Page 172 - Grammar for Great Writing B

Common Uses

12.2 Using Passive Voice

The passive voice is commonly used in writing when the doer of the action (or agent) is not known or
not important. It is used:

1. to focus attention on the action of the YouTube was founded in 2005.
sentence

2. to focus attention on the receiver(s) of the The participants were given questionnaires as
action they entered the room.
3. to give the sequence of events In 1996, the first cell phone with Internet access
was made available to the public.

4. to explain a process First, all the materials are taken out of the
refrigerator and allowed to warm up. Then the
liquid nitrogen is poured into a test tube.

5. to avoid direct criticism or blame Mistakes were made in the research project
proposal.

6. to make a statement less personal with it is It is considered rude to stare at a person.
known / thought / considered
Notes
1. Use by + the agent only when it is important to know who the agent is.
Fireworks were invented in ancient China. (There is no need to include by inventors.)
Fireworks should not be handled by children.
2. Only transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object) can be made passive. Intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take
direct objects, such as work, exist, or happen) cannot be made passive.
A full moon always rises just as the sun is setting. (The verbs are intransitive, so no passive form is possible.)

162 Unit 12 Using Passive Voice

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Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
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