The Grammar Doctor

Active and Passive Together

It is sometimes appropriate to use passive verbs, but it is never correct to use active and passive verbs in the same sentence. Here's an example:

If you want to get ahead in this organization, the rules need to be followed.

You can see how awkward this sentence is. It starts in the active voice and then switches to the passive. It loses its focus. We can improve it by putting both verbs in the active voice:

If you want to get ahead in this organization, you had better follow the rules.

Click here for more about active and passive verbs

Back to Verbs