Be careful when using the passive voice- it can sometimes create confusing sentences that are difficult for the reader to follow.[\/caption]\r\n<h2>Revise Weak Passive-Voice Sentences<\/h2>\r\nAs we've mentioned, the passive voice can be a shifty operator\u2014it can cover up its source, that is, who is doing the acting. Let's take a look at some examples:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Passive:\u00a0The taxes\u00a0will be collected\u00a0according to the local rules and regulations.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>Collected by whom though?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Active:\u00a0The town will collect\u00a0the taxes according to the local rules and regulations.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nIt's this ability to cover the actor or agent of the sentence that makes the passive voice a favorite of people in authority, such as politicians, who want to obscure their agency (as if the town wasn't responsible for collecting the taxes). At any rate, you can see how the passive voice can cause wordiness, indirectness, and comprehension problems.\r\n\r\nNote that passive voice is sometimes appropriate to use, particularly in the sciences when the doer of the task is unimportant. For example, in a science lab, the passive voice makes sense when writing:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Photomicrographs were taken to facilitate easy comparison of the samples.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nDon't get the idea that the passive voice is always wrong and should never be used. It is a good writing technique when we don't want to be bothered with an obvious or too-often-repeated subject and when we need to rearrange words in a sentence for emphasis. For most of your academic writing, however, your instructors will recommend the active voice.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples: FRom PAssive to Active<\/h3>\r\n<table>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th width=\"36%\">Passive<\/th>\r\n<th width=\"28%\">Question<\/th>\r\n<th width=\"36%\">Active<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Your figures <strong>have been reanalyzed<\/strong> in order to determine the coefficient of error. The results <strong>will be announced<\/strong> when the situation is judged appropriate.<\/td>\r\n<td>Who analyzes, and who will announce?<\/td>\r\n<td><strong>We<\/strong> have reanalyzed your figures in order to determine the range of error. <strong>We<\/strong> will announce the results when the time is right.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>With the price of housing at such inflated levels, those loans\u00a0<strong>cannot be paid<\/strong> off in any shorter period of time.<\/td>\r\n<td>Who can't pay the loans off?<\/td>\r\n<td>With the price of housing at such inflated levels, <strong>homeowners<\/strong> cannot pay off those loans in any shorter period of time.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>After the arm of the hand-held stapler <strong>is pushed<\/strong> down, the blade from the magazine <strong>is raised by<\/strong> the top-leaf spring, and the magazine and base.<\/td>\r\n<td>Who pushes it down, and who or what raises it?<\/td>\r\n<td>After <strong>you<\/strong> push down on the arm of the hand-held stapler, <strong>the top-leaf spring<\/strong> raises the blade from the magazine, and the magazine and base move apart.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>However, market share <strong>is being lost by<\/strong> 5.25-inch diskettes as is shown in the graph in Figure 2.<\/td>\r\n<td>Who or what is losing market share, who or what shows it?<\/td>\r\n<td>However, <strong>5.25-inch diskettes<\/strong> are losing market share as the graph in <strong>Figure 2<\/strong> shows.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>For many years, federal regulations concerning the use of wire-tapping <strong>have been ignored<\/strong>. Only recently <strong>have<\/strong> tighter restrictions <strong>been imposed<\/strong> on the circumstances that warrant it.<\/td>\r\n<td>Who has ignored the regulations, and who is now imposing them?<\/td>\r\n<td>For many years, <strong>government officials<\/strong> have ignored federal regulations concerning the use of wire-tapping. Only recently has<strong> the federal government<\/strong> imposed tighter restrictions on the circumstances that warrant it.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nConvert these passive voice sentences into the active voice. Why is the\u00a0active voice a better choice for each of these sentences?\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>The process, which was essential for the experiment's success, was completed by Enzo.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The cake that I worked on all day long is being eaten by Justin.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>After the pattern has been applied to the fabric, work on the embroidery can be started.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"529218\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"529218\"]\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Enzo completed the process, which was essential for the experiment's success.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>In the passive sentence, the\u00a0<em>which<\/em>-clause makes the subject of the sentence excessively long. By\u00a0converting the sentence to the active voice, the clause is moved to the predicate, which makes the sentence easier to understand.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Justin is eating\u00a0the cake that I worked on\u00a0all day long.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The active voice works better in this sentence for the same reasons as sentence one.\u00a0It is also likely that you would want to put emphasis on Justin in this sentence. After all, he's doing something that is (most likely) inconsiderate.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>After you apply the pattern to the fabric, you can\u00a0start\u00a0working on the embroidery.