VERBS 14: Style and the Passive

Materials by Liz Siler

Using the Passive

• The most common uses of the passive are determined by the agent.

The Agent

• When the agent is – relatively unimportant, or is – clearly understood, or is – of no real consequence, or is – of much less importance than the action or the

object (of the original active),

• it’s fine to use the passive.

Example

• In such cases, we can almost always just delete the agentive by-phrase of the passive. – Example: Roll was taken (by the teacher of

course!) and the class started.

Technical/ Professional English

• Technical English is one style of writing where we often see the passive.

Example

• The following sentences are from a scientific article on climate change. The article has about six authors. Some clauses are active. Some are passive. Identify the actives and passives and consider why you think the writers chose the active or passive.

– Conceptually this increase is understood as a shift of the statistical distribution towards warmer temperatures.

– Changes in the width of the distribution are often considered small. – Here we show our framework.– This framework does not explain the record-breaking central European

summer temperatures in 2003.

• Stop and think before going on!

DISCUSSION

• The following sentences are from a scientific article on climate change. The article has about six authors. Some clauses are active. Some are passive. Identify the actives and passives and consider why you think the writers chose the active or passive.

– Conceptually this increase is understood as a shift of the statistical distribution towards warmer temperatures.

– Changes in the width of the distribution are often considered small. – Here we show our framework.– This framework does not explain the record-breaking central European

summer temperatures in 2003.

Context

• The passive is used according to the context of the passage.

A Context Example. • Context: An article about shipwrecks. The emphasis

is on the content of various narratives. – The earliest narratives were found in the diary of Columbus’

first voyage.– In this context, do we absolutely need to know who found

these narratives?

• Context: An obituary about a really innovative researcher’s life and exploits. – Williams found the first examples of these narratives in the

archive of the Columbus materials in Santo Domingo. She published them. . .