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Passive vs Active: the good, the bad, and the awkward

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Rumple_deWriter
Story Moderator
The subject of 'passive vs active voice' confuses most writers and worries even more. So thought a brief 'down and dirty' on the subject might somehow be of some benefit to some of us.

What follows is excerpted from the highly recommended 'Grammar Girl' site.

Don't hesitate to add your own comments.



xxx

What is active voice?

In an active sentence, the subject is doing the action. A straightforward example is the sentence "Steve loves Amy." Steve is the subject, and he is doing the action: he loves Amy, the object of the sentence.

What Is Passive Voice?

In passive voice, the target of the action gets promoted to the subject position. Instead of saying, "Steve loves Amy," I would say, "Amy is loved by Steve." The subject of the sentence becomes Amy, but she isn't doing anything. Rather, she is just the recipient of Steve's love. The focus of the sentence has changed from Steve to Amy.


Passive voice isn't wrong, but it's often a poor way to present your thoughts.

Another important point is that 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.
elizabethblack
Active Ink Slinger
Thank you for this and the reminder of "Grammar Girl". Let me see......Elizabeth loves Rump. Not Rump is loved by Elizabeth (not that there is anything wrong with that).
Dark_Apollo
Active Ink Slinger
As a scientific writer I was always instructed to write in the passive voice as if that was more objective and impartial than the first person active voice. Perhaps that is why scientific papers seem so dry and boring when in fact they are often exciting. This was not always the case and some of the most interesting scientific writing of the 18th century was written in the active voice. I believe it is time for scientists to rebel against the restrictions imposed by well meaning pedants. You never know all those arts scholars among our small fellowship here on SS might be persuaded that we scientists are fun people to be with, and even moderately passable writers.
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12
Mendalla
Crazy old ape
Quote by KindOfHeart
As a scientific writer I was always instructed to write in the passive voice as if that was more objective and impartial than the first person active voice. Perhaps that is why scientific papers seem so dry and boring when in fact they are often exciting. This was not always the case and some of the most interesting scientific writing of the 18th century was written in the active voice. I believe it is time for scientists to rebel against the restrictions imposed by well meaning pedants. You never know all those arts scholars among our small fellowship here on SS might be persuaded that we scientists are fun people to be with, and even moderately passable writers.


Thing is, the scientists who step outside that paradigm to write for a popular audience often do use active voice very well (Sagan, Tyson, etc.). So it's not like it's been beaten out of you, just suppressed. Let loose your inner writer!!

Can she find the silence again?

Scream Away The Silence - The Sound of Silence comp entry
Mendalla
Crazy old ape
On topic: passive voice has its place, but I can't think of too many places in fiction where it's more effective than active. I probably will as soon as I hit Post, but I can't think of any right now.

Can she find the silence again?

Scream Away The Silence - The Sound of Silence comp entry