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>This sentence is likely found in\u00a0a set of instructions, which are usually written directly to the reader. Addressing \"you\" and avoiding the passive voice will make the instructions feel\u00a0more natural and accessible.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1292200819059096598\/embed\" width=\"1088\" height=\"637\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" aria-label=\"Revising for Style: Voice\"><\/iframe><script src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/js\/h5p-resizer.js\" charset=\"UTF-8\"><\/script>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/92c460d1-d5d5-4ef2-9a5e-5d39f9149b95\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Use active voice effectively<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Use Active Voice<\/h2>\n<p>You may have heard that it is best to use active verbs when you write. What does that mean? The active voice emphasizes the person or thing doing the action in a sentence. For example, here is a sentence that uses the active verbs:\u00a0<em>The outfielder throws the ball<\/em>. The subject, \u201coutfielder\u201d actively performs the action of the verb \u201cthrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you wrote the same sentence in the passive voice, it would emphasize the recipient of the action. In other words, something is being done to something by somebody:\u00a0<em>The ball was thrown<\/em>\u00a0<em>by the outfielder.\u00a0<\/em>While the passive voice has a place, particularly in some subjects like the sciences and social sciences, its overuse can result in writing that is wordy, vague, and stuffy. When possible, use the active voice to convey who or what performs the action of the verb.<\/p>\n<h2>Active and Passive Voices<\/h2>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Key Takeaway: Active Vs. Passive Voice<\/h3>\n<p>In the simplest terms, an active voice sentence is written in the form of \u201cA does B.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Example: Carmen sings\u00a0the\u00a0song.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A passive voice sentence is written in the form of \u201cB is done by A.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Example: The song is sung by Carmen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both constructions are grammatically correct, but the active voice is a more powerful sentence construction for most academic writing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Active Vs. Passive Voice<\/h3>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at a couple more examples of the passive voice:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I\u00a0have been hit!<\/li>\n<li>The car was struck from behind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You may have noticed something unique about the previous two sentences: the subject of the sentence is not the person (or thing) performing the action.\u00a0<span class=\"s1\">The passive voice &#8220;hides&#8221; who does the action. Despite these sentences being completely grammatically sound, we don&#8217;t know who hit &#8220;me&#8221; or\u00a0what struck the car. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">If these sentences used an active voice, they could read:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The paintball hit me in the arm!<\/li>\n<li>The aggressive truck hit the car from behind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These two active voice sentences are more specific, and you get a bit more information as a reader.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at a few more examples.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Passive:<\/strong>\u00a0Changes in gun laws were made as a result of student protests in Florida.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Active:\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">The Parkland student protests created changes in Florida gun laws.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Passive<\/strong>:\u00a0Studying can improve your grades.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Active<\/strong>:\u00a0Students who study hard typically earn strong grades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at a few more examples.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Amy<\/span><strong style=\"font-size: 1em;\">\u00a0grabbed\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">the zombie survival guide.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"purple-example shorten\">\n<div class=\"example\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The zombie survival guide<strong>\u00a0was grabbed\u00a0<\/strong>by Amy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Can you see how these sentences are different? In the first sentence, the verb\u00a0<strong>grabbed<\/strong>\u00a0is active because its subject,\u00a0<strong>Amy<\/strong>\u00a0is the doer or agent. Amy did the grabbing.<\/p>\n<p>In the second sentence,\u00a0<strong>was grabbed<\/strong>\u00a0is passive because it describes an action done to its subject,\u00a0<strong>guide<\/strong>. The doer of the action, Amy, is now the object of the preposition\u00a0<strong>by<\/strong>.\u00a0Amy comes last here, almost as if she is an afterthought instead of the important doer of the grabbing or agent of the action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>We want to use active verbs whenever possible as they allow us to express ourselves clearly, succinctly, and strongly. Active verbs imply that we are confident with what we\u2019re saying; we believe in our words. Looking back at the two sentences, we can see that the first one uses fewer words and offers no ambiguity about who did the action. The latter sentence is wordy and does not directly address Amy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"teal-example\">\n<div class=\"example\">\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>TIP!