{"id":364,"date":"2016-05-19T21:13:43","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T21:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=364"},"modified":"2016-08-09T20:49:23","modified_gmt":"2016-08-09T20:49:23","slug":"text-using-the-passive-voice","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/chapter\/text-using-the-passive-voice\/","title":{"raw":"Text: Using the Passive Voice","rendered":"Text: Using the Passive Voice"},"content":{"raw":"There are several different situations where the passive voice is more useful than the active voice.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>When you don't know who did the action:\u00a0<em>The paper had been moved.<\/em>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The active voice would be something like this: \"Someone had moved the paper.\" While this sentence\u00a0is technically fine, the passive voice sentence has a more subtle element of mystery, which can be especially helpful in creating a mood in fiction.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>When you want to hide who did the action:\u00a0<em>The window had been\u00a0broken.<\/em>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The sentence is either hiding who broke the window or they do not know. Again, the sentence can be reformed to say \"Someone had broken the window,\" but using the word <em>someone<\/em>\u00a0clearly indicates that someone (though we may not know who) is at fault here. Using the passive puts the focus on the window rather than on the person who broke it, as he or she is completely left out of the sentence.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>When you want to emphasize the person or thing the action was done to: <em>Caroline\u00a0was hurt\u00a0when Kent broke up with her.<\/em>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>We automatically focus on the subject of the sentence. If the sentence\u00a0were to say \"Kent\u00a0hurt Caroline when he broke up with her,\" then our focus would be drawn to Kent rather than Caroline.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>A\u00a0subject that can't actually <em>do <\/em>anything:\u00a0<em>Caroline was hurt when she fell into the trees.<\/em>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>While the trees hurt Caroline, they didn't actually do anything. Thus, it makes more sense to have Caroline as the subject rather than saying \"The trees hurt Caroline when she fell into them.\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> It's often against convention in scholarly writing to\u00a0use first-person \"I.\"<em>\u00a0<\/em>While this may seem\u00a0like a forced rule, it also stems from the fact that scholars\u00a0want to emphasize the science or research as opposed to the author of the paper. This often results in the passive voice being the best choice.<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\r\nRead the following sentences. Are they using the passive effectively? Or should they be rewritten as active sentences?\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>The machine was reset at 10:23, 11:12, and 11:56 last night.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Kajuana&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:515,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;4&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:15389148},&quot;12&quot;:0}\">Maren\u00a0was hit\u00a0by several branches as she slid down the hill.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li>The final steps, which need to be finished\u00a0before the sun sets over the mountains, are\u00a0going\u00a0to be completed\u00a0by Kajuana.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"72415\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"72415\"]\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Yes. In this case, we don't know who accomplished the action. If this sentence appeared in an academic article, it may be even more appropriate, as that style often demands the actor be left out of the sentence. However, if it is important to know who completed the action, then the active voice may be more appropriate.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Yes. Since the\u00a0subject of this sentence\u2014<em>several branches<\/em>\u2014can't actually do anything, it's best to put the emphasis on\u00a0<em>Maren<\/em>, the person the actions were done to.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>No. This would be better in the active voice. There are a lot of different parts to the sentence, and by converting the sentence to the active voice, they come in a more logical order that is easier to understand:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Kajuana is\u00a0going to complete\u00a0the final steps, which need to be finished\u00a0before the sun sets over the mountains.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Using the Passive<\/h2>\r\nNow that we know there are some instances where passive voice is the best choice, how do we\u00a0use the passive voice to it fullest? The answer lies in writing direct sentences\u2014in passive voice\u2014that have simple subjects and verbs. Compare the two sentences below:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Photomicrographs were taken to facilitate easy comparison of the samples.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Easy comparison of the samples was facilitated by the taking of photomicrographs.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nBoth sentences are written in the passive voice, but for most ears the first sentence is more direct and understandable, and therefore preferable. Depending on the context, it does a clearer job of telling us what was done and why it was done. Especially if this sentence appears in the \u201cExperimental\u201d section of a report (and thus readers already know that the authors of the report took the photomicrographs), the first sentence neatly represents what the authors actually did\u2014took photomicrographs\u2014and why they did it\u2014to facilitate easy comparison.","rendered":"<p>There are several different situations where the passive voice is more useful than the active voice.