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EL1202 (2018)

 The uses of the passive voice


 The formation of passive sentences
 Transitive and intransitive verbs
 The passive voice in academic writing
 When to avoid the passive voice in academic writing
A. The passive voice is used when we want to focus attention on
the person or thing affected by the action rather than the
person/thing doing the action:
Active Passive
I have divided this report This report is divided into
into three main sections. three main sections.
Engineers classify windmills Windmills are classified as
as either lift or drag types. either lift or drag types.
You can lease some Some restaurant locations
restaurant locations. can be leased.
B. When the doer/agent is unknown:
Example - The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old Stone Age.
[We don’t know who made them]
I had the feeling that I was being followed.
[I don’t know who was following me]

C. When the doer/agent is irrelevant:


Example - An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian desert.
[We are not interested in who is building it]
D. When it is obvious to the listener or reader who the agent is:
Example: I had been instructed to remove all the ash trays.
She discovered that she was being paid less than her male colleagues.
instead of:
My boss had instructed me to remove all the ash trays.
She discovered that the firm was paying her less than her male colleagues.

E. When the agent has already been mentioned:


Example: In the next session of parliament, new laws will be introduced aimed at
stopping domestic violence.
instead of:
In the next session of parliament, the government will introduce new laws
aimed at stopping domestic violence.
F. When one wants to be vague about who is responsible:
Example: Mistakes were made. [Common in bureaucratic writing!]

G. When people in general are the agents:


Example: All the recommended readings can be borrowed from the university library.
instead of:
You can borrow all the recommended readings from the university library.
A sentence

Active voice Passive voice

 Engineers design bridges.


 Bridges are designed by engineers.

The meanings of the two sentences are the same, but


they are expressed in a different way.
Subject + auxiliary verb +past participle + by + doer.

 Somebody cleans these rooms everyday.

 These rooms are cleaned everyday by somebody.


1. I divided the report into three sections.
2. The students came early to the class.

 In sentence 1, the action denoted by the verb ‘divided’ passes from the
doer or subject ‘I’ to the object ‘the report’. The verb ‘divided’ is,
therefore called a transitive verb.

 In sentence 2, the action denoted by the verb ‘came’ stops with doer or
subject ‘the students’ and does not pass to an object. The verb ‘came’
is, therefore, called an intransitive verb.
Definition
A transitive verb is a verb that denotes an action which
passes over from the doer or subject to an object.

Definition
An intransitive verb is a verb that denotes an action which
does not pass over to an object, or which expresses a state
or being;
 The students came early to the class. (Action)
 The baby sleeps. (State)
 There is a flaw in this diamond. (Being)
1. I divided the report into three sections.
2. The students came early to the class.

Sentence 1 can be converted to the passive voice:


The report was divided into three sections [by me].

What about sentence 2?


1. Often in academic writing, we don't want to focus on who is
doing an action, but on who is receiving or experiencing the
action.

In academic writing, the passive voice allows writers to highlight the most important
participants or events within sentences by placing them at the beginning of the
sentence.

Active Voice Passive Voice


Scientists classify glass as a solid. Glass is classified as a solid.
Engineers classify windmills as Windmills are classified as either
either lift or drag types. lift or drag types.

In the above sentences, the passive construction is preferable because you want
readers to focus on the result of an action rather than the person doing the action.
2. To avoid reference to the known doer of the action
Example: One type of work group, the semi-autonomous work group, is
discussed in a section later in this chapter.
[It is obvious that it is the author who will be doing the discussing.]

3. To avoid using a personal pronoun


Example: The information was collected and the two groups were compared.
[The passive allows you to avoid using a personal pronoun (...by us).]
4. To maintain a neutral and descriptive tone in the text

Example:
Passive Voice Tone of the text
The biological differences The identity of the 'doer' in this
between men and women have text could be interpreted as
been used to legitimate society, the dominant social
hierarchical structures of social paradigm or males.
inequality.
The tone of the text is
descriptive and explanatory.

Using the active voice in this passage would change the tone of the passage and
create quite a different message.
Active Voice Tone of the text
Society has used the biological The text in the active voice
differences between men and focuses on the 'doers', that is
women to legitimate hierarchical society.
structures of social inequality.
The tone of the text is also much
more political and accusatory
rather than descriptive and
explanatory.

(Text from: Jagtenberg, T. & D'Alton, P. (1989) Four dimensional social space: Class, gender,
ethnicity and nature. Harper Row: Sydney.)
A. Passive sentences can sometimes be unsuitable in academic writing
because they can be vague about who is responsible for the action:
Example: Both Othello and Iago desire Desdemona. She is courted. [Who courts
Desdemona? Othello? Iago? Both of them?]

B. Too many passive sentences can create confusion:


Example: Research has been done to discredit this theory. [Who did the research?
You? Your professor? Another author?]
C. Some students use passive sentences to hide holes in their research:
Example: The telephone was invented in the nineteenth century. [I couldn’t find out
who invented the telephone!]
Poland was invaded in 1939, thus initiating the Second World War. [I
couldn’t find out who invaded Poland!]

D. Passive sentences tend to be wordy and indirect. Thus, they could


take up precious room in your paper:
Example: Since the car was being driven by Michael at the time of the accident, the
damages should be paid for by him.
as opposed to
Since Michael was driving the car at the time of the accident, he should pay for the
damages.

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