How to embrace the details about the Passive voice and use it properly.

The Active vs the Passive voice

Both types of voice are important equally, as they support each other and makes the language more eloquent and interesting. They help to shift the stress in the sentence. In general, when we use the Active form we get the information about three things: the subject that is performing particular action first, the action somewhere in the middle, and the object or person that is affected by the action at the end. This type of voice is simpler. We use it when we have an information about the performer and this information plays an important role. If the performer does not matter, using the Active voice can be excessive. Putting the accent on the affected thing or person instead of clarifying who or what affected it, we get the opposite type of voice.

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How the passive looks

To construct the sentence using Passive, you should name the thing or person that is affected by the action first and then add the passive-formed action. The passive form contains two verbs: “be” plus the Past participle. In some cases, it is reasonable to give an information about the person or thing that performs the action at the end of the sentence using the preposition “by”. It is useful to remember that the passive voice reverses the parts of the active sentence. The object or person from an active sentence turns into a subject, and the subject from an active sentence becomes an agent. Now, the subject receives the action.

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Where and why to use the Passive?

Actually, it is possible to communicate in English using only the sentences with the active type of voice. By that, you can express everything you want while writing paper or essay and your interlocutors will understand you. However, in several cases, the Passive form will help you to arrange the accents, to highlight the important things, and to be more accurate.

The first situation when you can use the Passive is when you do not know who performed the action, it is too evident, or it is unimportant at all. For example, “The baby was born”. In this case, it is needless to say “The mother gave a birth to the baby” as it is obvious to everyone.

The second reason is simple – to get the sentences’ variety. Your language sounds boring when you always use the same sentences’ constructions as well as the same words. This is especially important if you are going to take a language exam like IELTS or TOEFL. To make your essay writing more diversified, use the Passive voice. For instance, instead of creating a list of the things that she did one by one, you can say: “She started to write the paper. Once the paper writing was done, she moved to the poem learning.

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The third situation that requires the Passive form is when you want to change the focus while writing essay. Imagine the situation that someone ruined the sculpture. If you say, “Someone ruined the sculpture” it will be correct. Now, imagine that the sculpture was precise or it symbolized something important. It is reasonable to shift the focus to the sculpture, “The sculpture was ruined”.

At last but not least, you can use the Passive to create the sentences’ flow and to make your writing or speaking more understandable. Let’s get back to the sculpture mentioned above to see what the flow is. “At the beginning of the 20th century, the famous artist had created the sculpture that was dedicated to the victims of the war. Unfortunately, during the Second World War, the sculpture was completely ruined.” As we can see, the combination of the Active and the Passive helps us to have a better-patterned story.

Finally, remember that Passive voice is extremely powerful. Use it smartly to make your essay writing interesting to read. Use a web site to get a perfect essay.

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