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When you don&#8217;t know who did the action:\u00a0<em>The paper had been moved.<\/em>\n<ul>\n<li>The active voice would be something like this: &#8220;Someone had moved the paper.&#8221; While this sentence\u00a0is technically fine, the passive voice sentence has a more subtle element of mystery, which can be especially helpful in creating a mood in fiction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>When you want to hide who did the action:\u00a0<em>The window had been\u00a0broken.<\/em>\n<ul>\n<li>The sentence is either hiding who broke the window or they do not know. Again, the sentence can be reformed to say &#8220;Someone had broken the window,&#8221; but using the word <em>someone<\/em>\u00a0clearly indicates that someone (though we may not know who) is at fault here. Using the passive puts the focus on the window rather than on the person who broke it, as he or she is completely left out of the sentence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>When you want to emphasize the person or thing the action was done to: <em>Caroline\u00a0was hurt\u00a0when Kent broke up with her.<\/em>\n<ul>\n<li>We automatically focus on the subject of the sentence. If the sentence\u00a0were to say &#8220;Kent\u00a0hurt Caroline when he broke up with her,&#8221; then our focus would be drawn to Kent rather than Caroline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0subject that can&#8217;t actually <em>do <\/em>anything:\u00a0<em>Caroline was hurt when she fell into the trees.<\/em>\n<ul>\n<li>While the trees hurt Caroline, they didn&#8217;t actually do anything. Thus, it makes more sense to have Caroline as the subject rather than saying &#8220;The trees hurt Caroline when she fell into them.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> It&#8217;s often against convention in scholarly writing to\u00a0use first-person &#8220;I.&#8221;<em>\u00a0<\/em>While this may seem\u00a0like a forced rule, it also stems from the fact that scholars\u00a0want to emphasize the science or research as opposed to the author of the paper. This often results in the passive voice being the best choice.<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\n<p>Read the following sentences. Are they using the passive effectively? Or should they be rewritten as active sentences?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The machine was reset at 10:23, 11:12, and 11:56 last night.<\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Kajuana&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:515,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;4&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:15389148},&quot;12&quot;:0}\">Maren\u00a0was hit\u00a0by several branches as she slid down the hill.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>The final steps, which need to be finished\u00a0before the sun sets over the mountains, are\u00a0going\u00a0to be completed\u00a0by Kajuana.<\/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=\"q72415\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q72415\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">\n<ol>\n<li>Yes. In this case, we don&#8217;t know who accomplished the action. If this sentence appeared in an academic article, it may be even more appropriate, as that style often demands the actor be left out of the sentence. However, if it is important to know who completed the action, then the active voice may be more appropriate.<\/li>\n<li>Yes. Since the\u00a0subject of this sentence\u2014<em>several branches<\/em>\u2014can&#8217;t actually do anything, it&#8217;s best to put the emphasis on\u00a0<em>Maren<\/em>, the person the actions were done to.<\/li>\n<li>No. This would be better in the active voice. There are a lot of different parts to the sentence, and by converting the sentence to the active voice, they come in a more logical order that is easier to understand:\n<ul>\n<li>Kajuana is\u00a0going to complete\u00a0the final steps, which need to be finished\u00a0before the sun sets over the mountains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Using the Passive<\/h2>\n<p>Now that we know there are some instances where passive voice is the best choice, how do we\u00a0use the passive voice to it fullest? The answer lies in writing direct sentences\u2014in passive voice\u2014that have simple subjects and verbs. Compare the two sentences below:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Photomicrographs were taken to facilitate easy comparison of the samples.<\/li>\n<li>Easy comparison of the samples was facilitated by the taking of photomicrographs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both sentences are written in the passive voice, but for most ears the first sentence is more direct and understandable, and therefore preferable. Depending on the context, it does a clearer job of telling us what was done and why it was done. Especially if this sentence appears in the \u201cExperimental\u201d section of a report (and thus readers already know that the authors of the report took the photomicrographs), the first sentence neatly represents what the authors actually did\u2014took photomicrographs\u2014and why they did it\u2014to facilitate easy comparison.<\/p>\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-364\">\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 Activity. <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><\/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":17,"menu_order":48,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"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\":\"Practice Activity\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"b81e3a1e-cd5c-460b-a1fe-c4d1cd5e18b5,  c2503428-dc30-4548-8cb7-2c2084015ba8","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-364","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":21,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1656,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/364\/revisions\/1656"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/21"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/364\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=364"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=364"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}