Today we would be looking at passive voice and easy way to identify passive voice. The voice of a verb indicates the strength of the subject in a sentence. It tells us whether that subject takes action. There are two possible voices: active voice and passive voice. In the active voice, the stronger form, the subject of the sentences takes the action of the verb.
Example: our army won the battle.
The subject army is stronger since it takes action. This sentence uses the active voice. In the passive voice, the weaker form, the subject is acted upon.
Example: The battle was won by our army.
In this sentence, the subject battle is weak because it receives the action of the army. It takes no action of its own ”a battle cannot win itself” and so the sentence uses the passive voice.
why to avoid the use of passive voice
Computer grammar checkers put a great emphasis on flagging and discouraging the passive voice. The passive voice, according to these programs, is unnecessary in most cases and can weaken your content. It is wordier than the active voice, and, at its worst, deliberately deceptive. However, some fields, notably the sciences, require the passive voice for description of a process. You and your grammar checker should choose the voice appropriate for your audience.
But why depend on grammar checkers when it is so easy to spot the difference between active and passive voices on your own? The best way to find the passive voice is to look for the preposition by. The action of verb in the passive voice is usually done by one party to another.
The party was given by my best friend.
If the word by isn't present,let me ask is it possible to insert a phrase beginning with the word by that indicates who performed the action?
The boxing match was thrown. Or the match was thrown by the crooked fighter. If you can, you have found a sentence in the passive voice.
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