# Is the "passive" voice of a sentence so wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129 "2006-11-12T18:20:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/21 "2006-11-14T01:39:22Z")
Both views are correct. There is a time and place for the passive voice. It’s just that it’s not usually when _you_ are writing or speaking. I’m mostly serious… 🙂 Outside of science, passive voice is usually resorted to either out of habit, laziness (no need to worry about who did what, you just want to link the subject to your verb and aren’t picky how), or to obscure. Surely it is appropriate in many other cases – but not nearly as often as it is used. The main reason people (and Word) remind you to get out of the passive voice is that it improves your writing both in terms of clarity and making it direct and interesting, and because it’s grossly overused. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/22 "2006-11-14T12:59:43Z")
Actually, I use passive voice quite a bit when I’m writing manuals for computer programs. Since who or what does the act is less important that what that entity actually does, passive voice is often more effective and less wordy. Thus, if I were documenting this website, I would write > [@](#): > > When you click the **Post Quick Reply** button, your reply will be sent to the SDMB’s team of crack hamsters. rather than > [@](#): > > When you click the **Post Quick Reply** button, the SDMB’s software will send your message to its team of crack hamsters. **ChiMagnet** , if you want to make Microsoft Word stop checking documents for passive voice, you can do so by going to the **Tools** menu, selecting **Options** , then the **Spelling and Grammar** tab and clicking on **Settings** at the bottom left of the screen. There are all sorts of grammar settings you can play with there. ---
**Author:** ![gredbioz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6a8cbe/32.png) [@gredbioz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gredbioz)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/23 "2006-11-14T14:15:34Z")
If I’m writing something important, when Word flags my passive voice, I make sure I can tell Word exactly why I’m using it. I figure if I can’t even justify my passive voice to a Microsoft-manufactured computer program, I shouldn’t be using it. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/24 "2006-11-14T16:14:38Z")
Okay, I’ll try my first ever SDMB link. FetchSpouse is a technical writer who tried darn hard to educate a bunch of engineers to stop using passive voice. Tries to educate me, too - but I’m hopeless. FetchSpouse just started a website full of tips and tricks about writing, so I’ll send y’all there if I pull this one off! Look under Tips - Writing Forward [km-wordsmith](http://www.km-wordsmith.com) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/25 "2006-11-14T16:39:26Z")
[QUOTE=Siege] crack hamsters [/QUOTE] Band name! ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/26 "2006-11-14T17:17:11Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] Outside of science, passive voice is usually resorted to either out of habit, laziness (no need to worry about who did what, you just want to link the subject to your verb and aren’t picky how), or to obscure. [/QUOTE] So when you wrote this sentence, did you use passive voice out of habit, were you lazy, or were you trying to be obscure? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/27 "2006-11-14T18:02:28Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] 150 mL of water WERE poured, dangit. “of water” is a modifier, the main noun, incredible as it sounds, is the mililiters. Sheesh… (sorry, pet peeve. I’m a chemist) [/QUOTE] :: sob :: And I call myself a technical writer. There goes any chance of impressing **Nava** … ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/28 "2006-11-14T18:03:47Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] What if it was 0.15 L of water? Is that plural or singular? [/QUOTE] The usage whjere I am is plural. “Zero point one five litres of water.” Your experience may vary. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/29 "2006-11-14T18:12:22Z")
[QUOTE=ChiMagnet] Don’t say “Joe had given Sam some ice,” [/QUOTE] The only time you should talk like this is on Judge Judy or Jerry Springer. “What had happen was. . .” ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129/30 "2006-11-15T02:52:42Z")
Using passive sentence construction isn’t wrong, it has its time and place. Active patterns are usually clearer and more engaging. Word especially weights things toward business writing, where simple declarative sentences are usually better. If you want credit for doing something, you should put yourself in as the agent of the sentence. Passive construction in a business setting usually means that you screwed up and are trying to avoid blame. I can’t stand auto-corrections, grammar checkers, or even active spelling checkers. I keep all those options turned off (which of course takes about 4 different menu choices and clicking on eleventy-seven checkboxes, and then Word still tries to change stuff without my intervention because I missed the third sub-menu option in the twentieth dialog box to turn it off). If passive voice is used, it is because it was chosen for effect. In other words, I _meant_ to do it, dammit. I quite deliberately choose the language I use when I write anything. This is especially true when it is a formal document that I’ve revised a few times. I’ll check the spelling at the end, so the few red squiggles don’t interfere with my train of thought, and if I want a ™ or other symbol, I’ll type it myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-passive-voice-of-a-sentence-so-wrong/380129.md?page=1)