Wednesday Grammar Lesson

Active vs. Passive Voice

Asking “What’s going on?” is very likely to find you the verb in any given sentence. If this question works, you’re dealing with an active verb. Sentences written in active voice mean that the subject of the sentence is doing the action.

Compare the following:

1) Milton and Shakespeare drove to the bookstore.

2) Milton and Shakespeare were driven to the bookstore.

In sentence 1, Milton and Shakespeare are doing something. When you ask the question, “What’s happening?”, you find that driving is happening. But in sentence 2, the answer to the question “What’s happening?” is different. Milton and Shakespeare aren’t driving anymore—they’re being driven. In sentence 2, someone else not specified in the sentence is in the driver’s seat.

Sentence 2 contains a passive verb. In passive sentences, the subject (above, Milton and Shakespeare) doesn’t actually do anything; rather, action happens to the subject. The subject is not creating action but receiving it. It’s a subtle but important difference.

You might notice something else different about the verb in sentence 2. It has a helper, the word were. Passive voice verbs usually use some form of the word to be: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been. The versatile word to be doesn’t always indicate passive voice, but it’s a pretty good guideline.

So if you ask, “What’s going on?” in the sentence, take note about exactly where the action is happening. Sometimes the subject is doing the action (that’s active), and sometimes the subject is receiving the action (that’s passive).

Note: English teachers get a bad rap for hating passive, but active voice is usually easier to read and understand than passive voice. You should only use passive voice when there’s no way to express your ideas using active voice. That means that you should use active voice almost all the time.

January 3

1. NaNoWriMo in January = JaNoWriMo.  It’s three days into my January novel, which means I’ve written Chapter One.  I was a bit unhappy this morning when I realized I would need at least one, but probably two additional chapters, and then I came to my senses and realized that a rapidly expanding novel is a good thing.  So it looks like I’ll be working on this one for a while.

2. First Book of the Year.  I’ve also read the first book of the year, Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier.  It’s a historical fantasy novel, meaning that the Transylvanian setting is quite relevant to the plot of the book, and it’s also a very good retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.”  While there is a frog who does what you might expect, most of the book is a fresh look at an old story.

3. Frames.  Attempt #1 (Target) has failed in my quest for a frame to fit the lovely poster that I got for Christmas.  It’s the shape of Great Britain but made up of authors’ names in the places where they were born.  Success: I get wall art and a reading list in one.  But of course it’s peculiarly sized, so the hunt is on.  If you have any 23 1/2″ X 32 3/4″ frames lying around, do let me know.

4. French Vanilla Tea.  I wish that all 96 of the multi-pack combination of teas that I got for Christmas were the black tea French Vanilla flavor.  It’s my new favorite, but I’ll have to ration them, because I only have seven left.  But who am I fooling?  They’ll be gone by the end of the week.

5.  Correction.  It’s actually “Whom am I fooling?”  Just so you know that I know.