Transcript Passive Voice - GEOCITIES.ws

Avoiding
Passive Voice
Agenda
 Definition: Passive Voice
 Structure of Passive Voice
 Passive Voice Usage
 Convert passive sentences to active
sentences
 Passive Tenses Chart
 Exercise
Definition: Passive Voice
Active Voice:
The object receives
the action of the
verb.
Passive Voice:
The subject
receives the action
of the verb.
The engineer
designed
the circuit.
The circuit
was designed
by the
engineer.
Structure of Passive Voice
1. subject + (be) + past principle + by + agent
Research will be presented by Peter at
the conference.
2. subject + (be) + past principle by + agent
???
Experiments have been conducted to
test the hypothesis.
Passive Voice: Usage
Use Active voice 99% of the time!
Use Passive voice when you want to hide
the agent for the action
Active:
Passive:
John did the
circuit design
correctly.
The circuit
design was
done correctly
(by John).
Passive Voice: Usage
Passive Voice:
Hides the agent for the action (important
information!)
Adds unneccessary words
Makes writing boring and difficult
Passive:
8 words
The circuit design was done correctly
(by John).
Active:
6 words
John did the circuit design correctly.
Converting passive to active
1. Find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider
carefully who or what is performing the action
expressed in the verb
2. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and
change the verb accordingly.
Subject Passive
Agent
The chip was designed by the engineer.
Subject
Active Direct Object
The Engineer designed the chip.
Converting passive to active
 If the passive sentence does not include
the agent, you need to infer the agent
from the surrounding sentences which
provide context.
Passive:
Active:
Results will be
published in the
next issue of
the journal.
The researchers
will publish their
results in the
next issue of the
journal.
Passive Tenses Chart
Tenses
Passive
form
Active
Passive
Simple Present
am/is/are + past
participle
The movie
fascinates me.
I am fascinated
by the movie.
Simple Past
was/were + past
participle
The movie bored
me.
I was bored by
the movie.
Present
Continuous
am/is are + being I am helping
+ participle
Shannon.
Past Continuous
was/were + being June was helping Su and Ling were
+ past participle
Su and Ling.
being helped by
June.
Shannon is being
helped by me.
Passive Tenses Chart
Tenses
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Passive
form
has/have been +
past participle
had been + past
participle
Active
Passive
I have mailed
the gift.
Smith had
conducted the
experiment.
John will have
finished the
project soon.
The gift has been
mailed by me.
The experiment
had been conducted by Smith.
The project will
have been finished
soon.
Future Perfect
will have been +
past principle
Future Tenses
will be + past
participle
I will mail the
paper.
The paper will be
mailed by me.
am/is/are going
to be + past
participle
I am going to
make the chip.
The chip is going
to be made by me.
Exercise
Change the following sentences to Active Voice.
1.
Before the semester was over, the new engineering program had been
approved by the Curriculum Committee and the Board of Trustees.
2.
Later in the day, the students were spoken to by the department chair
herself.
3.
For several years, microcircuits were built exclusively by junior engineers.
4.
The copper on the chip was etched by using the company’s new
equipment.
5.
Low-ph solutions and high voltage were avoided by the engineers
because they feared for their safety.
Rewrite the following paragraph using Active voice.
1.
Argon lasers and household "Super Glue" are now used by some
dactylography experts to collect fingerprints. A small, highly concentrated,
single wavelength light beam is produced by the laser. Fluorescence is
induced by the laser in such fingerprints chemicals as riboflavin. Prints -even old ones -- can be lifted from paper, something that has been
impervious to traditional dusting, by the laser. The benefits of "Super
Glue" were discovered by accident. The fumes from the glue interact with
the amino acids and outline the print. A fingerprint is raised and preserved
by "Super Glue" on just about any surface. The glue is used on smooth
surface such as skin, plastic, coarse metal and leather.
Answers
Sentences
1.
Before the semester was over, the Curriculum Committee and the
Board of Trustees had approved the new engineering program.
2.
Later in the day, the department chair herself spoke to the students.
3.
For several years, junior engineers exclusively built the microcircuits.
4.
Using the company’s new equipment made it possible to etch the
copper into the chip.
5.
The engineers avoided low-ph solutions and high voltage because
they feared for their safety.
Paragraph
1.
Some dactylography experts now use argon lasers and household
"Super Glue" to collect Fingerprints. The laser produces a small,
highly concentrated, single wavelength light beam that can induce
fluorescence in such fingerprint chemicals as riboflavin. The laser can
lift prints -- even old ones -- from paper, something that has been
impervious to traditional dusting. Experts discovered the benefits of
"Super Glue" by accident. The fumes from the glue interact with the
print in a way that raise and preserved it on just about any surface,
including skin, plastic, coarse metal and leather.
More Information
http://grammar.englishclub.com/verbs-voice.htm
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html
http://www.free-esl.com/gg/passive/passby.htm
http://www.lsilver.net/voicewtu.htm
http://www.physics.ohiostate.edu/~wilkins/writing/Handouts/active.html
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/passive_quiz.htm
Passive Voice: Quiz

Please take the Passive Voice Quiz on
WebCT now.