![]() ![]() In most cases, writing in active voice is:Īctive voice helps the reader identify the subject of a sentence more easily, and cumulatively helps readers understand the meaning faster and more clearly than passive voice constructions. Looking at the construction of active and passive voice sentences side-by-side, it is clear that using active voice lets you communicate the same ideas in fewer words. ![]() Passive voice: The computers were shipped to many foreign countries by the company. Passive voice: The package is being shipped by the delivery service today.Īctive voice: The company shipped the computers to many foreign countries. If we change the sentence to say “The keys were lost by Jim,” it becomes a passive voice sentence.Īctive voice: The delivery service ships the package. ![]() The sentence “Jim lost the keys” has Jim performing the action and is therefore a clear active voice sentence. When a sentence is written in passive voice, the subject receives the action of that sentence.įor example, let’s make a sentence with Jim as a subject, to lose as a verb, and the keys as an object. When a sentence is written in active voice, the subject performs the action. In grammar, ‘voice’ indicates the relationship of the subject to the action of the verb in a sentence. But, for those of us on the receiving end of their red marks, what is so bad about it? And why should we put so much attention into removing passive voice phrases? Active vs. While a misplaced punctuation mark here, or improper conjugation there would certainly irk any grammarian, nothing seems to raise their hackles and make them grab for a red pen quite like using passive voice in your writing. A Course Book in English Grammar will prove invaluable to all students of English Language.The English language is notorious for having an exception to every rule, and an exception to every exception, but one true constant that we learn from grade school onward is to avoid passive voice. The book is a systematic description of Standard English, and examples of contemporary spoken dialectal grammar are introduced and analysed to illustrate the differences between standard and nonstandard usage. A new opening chapter discusses the concept of 'grammatically correct English' and the differences between descriptive, prescriptive and proscriptive approaches to the writing of grammar books. The book has been thoroughly revised and expanded for this second edition, which contains additional chapters and material. Using 'real' texts avoids the faking of evidence to be found in some traditional grammar books, and interesting problems of analysis that arise in such texts are a source of useful discussion. There are activities at each step, using authentic written and spoken data. A Course Book in English Grammar looks at many of the problems encountered by students and encourages them to find their own answers and to assess hypotheses about grammatical description. The study of language in written texts and transcripts of speech is greatly helped by a student's abilityBB to identify and describe those prominent features of the grammar which make one variety of English different from another. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |