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What is the connection between good grammar and good

writing?
Someone reads your work and says,"You use
the passive voice too often." Or, another
reader says, "You have several errors in
gerunds and in nitives." Do you know what
these things mean? If you do,
congratulations! But, if you don't, it will help
for you to spend some time working
towards understanding.

Using the passive voice too often, for example, can make your writing dull, and too dependent on
the word "be," which is a weak, boring verb. (Yes, verbs can be weak and boring!)

Look at the di erence between these two statements:

The ball was kicked by Leila. (passive)

Leila kicked the ball. (active)

In the second example, we have an actor--Leila--doing something. In the rst example, we have an
object--the ball--and something done to it. There are reasons for choosing one over the other, but
the second example emphasizes the action. 

Another way to look at actives and passives is to see them as an answer to a question. 

What happened to the ball? The ball was kicked by Leila.

What did Leila do? Leila kicked the ball.

You can see how the passive and active emphasizes di erent parts of a sentence. When you want
to emphasize the object of the action in a sentence, use the passive. When you want to emphasize
the agent, or the person or thing performing an action, use an active sentence.

What about errors in gerunds and in nitives? A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-
ing." In nitives are the "to" form of the verb (although sometimes 'to' isn't used.) Here are some
examples:

I enjoy reading. (gerund)

I want to read. (in nitive)

"Enjoy" requires a gerund: He enjoys swimming, eating, and sleeping. "Want" requires an in nitive:
She wants to work, play, and watch movies. Some verbs require only a gerund; others take only an
in nitive. There are some that can use both.

These are just two instances of how grammar in uences writing. When you read, notice how words
are used--especially if something looks new or di erent to you. It helps to keep a journal or le in
which you write these things down.

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