Importance of Passive Voice - 1. Introduction - Passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of a sentence is the recipient...
Importance of Passive Voice -
1. Introduction -Passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of a sentence is the recipient of the action, rather than the performer of the action. In other words, the passive voice emphasizes the object of the action rather than the subject. For example, "The cake was eaten by the dog" is in passive voice, whereas "The dog ate the cake" is in active voice. Here the doer of the action is the dog and the object is the cake, but in the passive voice, stress shifted from the dog to the cake.
Passive voice is important in both spoken and written English as it allows us to focus on the object of the action, rather than the performer. It is also useful when the performer of the action is unknown or unimportant. For example, "The window was broken" is an appropriate use of passive voice if we do not know who broke the window.
2. Procedure -The procedure for constructing a passive voice is relatively straightforward. Simply take the object of the sentence and make it the subject, then add a form of the verb "to be" followed by the past participle of the main verb. For example, "She wrote the book" becomes "The book was written by her". For different types of sentences, different rules are used for the construction of sentences in the passive voice, but these rules are very simple to learn and use.
3. Benefits -There are several benefits to using passive voice in both spoken and written English. First, it can make writing more concise by allowing the writer to omit the performer of the action. Second, it can create a sense of objectivity by not placing emphasis on the performer. Third, it can be used to shift focus from the performer to the object, which can be particularly useful in persuasive writing. Especially, in many situations, the doer of the action is absent or maybe it is a kind of generalized statement, we can use passive voice, like mistakes are made, it is said, or it is observed. So, passive voice makes the language easy to express our feelings.
4. Here are a few examples of passive voice in action -
The report was written by the intern. (passive voice)
The intern wrote the report. (active voice)
The cake was made by my grandmother. (passive voice)
My grandmother made the cake. (active voice)
The new building will be constructed by the construction company. (passive voice)
The construction company will construct the new building. (active voice)
A letter is written by him. (passive voice)
He writes a letter. (active voice)
The plants were being watered by the farmer. (passive voice)
The farmer was watering the plants. (active voice)
5. Short Paragraph in Passive Voice -
Spoken English is considered crucial in today's globalized world, as it is a means of communication used by millions of people across the globe. Many opportunities for education, employment, and travel may require proficiency in English, and being able to speak it fluently can open doors to a wide range of opportunities. Additionally, being able to communicate effectively in English can help individuals to build relationships and network with others from different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, English is widely used in the business world, and being able to speak it well can give individuals an advantage in the job market. As can be seen, the importance of spoken English must be considered, and it is therefore essential for individuals to develop their skills in this area.
The above passage is a good example of passive voice and how it can be used very effectively to write or speak the English language.
Passive voice can also make English more expressive by allowing us to vary our sentence structure and emphasize different parts of the sentence. This can create a more nuanced and interesting style of writing or speaking.
6. Conclusion - To conclude, passive voice is an important grammatical construction in English that allows us to shift emphasis from the performer to the object of the action. It is useful in a variety of contexts, particularly when the performer is unknown or unimportant. Passive voice can also make writing more concise and create a sense of objectivity. By using passive voice, we can make English more expressive and create a more nuanced style of writing or speaking. It is observed that in the case of written English, passive voice statements are constructed more often as compared to active voice sentences.
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