Active and Passive Voice





Active voice is almost always better than passive voice.

Passive Voice	Active Voice
The dog was bitten by the man.	The man bit the dog.
New agents at the CIA must attend a two-week training session to prepare them for the training of penguins as counter-espionage operatives.	New agents at the CIA must attend a two-week training session to prepare them to train penguins as counter-espionage operatives.

Active voice is not always better than passive voice.

Passive Voice	Active Voice
The bill was ratified by Congress today.	Congress ratified the bill today.
In the passive, the emphasis in the sentence is on the bill being passed; in the active, emphasis shifts to Congress having taken action. If the bill is more important, passive voice is preferable; if the mere act of Congress doing something should be the center of attention, use active voice.
George Washington was elected president in 1789.	Citizens of the United States of America elected George Washington president in 1789.
Aw, heck--this one's obvious. Converting passive to active is just cumbersome and unnecessary.

Now—some debunking.

1. Passive voice constitutes a grammatical error.

False. It's a stylistic choice.

2. Any form of "to be" constitutes passive voice.

False. But avoid "to be" constructions whenever possible (see below).

3. Using first person equals using active voice.

False. "I was surrounded by furious boll weavils."

4. Grammar check will catch my passive voice constructions.

False. Mostly. Sometimes grammar checkers catch passive voice, but mostly they miss it, since passive voice isn't a grammatical error.

Exercises
Convert the passive voice constructions in the sentences below to active voice.

1. Independence is gained by those on welfare when skills are taught that are valued by the marketplace.

2. In music class, students are trained to perceive rhythm not as a series of individual notes but as a larger movement in which a sense of musical architecture is created.

3. The heat-resistant tiles on the space shuttle had to be redesigned and replaced because their surfaces had been bombarded by micrometeorites.

4. It is believed by many that a decrease in restrictions on treatment is followed by an increased rate of recovery.

5. "I'm sorry I'm late," he said. "It is nothing," she replied courteously. "A cigarette was smoked and a book was read while waiting."

To practice further, the SAT Board provides
this exercise on revising passive voice. Try it. Now.




To be—er, not to be.

Replace the "to be" verb (am; is; are; was; were; might, should, could, would, may, ought to, etc. be; being; been) in each sentence below with a different, more betterer verb.

1. The first step for the editor is to find the "to be" verb construction.

2. The election was interesting to many people.

3. There are many ways to replace a "to be" verb in a sentence.

4. Beauregard wants to be an editor.

5. Burying nuclear waste in Antarctica would be in violation of international treaties.

6. When Abigail was seventy, she knew that only madness and death were before her.

7. The United States is a union of fifty states, plus a number of insignificant other holdings, like Guam and Kingman Reef.

8. I was sad when I found out I was going to be on America's Most Wanted.

9. The audience was dazzled by the woman's red sequined dress, which had been designed by an insane buzzard.

10. I am appalled by your lack of spaghetti.