![]() ![]() It is usually because the actor is unclear, it is a general truth, or it is awkward to change. There are some situations where it is not logical to change to an active voice. In an active sentence, it is always the subject at the beginning of the sentence that performs the action of the verb. However, if you use Prowritingaid, it’s the only app I know of that offers a one-click change from passive to active. All you need to do is to mouse over the passive phrase, and the app gives you choices to click and change your sentence.īut if you don’t have the app, you can quickly change most sentences you write in passive to active voice once you learn how to do it.Īnytime you see the verb to be in any tense, followed by a past participle and perhaps using the operator by, it is a passive voice structure. Look at these typical examples.Īll you need to do is move the subject of the sentence to the beginning before the verb. ( Update: Here’s how to use ChatGPT to rewrite passive sentences.) But unfortunately, I have never found one that works. You might try searching for a free passive to active voice converter online to make it easy. Many of these apps highlight passive voice sentences for you but don’t give you guidance on how to change them to active ones. If you are new to writing, you probably use a writing or grammar checker to help you. It’s a great way to learn and polish your writing skills. In order to access certain content on this page, you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader or an equivalent PDF viewer software.Summary Changing passive sentences to active Last revised: 07/2010 | Adapted for web delivery: 05/2021 Active: The researchers will present the results at the conference.Passive: The results will be presented at the conference.In cases where the agent is omitted, you may have to identify the agent. Passive: The jacket was returned by Bruce.When you want to make passive voice active, locate the agent performing the action, usually in a prepositional phrase starting with “by,” make that your subject, and change your verb accordingly. The active voice puts unnecessary emphasis on the cook, when what is really important is the cake. In a paragraph emphasizing cakes and not cooks, the passive voice is preferable because it is both understood and not important that cooks make cakes. Active: Cooks make cakes to be delicious, not healthy.Passive: Cakes are made to be delicious, not healthy.This is useful if you want the emphasis to be on the action or the thing acted upon rather than the agent. Occasionally, writers choose to use passive voice for rhetorical effect. Passive voice sometimes makes more sense than active voice if the agent performing the action is unimportant, obvious, or unknown, or if the writer wants to avoid mentioning the agent altogether. Passive voice is used sometimes in scientific writing to draw attention to processes and results, instead of the individual researcher. (By whom? Their mothers? Capitalism? The institution of marriage?) ![]() Passive voice sometimes indicates a lack of careful thought.(Who made the mistakes? Unless you are the person who made the mistakes and are evading blame, there is no reason to use passive voice in this sentence.) Passive voice can also result in vague or deceptive writing, such as in the following sentence: Mistakes were made. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |