# The passive voice **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224 "2010-12-23T21:29:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/1 "2010-12-23T21:29:22Z")
Overuse of the passive voice drives me crazy. Nothing makes a person’s writing look weaker than continual use of the passive voice. I just had to fix a report that used the passive voice at least 60 % of the time. It was not a fun way to end my week. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/2 "2010-12-23T21:52:58Z")
You mean, "People who overuse the passive voice drive me crazy. " And “Their continual use of the passive voice makes their writing look weaker than any other flaw in their writing.” 3rd sentence ok. And " I did not have fun at the end of my week because of this." ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/3 "2010-12-23T22:17:05Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > You mean, "People who overuse the passive voice drive me crazy. " > > And “Their continual use of the passive voice makes their writing look weaker than any other flaw in their writing.” > > 3rd sentence ok. > > And " I did not have fun at the end of my week because of this." I got the impression that was supposed to be subtle irony…either that, or that rule that stipulates that whoever nitpicks spelling on here will invariably make a spelling error in the nitpicky post. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/4 "2010-12-23T22:38:04Z")
Mistakes were made. ---
**Author:** ![banjoDavid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@banjoDavid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/banjoDavid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/5 "2010-12-23T22:44:51Z")
I work as a dj on a community radio station, and we are FCC MANDATED to use passive voice, we cant’t do a “call to action.” We have to say, “This show is happening at this date at this club,” as opposed to “check this show out.” We have to instruct our guests to speak this way. As a writer, this took a lot of getting used to. David ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/6 "2010-12-23T22:55:31Z")
Passive voice is what separates the humanities from the sciences. -or- The humanities and the sciences are separated by the passive voice. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/7 "2010-12-23T23:02:07Z")
> [@banjoDavid](#): > > I work as a dj on a community radio station, and we are FCC MANDATED to use passive voice, we cant’t do a “call to action.” > > We have to say, “This show is happening at this date at this club,” as opposed to > “check this show out.” > We have to instruct our guests to speak this way. > As a writer, this took a lot of getting used to. > > David How is that passive voice? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/8 "2010-12-23T23:06:53Z")
Does anyone here actually know what the passive voice is? Most of the cited sentences were not passive. (“Mistakes were made” is a genuine passive, though.) To be a passive, you need a form of the verb “be” (or occasionally, “get” or “become” as in “I got laid”) followed by a past participle. “There will be a show…” or “A show will take place…” is, of course, weaker than “Check this out” but the latter is essentially a recommendation. You are allowed, I assume, to say, “Elvis will be appearing …”, just so long as you don’t say, “Go see Elvis…”. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/9 "2010-12-24T00:12:12Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > You mean, "People who overuse the passive voice drive me crazy. " > > And “Their continual use of the passive voice makes their writing look weaker than any other flaw in their writing.” > > 3rd sentence ok. > > And " I did not have fun at the end of my week because of this." I have no idea what point you are making, but the OP did not use passive voice once. What are you a professor of, again? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/10 "2010-12-24T00:39:51Z")
This is absolutely one of my pet peeves!! I write grant proposals and other persuasive fund-raising material and one of my clients is addicted to the passive voice and it makes me nuts! You can’t figure out who did what to whom. “The decision was made…” " We were told to…" “It was determined that…” The passive voice hides the ACTOR, the DOER, the person who should get the credit (or the blame). When you’re trying to persuade someone to give you $$ to support your programs, you can’t go around saying, “Lives were saved, children were educated, meals were served…” You have to say, “The XYZ Organization saved lives, educated children, and served 2,500 meals.” This client does this in her informal conversation, too. Maybe she’s in the witness protection program. When she tells you what she did last night (movie, exercise class, shopped for groceries), almost every sentence is passive voice. I feel like I’m interrogating her just to find out what she cooked for dinner. I do not understand excessive use of the passive voice. Is it some kind of false modesty, unwillingness to toot your own horn, self-effacement??? Grrr. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/11 "2010-12-24T00:43:36Z")
