When you are writing, there are many techniques you can utilize to make your work more interesting to read. There are two voices that verbs can have, active and passive. The active voice makes your writing clearer and more appealing.
Sentences written in active voice show the subject in
action. For example, mother shrieked when she saw the mouse. In this sentence,
the subject, mother, who performed the action, shrieked, is clear. The writer
of this sentence shows a specific subject in action. This sentence is
using active voice.
Passive voice occurs when the subject is not doing the action, but rather
receiving the action. For example, the books were left on the desk. In this sentence, the subject, books, received
the action of being left. Because the subject is not performing the action, but
rather is having the action done to it. This sentence is using passive voice.
An easy way to change passive voice
to active voice is to ask yourself: who performs the action in this sentence? For example, by asking this question of the
following sentence, we can identify who performs the action: the books were
left on the desk by Jim. This is passive voice.
Once identified, the doer of the
action should be used as the subject of the sentence. In this case, moving Jim to the beginning of the sentence
will change it to active voice. This sentence, written in active voice, Jim
left the books on the desk.
Use the four methods below to eliminate dead passive verbs the next time you need to make any written documentation outstanding:
1.
Change the order of
your sentence:
Sometimes, just switching the subject to the beginning of your sentence will
get rid of your nasty passive verb.
Example: The scarf had been
left on the table by Margaret./ Margaret left her scarf on the table.
2.
Choose a different verb: This is possibly
the easiest method for removing passive verbs from your writing. Just look at
the sentence and think of a better, more specific verb to use.
Example: The street was
filled with fruit stands./The street heaved (burst, sagged, etc.) with fruit
stands.
3.
Get rid of “ing”: If you look through
your passive sentences, chances are you’ll see quite a few “was”s and “were”s
followed by an “ing” verb. Just remove the “ing” and you will have a more
active sentence.
Example: She was walking
home from school./She walked home from school.
4.
Move your adjective
(describing word) before your noun: Have you ever written a sentence like this?
She was beautiful, cold, and unaware of his affections. It is tempting to use a
dead verb preceding a list of adjectives, or even just one adjective. Why not
write it like this instead: The beautiful, cold, and oblivious woman ignored
the young man’s affections.
“To love is not a passive thing. To love is active voice. When I love I do something, I function, I give. I do not love in order that I may be loved back again, but for the creative joy of loving. ..Every time I do so love I am freed, at least a little by the outgoing of love from enslavement to that most intolerable of master, myself.” (Bernard Iddings Bell) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“4 Ways to
Remove Passive Voice from Your Paper “by Nail That Paper
·
“How to
Change Passive Voice to Active Voice” by Margaret Stone
This post is dedicated
to my wife. I hope this will help with your future writing endeavors.
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