WHEN TO USE THE PASSIVE VOICEAND WHEN TO AVOID USING IT

IS IT WRONG TO USE THE PASSIVE?

Passive sentences aren't incorrect; it’s just that they often aren't the best way to phrase your thoughts.

Sometimes passive voice is awkward and other times it’s vague.

Also, passive voice is usually wordy, so you can tighten your writing if you replace passive sentences with active sentence.

EXAMPLE

Wordy: The bagpipes were played by the man in Antarctica.

Better: The man played the bagpipes in Antarctica.

USING THE PASSIVE

Sometimes, however, the passive voice is preferred.

Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (1994) recommends the passive voice:

1.when identifying the object (receiver) of the action is more important than the subject (agent)

2.when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or not worth mentioning

EXAMPLE #1

PASSIVE: The woman was struck by lightning.

ACTIVE: The lightning struck the woman.

[What’s important here? The woman or the lightning?]

EXAMPLE #2

PASSIVE: The store was robbed last night.

ACTIVE: Someone robbed the store last night.

[Who robbed the store? We don’t know, or it isn’t important.]

EXAMPLE #3PASSIVE: Watermelons should not be kept in the bedroom.

ACTIVE: People should not keep watermelons in their bedrooms.

[“People” is just as vague as using the passive voice. Who the people are isn’t important, so passive is better.]

EXAMPLE #4

PASSIVE: Obama was elected president.

ACTIVE: People elected Obama president.

[Of course it’s people. Dogs can’t vote. We don’t need to mention the people because it isn’t important information.]

USING THE PASSIVE TO AVOID RESPONSIBILITY

The principal criticism against the passive voice is its potential for avoiding responsibility. This is because a passive clause may omit the agent even where it is important:

Famously, former President Ronald Reagan said, when discussing the Iran-Contra scandal: “Mistakes were made.” Notice that he is avoiding responsibility by refusing to mention WHO made the mistakes.

AVOIDING RESPONSIBILITY #2

Businesses also use the passive voice sometimes to avoid taking responsibility. For example, it sounds better to write,

"Your electricity will be shut off," than

"We, the electric company, will be shutting off your power.“

The passive voice makes you feel less guilty!!!

SCIENTIFIC WRITING

Scientists also use the passive voice often in their writing. The passive voice helps them to sound more OBJECTIVE. They take themselves out of the writing.

“The data was analyzed and a cure for the disease was found.”

Instead of:

“I analyzed the data and found a cure for the disease.”

AVOIDING BLAME

Just as the passive voice can be used to avoid TAKING responsibility, it can also be used to avoid GIVING responsibility to someone else (blaming them).

ACTIVE: My crazy brother ate my house!!

PASSIVE: My house was eaten.

CRIME REPORTINGYou will also hear the passive voice used a lot in crime reports because WE DON’T KNOW WHO did the crime or we can’t say because they haven’t gone to court yet.

PASSIVE: The woman’s money was stolen from her purse.

ACTIVE: Someone stole the woman’s money from her purse.

CONCLUSION

A recent study suggests that less educated people--those who dropped out of school when they were 16--have a harder time understanding sentences written in the passive voice than those written in active voice.

Keep in mind that native English speakers sometimes struggle to understand when it’s best to use the passive voice. It’s a difficult part of English to use correctly all the time, and the rules are a bit loose, so don’t be afraid to try using the passive. Remember also that it’s okay to make mistakes!