COURSE III

MOOD AND VOICE

PASSIVE VS. ACTIVE VOICE
 MOOD AND VOICE
In English, there are three “moods.” A mood is a way of using a verb to show the attitude of the
speaker toward what he is saying.

The INDICATIVE mood expresses facts. The other two moods are the imperative and the subjunctive
moods.

The IMPERATIVE mood is used to express commands. Positive commands in English take the form of
the base form of the verb:
“Give me a wrench.”
“Clean your room.”
“Read this report, then give it to the supervisor.”
“Send us your address.”

Negative commands are formed with “DON'T” + BASE VERB FORM.

“Don't call me at work.”
“Don't be late.”
“Don't forget your lunch.”

It is important to remember that there are only a few acceptable situations to use the command form in,
such as talking to children, to students, when giving instructions, etc. Otherwise, it is more polite to
request people to do things, using modals such as “would,” “could,” “will” and “can”:
“Could you give me a wrench, please?”
“Will you please clean your room?”
“Would you read this report, then give it to your supervisor?”
“Can you send us your e-mail address?”
 MOOD AND VOICE
The SUBJUNCTIVE mood is used to express emotion, doubt,
desire and possibility. It has mostly disappeared in English,
though it is very important in other European languages.
Even educated speakers of English do not regularly use the
subjunctive correctly.
“If I were (not “was”) a rich man, I'd travel all over the
world.”
“If she were (not “was”) any taller, she'd be taller than her
husband.”
The subjunctive also occurs in clauses with the verb “wish”:
“I wish I were (not “was”) in California.”
The subjunctive mood is used in object complements where the
verb in the main clause is a verb like “suggest,”
“recommend,” “demand,” “ask,” etc.:
“I suggest that he take (not “takes”) the day off.”
“I demand that all employees be (not “are”) here on time.”
 MOOD AND VOICE
“They asked that we sing in the choir.” (“Sing” has the
same form in the subjunctive as it is in the indicative
mood. Most verbs in the subjunctive mood are only
recognizable in the third person singular. “We” is first
person plural. “Be” is the only exception.)

The subjunctive mood is also expressed in sentences

beginning with “It is important that...”:
“It is important that you be (not “are”) ready for an
emergency.”
“It is very important that I be (not “am”) prepared for
the presentation.”

Finally, the subjunctive mood is still used in established

or idiomatic expressions, such as: “(May) God bless
you!”, “So be it!”, “(May) God be with you!”, etc.
 VOICE

ACTIVE/PASSIVE VOICE
Beginning or inattentive writers tend to overuse passive voice,
which can weaken their prose, lead to the omission of
important information, and make them appear unsure of
their ideas.
When instructors draw attention to the problem, some
students overcompensate, eliminating all passive voice from
their writing.
Although many academic writers often favor active voice
because it is direct and concise, both voices are useful and
necessary. That is why the grammar check on word
processing programs highlights all passive constructions – it
gives writers a chance to consider whether each choice is
appropriate according to the purpose of the sentence.
 VOICE
UNDERSTAND HOW BOTH ACTIVE AND
PASSIVE SENTENCES ARE STRUCTURED

Active Voice: The subject of the sentence is the one

doing/performing the action.
Examples:
The researchers compared the behavior of two
groups of children.
The clerk was helping the customer.
Students need good study skills to succeed in
college.
You should tell him.
 VOICE

Passive Voice: The subject of the sentence is now

being acted upon. The actor moves to the end
of the sentence with “by” or drops off
altogether if it is unimportant or unknown. The
verb must include a form of “be”, followed by
a past participle.
Examples:
The behavior of two groups of children was
compared (by the researchers).
The customer was being helped (by the clerk).
Good study skills are needed to succeed in
college.
He should be told.
 PASSIVE VOICE