Looks like **prr** has fallen into the same [confusion as to the nature of the passive](http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497) that Strunk and White did. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/12 "2010-12-24T01:31:35Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > I have no idea what point you are making, but the OP did not use passive voice once. What are you a professor of, again? You know, I might have been applying too broad an interpretation of “passive” voice, as \*\*Twickster \*\*points out, but I would ask that you take this argumentative tone up with **antonio107** , who seemed to be confused as to whether the OP was deliberately writing lousy sentences in an attempt to be ironic. When you get some people defending your sentences as being crisp and clear, as you are doing here, **Malacandra** , and others finding some fault with the style of 3/4th of the sentences, the only thing you might be sure of is that your point got muddled somewhere along the line. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/13 "2010-12-24T05:05:01Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The passive voice hides the ACTOR, the DOER, the person who should get the credit (or the blame). I thought that was the whole point of the passive. In Mr. Seldon’s example, “I got laid,” perhaps speaker is just keeping a lady’s secret. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/14 "2010-12-24T05:10:00Z")
The passive voice should definitely not be used in every damn sentence, but we should not be afraid to use it when it adds to the clarity of our writing. ---
**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:** [December 24, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/15 "2010-12-24T05:31:59Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > The passive voice should definitely not be used in every damn sentence, but we should not be afraid to use it when it adds to the clarity of our writing. If it adds to clarity, yes. But people seem to use it as if it were that digital camouflage that hides perps’ faces on reality crime shows. When I hit the passive voice, my inner warning signs go up, and I start asking, “Who?”. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/16 "2010-12-24T06:47:54Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Looks like **prr** has fallen into the same [confusion as to the nature of the passive](http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497) that Strunk and White did. And perhaps as well into one of the more common, knee-jerk reactions to their many bromides. In some contexts the passive voice serves very useful, legitimate purposes. Scientific or technical descriptions which emphasis processes, for example, and where the agent is not important or known, don’t necessarily become any better by mindlessly insisting on active constructions. In fact, often passive constructions help to maintain the overall discursive cohesion of the writing by maintaining focus on the processes, rather than injecting distraction by mentioning unimportant actors. ---
**Author:** ![Homo\_litoralis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homo\_litoralis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homo_litoralis)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/17 "2010-12-24T07:07:36Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > You know, I might have been applying too broad an interpretation of “passive” voice, as \*\*Twickster \*\*points out, but I would ask that you take this argumentative tone up with **antonio107** , who seemed to be confused as to whether the OP was deliberately writing lousy sentences in an attempt to be ironic. When you get some people defending your sentences as being crisp and clear, as you are doing here, **Malacandra** , and others finding some fault with the style of 3/4th of the sentences, the only thing you might be sure of is that your point got muddled somewhere along the line. The OP was clearly stated. The passive voice was subsequently misunderstood. Bad suggestions were given. Poor examples were offered. Gaudere was invoked. And **prr** got whooshed. At least, for a moment, I was amused. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/18 "2010-12-24T07:42:36Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > The passive voice should definitely not be used in every damn sentence, but we should not be afraid to use it when it adds to the clarity of our writing. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/19 "2010-12-24T07:53:03Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I thought that was the whole point of the passive. In Mr. Seldon’s example, “I got laid,” perhaps speaker is just keeping a lady’s secret. Seriously, though, even in speech it is used for affect. The use of passive in the above example communicates a great deal about the disposition and motivations of the speaker. Another example: A: What happened, Joe? You look terrible! B: I got hit by a car!! (Compare: “A car hit me!”) Joe’s passive construction here has an affective function, too, both by placing the new and most pertinent information at the end of the sentence (which in English discourse is done to give prominence to new information), and employing the auxiliary _get_ (over _be_)–a choice often made in informal English to create empathy. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224/20 "2010-12-24T12:32:08Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > Overuse of the passive voice drives me crazy. Nothing makes a person’s writing look weaker than continual use of the passive voice. I just had to fix a report that used the passive voice at least 60 % of the time. It was not a fun way to end my week. Well, you’re likely to continue to have non-fun times like that, as long as you fix someone else’s report. They will never learn that way. Instead, throw the report back at them, and tell them to fix it themself. And do so before they go home for the weekend. A few times staying late on Friday to fix this will drill it into their memory! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passive-voice/565224.md?page=2)