Appendix . Selected Problems of Usage and Style
Problems With the Passive Voice
Identifying Passive Voice and Passive Constructions
Voice is a function of grammar that shows the relation of the subject of a verb to the action that the verb expresses; changes in the form of the verb help express this relation. The following examples illustrate the difference between the active and the passive voice.
This statement is in the active voice:
Medical researchers from Johns Hopkins University discovered new gene-splitting techniques last month.
The voice in this case is defined as active because the subject of the verb, researchers, is the performer of the action that the verb expresses, discovered. The object of the verb, techniques, is the recipient of ...
Get Technical and Professional Writing: Solving Problems at Work now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
