Quiz: Active Verbs

We just learned from Swales and Feak (S & F) how to change long-winded verbs into precise, simple ones. Another way to write with more purpose and strengthen your prose is to learn how to change passive constructions into active ones. 

 

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

I.  Sentences written in Active Voice show an identifiable subject performing (or doing) the action conveyed by the main verb—typically an action verb. The subject often precedes the action verb. Sometimes the action verb is followed by a word, phrase, or clause that functions as a direct object (the object that is acted upon).

Ibram X. Kendi wrote How to be an Antiracist.

Ibram X. Kendi is the subject of the sentence and the title of his book is the object

 

II. In sentences written in Passive Voice, the true subject of the sentence often appears after the verb or a verb phrase [a helping verb + a main verb], giving the illusion that it is acted upon rather than performing the action. Sometimes the subject appears at the end of the sentence or at the end of a prepositional phrase as the object of a preposition. 

How to be an Antiracist was written by Ibram X. Kendi.

Even though words have been rearranged, Ibram X. Kendi is still the subject of the sentence and the title of his book is still the object

 

III. Sometimes a subject is not identified at all, making it unclear who performs the action of the sentence. When this happens, the writing obscures the identity of the agent responsible for the action. Passive Voice can be used to hide or mask or obscure responsibility, accountability, or a writer’s position.

How to be an Antiracist was written to show how systemic oppression becomes internalized in ways that justify racial, social, and economic hierarchies as natural.  

Passive Voice often contains more words than Active Voice, and often wordy and clunky, as the wordy phrases above "was written to show" and "in ways that justify" exemplify! 

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Lastly, there are times when writing a passive voice construction is an appropriate or even preferable choice. For example, the passive voice can be used when we want to draw attention to the person or thing that was affected by the action of the subject, i.e.  An unidentified victim was run over by a speeding truck. Here the focus is on the person who was acted upon. The passive voice is also preferred in cases where the doer is not important or cannot be identified.

The sentences in the first three quiz questions are pretty egregiously written Passive Voice constructions. The Quiz asks you to rewrite each sentence in Active Voice. 

• • • Note 1: You can add subject words where needed.
    • Note 2: You can eliminate additional words as/if needed.
    • Note 3: You can break up a single long and convoluted sentence into two sentences.

This exercise is not about wrong vs. right ways of writing, and it is also not about grammatical correctness. Rather, it's about unclear vs. clear, weaker vs. stronger, and passive vs. active writing! All of which makes for clear, strong, and active prose!