jack_morrison

Would you say to avoid them at all costs, as I've heard, or should they be considered if you feel it makes the sentence more expressive?
I've always been told that active sentences are just more direct--"The gun was what she shot her with." versus "He shot her with a gun."
But sometimes I'm torn between one wording and another.

Once you have been prodded to violence by sourceless voices, there isn’t much you should be surprised by.

or

Once sourceless voices have prodded you to violence, you shouldn't be surprised by much.

I think I might like the passive voice better here. Which one do you prefer?

Ilasir Maroa

I think the example itself is flawed, so I can't answer you on that point. But I think there are plenty of times when the passive voice works just fine. For example:


"Mice face many problems in their short lives. They are eaten all the time by cats or poisoned by people."

"Mice face many problems in their short lives. Cats eat them all the time, and people poison them."


Now there's always going to be a way to rephrase something, but in the context (of my admittedly poor example), I think the passiv voice works better. Many people use the passive voice to imply helplessness, or lack of control. There are many specific uses, and few general rules.

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Noirllyn

Passive voice is a big ordeal for me. It is loved by me like very few other things. My mother actually just took a quiz on passive voice into her class, as I opened this thread.

In formal writing, namely research papers, in some cases expository essays, passive voice ought to be avoided.

In creative writing, it can be used to create variety and different feelings.

I tend to be a pretty laid back sort of person, so when it comes to writing poetry about my feelings, the passive voice gets the point across better than an active voice would.

In your example, I like the passive selection better. Why? If the sourceless voices are doing the prodding, rather than you simply receiving it, it reinforces their power.

The teacher I had for my 102EQV class would flip out if anyone used passive voice in an analytical essay--they'd essentially get an "F" just for that. However, the guy's favorite poetry is predominately made up of passive elements.

"It's not what's right and wrong, it's what's appropriate."

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nacreous

mmmm, passive sentences are delicious. Use them as you will. Rules of grammar are made to be broken. have fun!

Katastrof

In scientific procedures and some scientific research papers the passive voice is encouraged.

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Noirllyn

Thanks for adding that, it's been a long while since I've written anything of that sort (...seven years is a long time for a seventeen year old). Good point.

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Truth-Teller

Do you know what Stephen King hates the most out of amateur writers?

Yep; you got it. Passive voice.

And so do I.

Sam Winchester

For f**k sake, TT, do you dream about Stephen King when you go to bed? Oh, Stephen King said it, so it must be true! Who died and made King the writing God? Have you read some of his stuff? A monkey on crack could write better.

I've read countless novels where the passive voice was used. You should try to use the active voice as much as possible, but that doesn't mean you can't write passively.

Sam.

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Erdhexe

I also think that passive voice is acceptable in certain situations, though it should be avoided if possible. There are very few instances where the passive voice makes greater impact, but often it is being used when it's not needed at all.

Claudia