Improving written English: how to understand when to use a passive voice

One of the most common tips on improving written English on the Internet is: “Do not use a passive voice” (passive voice). This is written in various blogs, such constructions in 100% of cases are emphasized by many grammar checking tools. In such a situation of universal rejection of the passive voice, it is rather difficult not to follow such advice.

In fact, the passive voice in the English language is not a mistake, and in some cases its use on the contrary is necessary. I found interesting material on how to understand when to use such language constructs, and prepared an adapted translation of it.

Introduction: Subject and Addition

The roots of all the problems of passive voice go back to the difference between additions and subject to the proposal. And even the native speakers cannot always catch this difference.

In order to learn to distinguish these terms of a sentence, you need to understand the difference between them. The basic rule is: the subject is the object or person who performs the action, and the complement is the object or person to whom the action applies

Example:

John baked cookies.

Here, the subject is John, who committed the action - baked cookies. The word “cookies” will be an addition, since an action has been taken against it.

There is a classical scheme for constructing English sentences called SVO - here S is the subject that performs the action, V is the verb (verb) and O is the object (object). When using it, you will receive an active deposit.

With a passive voice, the structure of the sentence changes, and the verb begins to refer not to the subject, but to the addition.

Example:

The burglar was chased by the police.

In this sentence, the word “burglar” is an addendum, followed by the verb with the preposition by, and only then is the subject “police” located.

Hint : a preposition by with a verb is a sign of passive voice.

Is the use of passive voice a mistake?

Not really. There is nothing technically wrong with using a passive voice; the main complaints are related to style. English style guides recommend avoiding passive voice because it complicates sentences and makes them more difficult to understand.

All this is true, but it is precisely a complete rejection of the passive voice always and everywhere that is a mistake, because in some cases it is simply necessary to use it. That's when it is worth doing.

When to Use Passive Voice

There are several situations where a passive voice will be better than an active one. Let's consider them in more detail.

1. We do not know who performs the action

If the “actor”, that is, someone or something committing an action, is unknown to us or it is impossible to name this person or object for some reason, then a passive voice is perfect.

The wheel was invented around 3500 BC (We don’t know exactly who invented the wheel 3.5 thousand years BC.)

2. The actor is not as important as the action itself

This is often found, for example, in scientific texts, when it is the action that is important, and not the one who performed it.

The mix was heated to 200 ° F for 20 minutes to trigger the reaction.

This sentence could be written as “We heated the solution to 200 ° F for 20 minutes to trigger the reaction”, but there would be little sense in this. If we have an article describing the experiment in the first person, it is already clear that its participants were heated. The paraphrased sentence itself did not become shorter; it did not become easier to read. At the same time, readers of scientific articles know by default that usually the story is about their own works. Thus, the most important thing in our proposal is an action, not an indication of who is doing it.

3. Object of action - the main topic of the proposal

Often the most important information is located at the beginning or end of a sentence. To further highlight such important places, you can use a passive voice.

Printing press, one of the most important inventions in human history, was created by Johannes Gutenberg.

Here the supplement “printing press” is the main topic of the proposal, because it was he who became the greatest invention in the history of mankind, and a passive voice helps highlight this fact.

Conclusion

Passive voice is not a grammatical error. This is exactly the same language tool as many others, and you just need to know when and how it should be put into practice. If you just need to describe something, you do not want to convey any additional meanings and hidden ideas - it is better to just use the standard SVO scheme with an active voice.

If you write a more complex text, such as a scientific article or even a script for a stand-up presentation, then a passive voice will help to focus on important ideas.