Only verbs that are followed by an object can be

used in the passive

It is not possible to use verbs such as: come, exist,

happen, seem, and sleep (intransitive verbs) in
the passive.
Incorrect:
Something was happened.
Correct:
Something happened.
 ACTIVE VOICE
KNOW WHEN ACTIVE VOICE IS APPROPRIATE OR PREFERRED
All of the examples below are choices based on style and rhetorical context, not strict
grammar rules. To focus readers’ attention on the actor, not on what is being acted
upon.
Active:
Captain Ahab pursues the whale relentlessly.
Passive:
The whale is pursued relentlessly.
(Or: The whale is pursued relentlessly by Captain Ahab.)
In the above example, the active voice would be preferred if the writer wanted to focus
readers’ attention on Captain Ahab. The passive voice would be preferred if the
writer wanted to focus readers’ attention on the whale, or on the fact that it is
pursued relentlessly. When it is important that readers know exactly who did (or
said) what to whom.
Active:
When U.S. troops invaded Iraq, they inadvertently killed many civilians.
Passive:
When Iraq was invaded, many civilians were killed inadvertently (accidentally).
In the above example, the active voice would be appropriate if the writer wanted to
name or emphasize the actors ( U.S troops), not only their actions. The passive
voice would be appropriate if the writer did not think it was important for readers to
know who did the actions in the sentence.
 PASSIVE VOICE
KNOW WHEN PASSIVE VOICE IS APPROPRIATE OR
PREFERRED
All of the examples below are choices based on style and rhetorical
context, not strict grammar rules.
To focus attention on the process or materials, rather than on the actor,
as in scientific or technical writing.
Next, salicylic acid was added to the test tube.
To focus attention on the object, rather than the actor.
Paper, the main writing material today, was invented by the
Chinese.
This is appropriate when the focus is on the history of paper, not on
Chinese innovations. Choosing passive voice allows the writer to
use “paper” as the subject of the sentence.
The new highway will be completed sometime next month.
This is appropriate when the focus is on the highway project, not on the
workers completing it.
 ACTIVE+PASSIVE
To connect ideas in different clauses or sentences
more clearly.

When interviewing for a job, avoid making

grammatical errors. They are often used by
employers to weed out job applicants.

In the beginning of the second sentence, using

passive voice (“used by employers”) allows
the writer to refer to grammatical errors
(“They”) right away in order to clearly connect
to the end of the previous sentence.
 PASSIVE VOICE: FORMATION

The passive voice is formed:

By using the appropriate tense of the verb 'be'
+ past participle of the given verb (the third
form):
An interesting question was raised.
An interesting question must have been raised
for the meeting to have taken so long.
 PASSIVE VOICE: FORMATION
The passive is formed:
By using the passive auxiliary “get”, in colloquial speech:
Her dress got torn to pieces.
How many people got killed?

In formal English get + past participle is restricted to constructions without an

expressed animate agent:
You’ll get hanged some day.
The fox got caught in the end.

“Get” is used in sentences that look superficially like the passive but cannot have
an agent, having a connotation of something self-inflicted:
I have to get dressed.
I don't want to get mixed up in their affairs.
You’ll get hurt.
PASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS AND OTHER TYPE
OF CONSTRUCTIONS
The combination be + past participle can be:
1. A passive construction. It is definitely so:
- when an adverbial modifier characterizes the action:
This dictionary is always used by Peter.
-when the verb is in the continuous aspect:
This dictionary is being used by Peter.

2. A compound nominal predicate:

She is used to getting up early, because she has been doing so
for years.
This combination shows the state in which the subject is, so
the structure is a compound nominal predicate.
 TRANSFORMATION FROM THE ACTIVE
VOICE TO THE PASSIVE
Practically all verbs which can be used transitively can be constructed in the passive,
even verbs whose transitive use belongs to the peripheral area of the verb:
His plan was laughed at by everyone who heard it.
The horse was walked up the hill.

Verbs of incomplete predication such as 'seem', 'be', 'suit', 'resemble', 'last', 'have',
and others cannot be used in the passive:
He lacks confidence.
The auditorium holds 5000 people.
This dress becomes hers.

'Have' with durative association is however only to be found in the active form:
He has a house.
We have about a hundred copies in stock.

