ANSWERS: 6
  • It is perfectly ok if its part of the story. If it's a business letter or something like that then it's not o.k.
  • I don't think it's a bad thing. But I also like to use awkward sentances [her life in shambles, Anna decided...] so my opinion may not be worth much in the literary world. ;)
  • As always, it depends on the situation. The passive voice can be quite awkward/unusual sounding ("The hat was worn by him." Or "Problems were encountered.") but I quite like it's round-about-y way. In the context of a story, I'd say it was completely allowed. Stories are creative, after all. You're in charge of the language, it's not in charge of you. If I was writing an official letter though, I'd keep it active("He wore a hat" or "They encountered problems".)
  • If you are asking this because of MS Word's grammar checker, switch it off, but before you do type a couple of paragraphs from any really good novelist into Word. Chances are it'll have suggestions to change the text. Word's grammar checker is an abomination.
  • Cellar-door_26: HALT. If you were intending that beginning of a sentence to be the beginning of a sentence in passive voice, you have failed, I'm afraid; "her" is the proper subject of the sentence, tied to "Anna," so it can't be passive. If you just meant for it to be "awkward," then never mind me. I must say, though, that it doesn't seem all that awkward, either... Anyway, it's perfectly acceptable to use the passive voice in fiction, to put the emphasis on a different part of the sentence, to create suspence, etc. Note that I said fiction only; creative writings like poems and songs and prose and stories can have passive statements, but just be careful you keep 'em out of your essays and such. Most teachers don't like 'em at all, let alone in your formal writing.
  • it is what is called style. different situations demand different styles...eg language, voice .Most letters are straightford active voice, but, if it is an official letter, may require a higher use of vocabulary. Stories/novels etc make a greater use of passive voice because it often builds up suspense.

Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

Answerbag | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy