Examples of Passive Verbs

Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Justin Rocket 2, Aug 20, 2016.

  1. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    No, you've just created a new sentence with the same facts.
     
    jannert likes this.
  2. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    7,471
    Likes Received:
    10,216
    Location:
    London, UK
    What an odd thread. Going through 3,500 sentences because a handful of them might be passive? Pretty much ANY editing exercise has got to be more worth your time than that...?

    @ChickenFreak so often points out that passive voice is very rare, in both amateur and professional writing, and so it isn't worth the head room writers give it. She's right.
     
  3. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    I returned to this post, because I realized that the statement above suggests that you do indeed regard the words as a problem. Not passive voice. (Which is rarely found and even more rarely actually a problem.) Not filtering. But the words.

    And they're not. They're absolutely not "problem words".
     
    jannert and Spencer1990 like this.
  4. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2014
    Messages:
    4,406
    Likes Received:
    4,755
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    I won't comment one way or the other on which expression works better in each case. But not one of those sentences, before or after, is in the passive voice. Passive voice would read like:

    It was hoped he would be found alive.

    I was afraid it would be found by her.

    My teeth were pressed by my [unspoken?] words, like . . .

    Jason's funeral was held a few days after . . .

    Spring is hinted at by the cool March winds.

    US-24 is filled with an endless march of headlights . . .

    My back has been tightened by the two hours of sitting . . .

    The ones with the linking verbs you can't make passive, as they have no direct object and no action verb to act upon it.

    This article might help: http://writerunboxed.com/2016/08/09/actively-defending-the-passive-voice/
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2016
  5. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    I'm reading a long and very good discussion of passive voice, what it really is, and many examples of false diagnosis:

    http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/passive_loathing.html

    Apparently the author also created some videos. I haven't watched them yet, but this page has links:

    https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/fear-and-loathing-of-the-passive-voice/

    Edited to extract a quote from the conclusion of the first link:

    The topic of this paper is not so much a construction as a strange cultural trend emerging in the 20th century among language mavens, writing tutors, and usage advisers. Unneeded warnings against sentences that have nothing wrong with them are handed out by people who actually don't know how to identify instances of what they are warning against, and the people they aim to educate or intimidate don't know enough grammar to reject the nonsense they are offered. The blind warning the blind about a nonexistent danger.

    Sounds about right.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2016
    Spencer1990, BayView, jannert and 2 others like this.
  6. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    Yes. You've nailed it. And so has @ChickenFreak in her previous post. That quote from G Pullum is perfect. His article she links to is a stunner. "Blind leading the blind" indeed.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2016
    BayView likes this.
  7. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    It's neither active nor passive; it's categorical. But I am loathe to add that complication to this discussion. All I can say is that nothing beats a clear understanding of subject, direct object, and indirect object. Also a sound understanding of why the copula verb is a very different kind of verb to other verbs needs to be understood.
     
    Catrin Lewis likes this.
  8. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2014
    Messages:
    10,462
    Likes Received:
    11,689
    I prefer to preserve my ignorance... I think it gives me a charming naivete!

    Except - oh my goodness! I just looked at the Wikipedia entry and I think there's a direct connection between the word "copula" and the word "copulate". That makes it much more interesting!
     
    Tenderiser and Wreybies like this.
  9. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    Addressing this sort of thing in specific critiques is much better than simply having a list of supposed problem words, which is potentially damaging to new authors rather than helpful. In an actual critique, you will have context, tone, and other evidence of the larger work to deal with, and with all of that information you can make an evaluation of whether a given use that may or may not be passive works within the greater story. A list of words that people should consider problems removes what is actually needed to evaluate a given usage.
     
    jannert, Mckk, izzybot and 1 other person like this.
  10. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    There is! The root meaning is from Latin, to link or to connect. :-D
     
    BayView likes this.
  11. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2014
    Messages:
    4,406
    Likes Received:
    4,755
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Bring back sentence diagramming!
     
    izzybot and Wreybies like this.
  12. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    I'm old enough to have gotten the full inoculation of sentence diagramming back in 5th and 6th grade. :) Learning a language later in life that makes use of a grammatical case system with inflections (Russian) served as a "booster" for that initial inoculation.

    If people just had a better understanding of what these things are, their purpose, and their place, all these ham-fisted "Do this, not that" rules would evaporate.

    Does anyone else in my age bracket remember this book from the 70's and early 80's?