\u00a0<\/strong>A little strategy you can use to test to see if you\u2019re using passive voice is to see if you can add &#8220;<strong>by zombies&#8221;<\/strong>\u00a0after the verb. If you can, then you likely have passive voice and may want to restructure your sentence. In the example above, you could certainly say, &#8220;<strong>was grabbed by zombies<\/strong>,&#8221; so you know this is passive voice.\u00a0Or, changes in gun laws were made &#8220;by zombies&#8221; as a result of student protests in Florida (again, passive voice).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>Are the following sentences in the active or passive voice? How can you tell?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The samples were prepared in a clean room before being sent out for further examination.<\/li>\n<li>Karen was dancing with Joshua when she suddenly realized she needed to leave.<\/li>\n<li>Carlos was a very serious scientist with unique interests.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q206851\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q206851\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">\n<ol>\n<li>This sentence uses the passive\u00a0voice. The action (<strong>prepared<\/strong>) was done to the subject of the sentence (<strong>samples<\/strong>). If this sentence were written in the active it would be something like this: &#8220;[Actor] prepared the samples in a clean room before sending them out for further examination.&#8221; Since we do not know who prepared the samples, the active sentence is incomplete.<\/li>\n<li>This sentence uses the active voice. In this case\u00a0<em>was<\/em> indicates that the sentence happened in the past; it does not indicate the passive voice.<\/li>\n<li>This sentence uses the active voice. In this case\u00a0<em>was<\/em>\u00a0is acting as a linking verb. It links\u00a0<strong>Carlos<\/strong> with the phrase\u00a0<em>very serious\u00a0scientist<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2547\" style=\"width: 223px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2547\" class=\"wp-image-2547 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4975\/2020\/01\/27180101\/head-46204_1280-213x300.png\" alt=\"Cartoon bug reading a piece of paper and scratching his head.\" width=\"213\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2547\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Be careful when using the passive voice- it can sometimes create confusing sentences that are difficult for the reader to follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Revise Weak Passive-Voice Sentences<\/h2>\n<p>As we&#8217;ve mentioned, the passive voice can be a shifty operator\u2014it can cover up its source, that is, who is doing the acting. Let&#8217;s take a look at some examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Passive:\u00a0The taxes\u00a0will be collected\u00a0according to the local rules and regulations.\n<ul>\n<li><em>Collected by whom though?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Active:\u00a0The town will collect\u00a0the taxes according to the local rules and regulations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It&#8217;s this ability to cover the actor or agent of the sentence that makes the passive voice a favorite of people in authority, such as politicians, who want to obscure their agency (as if the town wasn&#8217;t responsible for collecting the taxes). At any rate, you can see how the passive voice can cause wordiness, indirectness, and comprehension problems.<\/p>\n<p>Note that passive voice is sometimes appropriate to use, particularly in the sciences when the doer of the task is unimportant. For example, in a science lab, the passive voice makes sense when writing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Photomicrographs were taken to facilitate easy comparison of the samples.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Don&#8217;t get the idea that the passive voice is always wrong and should never be used. It is a good writing technique when we don&#8217;t want to be bothered with an obvious or too-often-repeated subject and when we need to rearrange words in a sentence for emphasis. For most of your academic writing, however, your instructors will recommend the active voice.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples: FRom PAssive to Active<\/h3>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 36%;\">Passive<\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 28%;\">Question<\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 36%;\">Active<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Your figures <strong>have been reanalyzed<\/strong> in order to determine the coefficient of error. The results <strong>will be announced<\/strong> when the situation is judged appropriate.<\/td>\n<td>Who analyzes, and who will announce?<\/td>\n<td><strong>We<\/strong> have reanalyzed your figures in order to determine the range of error. <strong>We<\/strong> will announce the results when the time is right.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>With the price of housing at such inflated levels, those loans\u00a0<strong>cannot be paid<\/strong> off in any shorter period of time.<\/td>\n<td>Who can&#8217;t pay the loans off?<\/td>\n<td>With the price of housing at such inflated levels, <strong>homeowners<\/strong> cannot pay off those loans in any shorter period of time.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>After the arm of the hand-held stapler <strong>is pushed<\/strong> down, the blade from the magazine <strong>is raised by<\/strong> the top-leaf spring, and the magazine and base.<\/td>\n<td>Who pushes it down, and who or what raises it?<\/td>\n<td>After <strong>you<\/strong> push down on the arm of the hand-held stapler, <strong>the top-leaf spring<\/strong> raises the blade from the magazine, and the magazine and base move apart.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>However, market share <strong>is being lost by<\/strong> 5.25-inch diskettes as is shown in the graph in Figure 2.<\/td>\n<td>Who or what is losing market share, who or what shows it?<\/td>\n<td>However, <strong>5.25-inch diskettes<\/strong> are losing market share as the graph in <strong>Figure 2<\/strong> shows.