Consulting Journal: Writing - Using passive verbs

Writing: Using passive verbs

by David Blakey

A simple rule about active verbs should be broadened in some situations and ignored in others.

[Monday 17 November 2003]

Most advice on writing includes a recommendation that writers should avoid using passive sentences. An active sentence is Anna bought the book. A passive sentence is The book was bought by Anna. Writers are usually advised to use active sentences rather than passive sentences whenever possible.

My advice is different. First, I want to convince you that a sentence can still be passive even though it uses an active verb and that you should avoid this. Second, I want to convince you that there are situations in which you should use a passive form in preference to an active one.

Extending the definition of passivity

We generally think of an active sentence as one in which the subject does something to the object and a passive sentence as one in which the subject has something done to it by the object. Generally, then, exchanging the subject and object and altering the form of the verb will change a sentence from being passive to being active, as in my example of changing The book was bought by Anna to Anna bought the book.

I want to extend the definition of passivity to include sentences in which circumstances produce an action. The favourite consulting sentence of this kind begins with It became clear that. In consultants reports, things become clear, become apparent and become obvious. I dislike this. To me, it gives an impression that circumstances caused these things to become clear or apparent or obvious rather than the consultant's effort. If you write It became clear to us that the risk is high, I get an impression of a team of consultants just sitting around idly until a sudden revelation strikes them that the risk is high. It does not convince me that the consulting team did some work in examining the risk and then concluded that it was high.

A sentence that begins with We found that can also sound passive. Imagine that you are strolling beside a stream on a warm summer day. You see a beautiful butterfly. You will be able to write I saw a beautiful butterfly. But what if you had not been strolling beside the stream. Suppose that you had been looking for butterflies. Suppose that your purpose in being beside the stream was to find a beautiful butterfly. Then I saw a beautiful butterfly will be weak. You really want to say My search resulted in my seeing a beautiful butterfly. That conveys effort and achievement. It is active rather than passive.

In the same way, if your assignment is to examine risk, then writing We found that the risk is high is almost as weak as It became clear that the risk is high.

Use passivity to make a point

Let us return to my example Anna bought the book. Imagine that she bought the book as a present for you. Imagine also that you like the book. You are pleased that she bought it. When someone sees it on your shelf and asks about it, you can say Anna bought that book.

Now, imagine that you dislike the book. You hate the book and the only reason that you have it on your shelves is because she bought it. When someone sees it on your shelf, you can say Anna bought that book but you might prefer That book was bought by Anna. The second form is passive. It softens the responsibility for buying the book. It is like saying I don't like the book, but Anna bought it and she meant well, so it isn't really her fault.

You can use these forms to make a point. Here are the active and passive forms of a sentence.

Your predecessor initiated the project.

The project was initiated by your predecessor.

We shall make it more interesting by adding a second sentence, in both its active and passive forms.

Your predecessor initiated the project. You have continued it.	The project was initiated by your predecessor. It has been continued by you.
Your predecessor initiated the project. It has been continued by you.	The project was initiated by your predecessor. You have continued it.

Imagine that the project was successful and I want to attribute this to my client rather than the predecessor. I could best do this by using The project was initiated by your predecessor. You have continued it.

If the project was unsuccessful and I want to blame this on my client's predecessor, I could write Your predecessor initiated the project. It has been continued by you.

You should be aware that my choice may be different from yours. The English language is used in many cultures. In your culture the choice may be different. Try saying each of the phrases out loud to see which conveys the meaning that you want to convey. It does not matter which of the four alternatives works best in conveying your meaning. What matters is that there are four different shades of meaning that can be conveyed. My point is that you can present the facts and present a view of those facts by choosing how to use active and passive forms together.

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