With perfective association ‘have’ is sometimes used in the passive:

There was nothing to be had.
 PASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS
The following verbs accept a passive construction only when
they are used with a figurative meaning: 'go into',
'arrive at', look into':
The problem was carefully gone/looked into by the
farmers.
This conclusion was arrived at after long talks.

Other prepositional verbs will accept a passive construction

only in special cases. Here are some examples:
Other possibilities are talked of.
His approach on the subject is to be thought of as very
bold.
A lot of things will have to be dealt with before we leave.
 TRANSFORMATION OF SENTENCES OF THE
TYPE 'THEY SAY...'
The sentences of the type 'subject + verb of saying (thinking, feeling) +
noun clause object': They say he is an honest, hard-working man.

have three possible passive counterparts:

1.The sentence is introduced by the impersonal 'it' + passive + that -

clause:

It is said (that) he is an honest, hard-working man.

2. The sentence is introduced by 'there' + passive + to be:

There is said to be plenty of room at that motel.

3. The subject of the noun clause becomes the subject of the whole passive
sentence and the verb takes the infinitive verb:

He is said to be an honest, hard-working man.

 THE VERB SUPPOSE

When the verb 'suppose' is used with the passive, there is

a slight difference in meaning between the two
following constructions.

Suppose + present infinitive conveys a sense of duty:

He is supposed to finish his work in time (= it is his duty
to finish his work in time).

Suppose + that-clause alters the meaning:

It is supposed that he finishes his work in time (= people
believe that he usually finishes his work in time).
 SENTENCES THAT CAN'T HAVE A PASSIVE
COUNTERPART

The following sentence-types can't be passivized.

These are sentences where the object is:
A reflexive pronoun:
John has been washing himself for hours.
A reciprocal pronoun:
We could hardly see each other in the dark room.
A possessive pronoun:
The teacher shook his head and sighed.
 THE CAUSATIVE

FORMATION: the required tense of the verb 'to have' + OBJECT+ past
participle: I'm having the heating repaired.

'Get' may be used instead of 'have' to express urgency about a matter:

I'm getting the heating repaired.

THE CAUSATIVE IS USED:

To stress the fact that we are 'causing' someone to do a job for us:
I had a house built. (I arranged for it to be done.)

With verbs that have to do with services: 'build', 'clean', 'decorate', 'develop (a
film)', 'mend', 'photocopy', 'print', 'repair':
I am having my watch repaired.
 PASSIVE vs.CAUSATIVE

The passive form is used to indicate that an

action is done for us, but the focus is on the
logical object:
The room is being decorated.
(= someone else is doing the job but that person is
of no interest to the communication, what interest
us is the 'room'.)

The causative form is used to indicate that we are

causing someone else to do an action for us:
I am having the room decorated.
 USING PASSIVES
Situations where we typically choose a passive rather than an active:
USING PASSIVES
USING PASSIVES
 USING PASSIVES

Instead of making a that-clause the subject of a passive

sentence, it is normal to use an it-clause:
 REPORTING WITH PASSIVE VERBS
• It is said that

Another common way of reporting what is said by an unspecified group of people

is to use it + passive verb + that clause. Using this pattern can allow us to put important
information at the end of the sentence.
 REPORTING WITH PASSIVE VERBS
B.
 REPORTING WITH PASSIVE VERBS
An alternative to it + passive verb + that clause is to use subject + passive
verb + to infinitive if we want the subject to be the topic of the sentence..
REPORTING WITH PASSIVE VERBS
REPORTING WITH PASSIVE VERBS
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE
When should an author choose the passive voice over the
active voice? What is the difference between them?
The passive voice emphasizes the person or object receiving the action
(e.g., Samples were analyzed). The active voice, in contrast,
emphasizes the person or object performing the action (e.g., We
analyzed samples).
Because active-voice sentences are clearer, livelier, and often more
concise than passive-voice sentences, most style guides advise
scientific authors to prefer the active voice in their writing.
Notice though, that the recommendation is not to write entirely in
the active voice. An all-out active writing style would be just as
difficult to read as an all-out passive style: balancing the two
perspectives is key.
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE

