{"id":385,"date":"2010-10-22T11:55:51","date_gmt":"2010-10-22T03:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shirleytaylor.com\/blog\/?p=385"},"modified":"2011-02-16T15:16:33","modified_gmt":"2011-02-16T07:16:33","slug":"do-we-use-active-or-passive-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shirleytaylor.com\/blog\/do-we-use-active-or-passive-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Use Active, not Passive Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Use active voice, says Mr Lee Kwan Yew<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was very interested to read Lee Kwan Yew’s eulogy to his late wife Madam Kwa Geok Choo. In it, he said, “Over the years, she influenced my writing style. Now, I write in short sentences, in the active voice.” Many people could take the lead from Mr Lee here, and they would find their writing – and their relationships – will improve big time if they do.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I've noticed more and more in my writing workshops that many people are having trouble writing in active voice. The bottom line, however, is that passive voice puts a distance between you and your reader; it's a 'nothing-to-do-with-me' approach, and one that won't help to build relationships. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

'Voice' is a grammatical term that refers to whether the subject of the sentence is acting or receiving the action. Using active voice can considerably improve your writing style. Active voice makes your writing more interesting, more lively and more… well, active! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Check out these two examples of a similar message: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Active voice:<\/span><\/b> Tim played the violin.
\n\tHere, the subject is the actor, Tim. You can almost see Tim playing the violin, totally absorbed in his music. The sentence is alive and interesting. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Passive voice:<\/span><\/b> The violin was played by Tim.
\n\tHere, the subject is the violin. The action is gone. The emphasis has been moved from the subject performing the action to the subject receiving the action. It is not so easy to visualise what is happening. The sentence is dull and boring. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some tips that may help you to tell when a sentence is passive: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n