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>For many years, federal regulations concerning the use of wire-tapping <strong>have been ignored<\/strong>. Only recently <strong>have<\/strong> tighter restrictions <strong>been imposed<\/strong> on the circumstances that warrant it.<\/td>\n<td>Who has ignored the regulations, and who is now imposing them?<\/td>\n<td>For many years, <strong>government officials<\/strong> have ignored federal regulations concerning the use of wire-tapping. Only recently has<strong> the federal government<\/strong> imposed tighter restrictions on the circumstances that warrant it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>Convert these passive voice sentences into the active voice. Why is the\u00a0active voice a better choice for each of these sentences?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The process, which was essential for the experiment&#8217;s success, was completed by Enzo.<\/li>\n<li>The cake that I worked on all day long is being eaten by Justin.<\/li>\n<li>After the pattern has been applied to the fabric, work on the embroidery can be started.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q529218\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q529218\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">\n<ol>\n<li>Enzo completed the process, which was essential for the experiment&#8217;s success.\n<ul>\n<li>In the passive sentence, the\u00a0<em>which<\/em>-clause makes the subject of the sentence excessively long. By\u00a0converting the sentence to the active voice, the clause is moved to the predicate, which makes the sentence easier to understand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Justin is eating\u00a0the cake that I worked on\u00a0all day long.\n<ul>\n<li>The active voice works better in this sentence for the same reasons as sentence one.\u00a0It is also likely that you would want to put emphasis on Justin in this sentence. After all, he&#8217;s doing something that is (most likely) inconsiderate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>After you apply the pattern to the fabric, you can\u00a0start\u00a0working on the embroidery.\n<ul>\n<li>This sentence is likely found in\u00a0a set of instructions, which are usually written directly to the reader. Addressing &#8220;you&#8221; and avoiding the passive voice will make the instructions feel\u00a0more natural and accessible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1292200819059096598\/embed\" width=\"1088\" height=\"637\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" aria-label=\"Revising for Style: Voice\"><\/iframe><script src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/js\/h5p-resizer.js\" charset=\"UTF-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_92c460d1-d5d5-4ef2-9a5e-5d39f9149b95\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/92c460d1-d5d5-4ef2-9a5e-5d39f9149b95?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_92c460d1-d5d5-4ef2-9a5e-5d39f9149b95\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1048\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Revision and Adaptation. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Practice Activities. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/styleguide\/chapter\/practice-activities-active-and-passive-voice\/\">https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/styleguide\/chapter\/practice-activities-active-and-passive-voice\/<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Guide to Writing. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Modification, adaptation, and original content. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Audrey Fisch for Lumen Learning. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>The Passive versus Active Voice Dilemma. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Joe Schall. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Pennsylvania State University. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.e-education.psu.edu\/styleforstudents\/c1_p11.html\">https:\/\/www.e-education.psu.edu\/styleforstudents\/c1_p11.html<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Power-Revision Techniques: Sentence-Level Revision. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: David McMurrey. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prismnet.com\/~hcexres\/textbook\/hirev2.html#passive\">https:\/\/www.prismnet.com\/~hcexres\/textbook\/hirev2.html#passive<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Active Versus Passive Verbs. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Excelsior OWL. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/parts-of-speech\/verbs\/active-versus-passive-verbs\/\">https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/parts-of-speech\/verbs\/active-versus-passive-verbs\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Image of cartoon bug. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Clker-Free-Vector-Images. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Pixabay. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/vectors\/head-paper-reading-bug-insect-46204\/\">https:\/\/pixabay.com\/vectors\/head-paper-reading-bug-insect-46204\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>Other<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: https:\/\/pixabay.com\/service\/terms\/#license<\/li><li>Communicating with Precision. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Suzan Last. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/communicatingprecision\/#fig2.2.1\">https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/communicatingprecision\/#fig2.2.1<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Technical Writing Essentials. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":29,"menu_order":15,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"The Passive versus Active Voice Dilemma\",\"author\":\"Joe Schall\",\"organization\":\"The Pennsylvania State University\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.e-education.psu.edu\/styleforstudents\/c1_p11.html\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Power-Revision Techniques: Sentence-Level Revision\",\"author\":\"David 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