The Grammar Doctor

active, passive

If the subject does something, the verb is active:
I spilled chocolate sauce on my new suit.

If the subject has something done to it, the verb is passive:
Chocolate sauce was spilled on my new suit.

Notice that these two sentences give approximately the same information, except that the passive doesn't reveal who spilled the chocolate sauce.

English teachers often seem to assume that the passive should never be used. In fact the passive can be very useful. The subject of a sentence gets more emphasis than the object. By choosing to use the active or passive form, we can emphasize words or subordinate them or even conceal them.

Here are some examples of situations where the passive can be used to advantage:

• The diamond had been stolen. (This passive sentence emphasizes the valuable item that had been purloined. It would be no improvement to make this sentence active:
  Someone had stolen the diamond.)
• The lights had not been turned off. (Perhaps the speaker is being diplomatic and does not want to name the careless person who neglected to turn the lights off. On the other hand, perhaps the speaker doesn't know who left the building without turning the lights off. Again, the sentence would not be improved by making it active:
  Someone had not turned the lights off.)

Having said all this, we must say that generally active verbs make writing more forceful and succinct. However, passive verbs do have their place.

Question
Did you notice that the Grammar Doctor used a sentence with a passive verb other than those in the examples? Can you find it?

answer

test your understanding of active and passive verbs.