    [​IMG]
     
    doggiedude and jannert like this.
  13. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    Warriner's.png
    @Wreybies - Yep. This is the edition I had. Recognised the cover as soon as I saw it:
     
    Wreybies likes this.
  14. theamorset

    theamorset Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2016
    Messages:
    220
    Likes Received:
    73
    Location:
    midwest
    I was weaned on something similar. Learning all that stuff at an early age seems to make it automatic and natural. And 99.999% of grammar is about communicating more effectively.

    I'm not at all sure that all, most or a lot of the rules are ham-fisted or only for beginners.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2016
  15. Crybaby

    Crybaby Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2016
    Messages:
    222
    Likes Received:
    138
    Location:
    London, England
    I know this post is probably done and dusted but I thought I would have my say ;)

    After reading everyones thoughts, I'm confused. I don't think I'll ever get my head around it all. Passive this and passive voice that, geez, shoot me. I happen to use these words alot and I hate myself for it. I know they're not correct because I read it all the time on blogs or on writing tip websites. I try to not take too much notice of the do's and don'ts of writing anymore because it is harmful and I have been brain washed in the past. The thing is, I know how I write is not great. The words I use often are weak. These crappy words seem to follow me around like blue bottles. They sneak into every chapter I write without me even realising. I tell more often than I show. It drives me mad how easily I revert back to what most people call, bad writing. Writer's intuition - I know I don't have it, and please don't mistaken what I say as me putting mself down because I'm not, I mearly want to point out the fact that I am not as educated, I feel, as most people on here. I feel at a disavantage. I love to make stories up. How I write them however, may not be of great quality but I have fun writing them all the same. I came on here to learn and to persevere in what I love to do in my spare time.
    And breath. :superwhew:
    I can hear you all sharpening your knives. Go easy people, I am barely a week old. :cry:
     
  16. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    My one and only suggestion is that when talking about these topics amongst other writers, be careful not to use the word passive to mean weak or wimpy or generally writing that lacks punch. Passive voice is a very specific syntactic structure, where weak writing is a much broader, fuzzy-edged thing. ;)
     
    Crybaby likes this.
  17. Crybaby

    Crybaby Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2016
    Messages:
    222
    Likes Received:
    138
    Location:
    London, England
    I hear you and your right.
    What I tried to say, very badly, obviously :rolleyes: is that I use these words, which are classed as passive, all the time or so I've been told. I'm not saying using passive is a bad thing but with me, I tend to use it, too much and it weakens the way I tell my story. That's what I feel, anyway or maybe I'm so far gone I'm just not getting it?
    The thought of posting my work brings me out in a cold sweat. :supersmile:
     
    Wreybies likes this.
  18. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    It does for most people. In this, you are not alone. I know that's not much comfort, but... :-D
     
    Crybaby likes this.
  19. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    They're not classed as passive. They're fine. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with the words listed in the first post. Nothing. Yes, some of them can sometimes be used in constructions that turn out not to be the very best constructions in the context that they're used. That is true of every word in existence.
     
    Crybaby, Wreybies and izzybot like this.
  20. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2015
    Messages:
    2,419
    Likes Received:
    3,884
    Location:
    SC, USA
    Seconding @ChickenFreak, there are no passive words, verbs or otherwise. Some verbs are considered 'weak', but even those aren't meant to be completely avoided under penalty of death ;) It just means there are usually more evocative or interesting words you can use instead. For example, forms of 'to be' (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been) can usually be replaced with a different word with better results overall - rather than "He was by the door", saying "He stood by the door", "He leaned on the door frame", or "He sat in a chair near the door" just gives more information, which is usually a good thing. But forms of 'to be' aren't inherently bad and don't weaken your writing - it's only overuse that's a problem.

    That's a good rule of thumb for everything about writing: pretty much anything is fine, as long as it's in moderation. People who tell you "never do X" or "Y is always bad" and "Z will make your writing terrible" can usually be safely ignored, frankly. You know the thing about Sith and absolutes.

    Passive voice is when the object of a sentence is put before the subject, for instance, "The door was opened by me" rather than "I opened the door" - and it has nothing to do with verb/word choice, it just sounds awkward. I hope that helps!
     
    Crybaby likes this.
  21. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    7,471
    Likes Received:
    10,216
    Location:
    London, UK
    [​IMG]
     
    Catrin Lewis, VynniL, Crybaby and 2 others like this.
  22. Crybaby

    Crybaby Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2016
    Messages:
    222
    Likes Received:
    138
    Location:
    London, England
    Wow!
    That does help a lot actually. I think I'm still under the influence of the do' and don'ts of the past. My problem is the repetitive use of these words. I annoy myself but you have made me feel better with what you have mentioned and I thank you. Well, all of you for your comments as they have been most constructive. :supersmile:
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice