passive voice

(noun)

A sentence construction in which the verb's action is performed, in some cases "by" a subject.

Related Terms

Examples of passive voice in the following topics:

  • Avoiding Passive Voice

    • A way to focus your sentences on action and actors is to use the active voice rather than the passive voice.
    • The active voice also eliminates the vagueness and ambiguity that often characterize the passive voice.
    • In the passive voice, a sentence can describe an action without telling who did it.
    • A memo written in the active voice will have a greater impact than one written in the passive voice.
    • Using the passive voice in your writing can obscure the meaning of your message.

  • Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

    • Instead, passive voice frames the subject as receiving the action.
    • Passive voice is the opposite of active voice, so sentences in passive voice tend to follow the reverse pattern of object–verb–subject, and the word "by" often shows up between the verb and the subject:
    • Most sentences can be phrased to be in either active or passive voice.
    • Intransitive verbs can never be used in passive voice.
    • Active voice is generally more direct and neutral than passive voice.

  • The Passive Voice

    • Verbs can occur in two different voices, active and passive. 
    • Until now, you have experienced mostly the active voice, in which the subject acts upon the direct object, e,g., The dog loves the family. 
    • Although English teachers discourage the use of the passive in writing, Latin likes it very much and uses it often. 
    • The passive verb endings are similar to the active but with a few important differences. 
    • The passive voice occurs in both indicative and subjunctive but uses the same endings in each.

  • Nouns as Subjects and Objects

    • If a sentence is written in the active voice, it means that the subject comes before the verb, and the object follows the verb.
    • All of the examples above are written in the active voice.
    • In passive-voice sentences, the usual rules do not apply.
    • In a passive-voice sentence, keep in mind that the order will be subject–verb phrase–object.
    • In the passive voice, a noun coming after the word "by" is an object, while a noun coming before a form of the verb "to be" (e.g., "was") is the subject.

  • Results

    • Passive voice is acceptable here: you can say "The stream was found to contain 0.27 PPM mercury," rather than "I found that the stream contained 0.27 PPM mercury."

  • Structures Used in Voice Production

    • There are three basic mechanisms by which the human body produces a voice.
    • These basic mechanisms work together to create the voice.
    • If they are altered, the produced voice will also be altered as well.
    • Passive places of articulation include:
    • Places of articulation (active and passive): 1.

  • Voices

  • Expiration

    • Expiration is typically a passive process that happens from the relaxation of the diaphragm muscle (that contracted during inspiration).
    • The primary reason that expiration is passive is due to the elastic recoil of the lungs.
    • While expiration is generally a passive process, it can also be an active and forced process.
    • It is required for voice production during speech or singing, which requires very specific control over air, or even simpler activities, like blowing out a candle on one's birthday.
    • As the diaphragm relaxes, the pleural cavity contracts, which exerts pressure on the lungs, which reduces the volume of the lungs as air is passively pushed out of the lungs.

  • Passive Immunization

    • Passive immunization can be exogenously administered (artificial) or transferred from mother to fetus (natural).
    • There are two types of passive immunity: artificial and natural .
    • Artificial passive immunity is achieved by infusion of serum or plasma containing high concentrations of antibody.
    • Breast milk also contains antibodies, which means that babies who are breastfed have passive immunity for longer periods of time.
    • Describe how artificial and natural passive immunity function to provide antibody protection against microorganisms

  • Types of Motion

    • In parallel motion, two voices move in the same direction by the same generic interval.
    • For example, the following two voices both move up by a step.
    • This will always be true when two voices move in parallel motion.
    • For example, the following two voices both move down, but the upper voice moves by step while the lower voice moves by leap.
    • In oblique motion, one voice is stationary, while the other voice moves (in either direction).