“Protocols were not followed,” the FBI reported after the news broke that the federal agency had failed to follow up on tips that a mentally disturbed young man, age 19, had threatened to shoot up a school, a threat he carried out last week when he killed 17 students and wounded 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The FBI memo continues: “The information was not provided to the Miami field office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time.”
Ah, the good old passive voice at work.
Ah, the good old passive voice at work.
In case you’ve tucked away your elementary school grammar, the subject of an active verb performs the action, as in “A mentally disturbed teenager murdered seventeen people.” The teenager performed the action.
The subject of a passive verb is, well, passive, and can leave the perpetrator of an action unidentified. “17 students were murdered” is in the passive voice. If we wish to leave the sentence in the passive voice and yet identify the perpetrator of the action, we would write, “17 students were murdered by a mentally disturbed teenager.”
All writing books and instructors frown on the overuse of the passive voice. The active voice is stronger, sharper, and clearer.
The passive voice also allows the writer or speaker to evade responsibility. Omit the agent of the action, and no one takes the fall. Below are a few examples:
A politician says to his constituents: “Taxes were increased last year.” By his use of the passive voice he avoids telling you he voted for that tax hike.
A child says to his mother: “My new airplane is broken.” Because he doesn’t want to tell his mother that he was slamming the airplane into the brick wall outside, he instinctively uses the passive voice.
A man says to a friend: “I was forced to declare bankrupt,” thereby evading responsibility for the debt accrued from his own financial mismanagement.
Let’s put the FBI statements into the active voice.
“The Bureau did not follow protocol.”
“Our agents failed to provide this information to the Miami field office.”
“We therefore conducted no further investigation at that time.”
The passive voice is for children, politicians, and wimps.
The active voice is for adults.
Real adults accept responsibilities for their actions, good and bad.
Responsibility terrifies many people. Rather than looking at themselves in the mirror, they play the blame game. Some, even in their thirties and forties, still attribute their failures to their parents. Some blame others for their failures at work, in their marriages, or with their children. Some point a finger at society, which is akin to blaming your lot in life on the wafting of the invisible wind.
These evasive folks don’t always use the passive voice, but they live passive lives. Someone else always takes the hit. Someone else is always guilty. Someone else has ruined them. The Almighty Someone Else has control of their lives.
Be an adult. Accept responsibility for what you do.
Live in the active voice.
The subject of a passive verb is, well, passive, and can leave the perpetrator of an action unidentified. “17 students were murdered” is in the passive voice. If we wish to leave the sentence in the passive voice and yet identify the perpetrator of the action, we would write, “17 students were murdered by a mentally disturbed teenager.”
All writing books and instructors frown on the overuse of the passive voice. The active voice is stronger, sharper, and clearer.
The passive voice also allows the writer or speaker to evade responsibility. Omit the agent of the action, and no one takes the fall. Below are a few examples:
A politician says to his constituents: “Taxes were increased last year.” By his use of the passive voice he avoids telling you he voted for that tax hike.
A child says to his mother: “My new airplane is broken.” Because he doesn’t want to tell his mother that he was slamming the airplane into the brick wall outside, he instinctively uses the passive voice.
A man says to a friend: “I was forced to declare bankrupt,” thereby evading responsibility for the debt accrued from his own financial mismanagement.
Let’s put the FBI statements into the active voice.
“The Bureau did not follow protocol.”
“Our agents failed to provide this information to the Miami field office.”
“We therefore conducted no further investigation at that time.”
The passive voice is for children, politicians, and wimps.
The active voice is for adults.
Real adults accept responsibilities for their actions, good and bad.
Responsibility terrifies many people. Rather than looking at themselves in the mirror, they play the blame game. Some, even in their thirties and forties, still attribute their failures to their parents. Some blame others for their failures at work, in their marriages, or with their children. Some point a finger at society, which is akin to blaming your lot in life on the wafting of the invisible wind.
These evasive folks don’t always use the passive voice, but they live passive lives. Someone else always takes the hit. Someone else is always guilty. Someone else has ruined them. The Almighty Someone Else has control of their lives.
Be an adult. Accept responsibility for what you do.
Live in the active voice.
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