Comments on: Voice: Active and Passive by Shonell Bacon

By: Jennifer C

Jennifer C — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:41:54 +0000

You know I’m always learning some thing new from these monthly updates. I’m not sure if I have passive vs, active down yet, but I’m certain with time I’ll get a tad bit better. Thanks for your wisdom.

Jennifer C´s last blog post..History and Pleasure

By: Shon Bacon

Shon Bacon — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:10:06 +0000

Thanks, Jennifer, Dera, for your comments. You know, Jennifer, it's important to have general knowledge of these things as you write because it helps in having less editing and "bad" (subjectively, of course) writing in a first draft. All that specific, major knowledge is crucial in the editing/revising stages - stages that all writers should practice being proficient in before submitting a work to an editor. Shon Bacon´s last blog post..TWL4U Series - Ep. 1 ~ What’s Your Writing Addiction?

By: Dera

Dera — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:39:10 +0000

Thanks for another informative writing lesson. I still struggle with this. I realize that I speak in a passive voice which may account for my writing as such. Dera´s last blog post..Memory Monday- 1968

By: Shon Bacon

Shon Bacon — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:30:16 +0000

Thanks for stopping by, Chris, and you’re right about the confusion. In teaching freshman composition, I always had a time trying to get my students to realize “was” didn’t not necessarily denote passive voice.

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Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:16:27 +0000

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By: Chris Anthony | Lost in Translation

Chris Anthony | Lost in Translation — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:15:10 +0000

Well said!

I’m glad that you used sentence content as your indicator for active vs. passive. A surprising number of people believe that the presence of a linking verb (was, were, are) indicates the passive voice, and it isn’t necessarily so. English also uses those linking verbs to denote the progressive and continuous aspects of active verbs (“Sandy is paying this time”, “Marie was gripping the wheel tighter with each word”). (More than one reader has criticized me for using “the passive voice” where I’d actually used the progressive, so it’s a pet peeve.