Monday, March 1, 2010

James, Ryan, Paul, and Eddie

Definition: Passive voice occurs when you make an object of an action into the subject of a sentence. The basic formula is:

form of “to be” + past participle = passive voice

(http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html)

Example 1: Light penetration is reduced by sediment, and bottom dwelling organisms may be smothered by layers of sediment.

Solution 1: Sediment reduces light penetration and smothers bottom-dwelling organisms.

Example 2: Bottled water is purchased by many people.

Solution 2: Many people purchase bottled water.

Passive voice occurs when you make an object of an action into the subject of a sentence. It creates ambiguity in the meaning of a sentence, and makes statements lack confidence. It is typically in the form a conjugated form of “to be” followed by a past participle such as “Why was the road crossed by the chicken?” By making road the subject of the sentence, it emphasizes the role of the road instead of the chicken in the question. In some cases, such as informal documents, passive voice may be appropriate or even preferable.

1 comment:

  1. These passive voice examples are understood by me???

    I understand these passive voice examples.

    Am I supposed to write something here?

    ReplyDelete