Other than to add variety, when is the passive

voice the better choice?
Here are three good reasons to use it.
Consider passive voice when:
1. The performer is unknown, irrelevant, or obvious.
2. The performer is less important than the action.
3. The recipient is the main topic.
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE
I. The passive voice is preferable if the performer cannot easily be named or if the
performer is irrelevant to the discussion, as in the following examples:

1. Up to 90% of the energy in light bulbs is wasted in the form of heat.

(the author’s attempts to name the performer would be awkward)

2. The first edition of Freud's earliest writings on dreams was published in

1899.
(the author assumes the reader will not be interested in the name of the
publisher)

3. Drosophila melanogaster has been one of the most extensively studied species
in genetics research.
(the performer (researchers) is obvious)

When naming the performer would prove difficult or unnecessary, the passive
voice works well.
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE
II. The performer is less important than the action

When discussing an experimental procedure in the Methods section, a researcher might

write:
The honey bees were kept in a humidified chamber at room temperature overnight.

The solution was heated to 90°C for approximately 30 minutes and then allowed to cool.

The sentences could be converted to active voice by writing the following:

We kept the honey bees in a humidified chamber at room temperature overnight.

We heated the solution to 90°C for approximately 30 minutes and then allowed it to cool.

- Does the active voice shorten the sentences? No. (In fact, the second sentence is one
word longer than it is in the original version. The active voice is not automatically
more concise than the passive.)
- Does the active voice add clarity? Perhaps, although the reader may be justified in
assuming that the authors are also the performers.
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE

On the other hand, if an author does emphasize the active

voice over the passive in the Methods (or any section),
most sentences will begin with we, which is distracting
when overdone.

In that case, passive style sentences vary the structure and

rhythm while keeping the emphasis on the work.

Whether in the Methods or elsewhere in a manuscript, the

passive voice redirects attention to the action (or the
recipient).
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE

III. The recipient is the main topic

Choosing a passive writing style is sometimes necessary
to position important information at the beginning or
end of a sentence.

For instance, the subject (person, thing, or idea) that the

author wishes to discuss in a sentence should occur
near the beginning in the topic position where the
reader expects to find it (“first things first”).

The following active-voice sentence begins a new section

in which the topic is “green plants” (the performer):
Green plants produce carbohydrates in the presence of
light and chlorophyll.
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE

If, on the other hand, “carbohydrates” (the receiver

of the action) is the opening topic, the sentence is
better written in the passive voice:

Carbohydrates are produced by green plants in the

presence of light and chlorophyll.

The topic of a sentence is not an isolated island,

however – it has context in relation to the
surrounding sentences and paragraphs.
 PASSIVE VOICE VS. ACTIVE VOICE
For example, look at the first three sentences of a classic article written by Watson and
Crick in 1953:
1.We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.).
2.This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.
3. A structure for nucleic acid has already been proposed by Pauling and Corey.

Notice that the authors used the active voice in the first and second sentences, but
the passive in the third. If the third sentence is changed to active voice, it becomes:
Pauling and Corey have already proposed a structure for nucleic acid.

This revision shortens the sentence and identifies the performers. However, the original
passive style creates parallel structure by repeating the topic of the second
sentence (“This structure has...”) in the third sentence (“A structure for...”). The
topic in the third sentence connects backward and prepares the reader for the
upcoming information. These three sentences are more cohesive as a result.

By focusing on the topic, the authors have incorporated the passive voice to
advantage, producing a passage that flows naturally and is comprehensible
and enjoyable for the reader.
EXERCISE I.
EXERCISE II.
EXERCISES III.
EXERCISE IV.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Gopen GD, Swan JA, “The science of scientific

writing”, Am Scientist,1990,78:550-558.
• Hewings, Martin, Advanced Grammar in Use,
Cambridge University Press, 2013
• Vince, Michael; Sunderland, Peter, Advanced
Language Practice. English Grammar and
Vocabulary, Macmillan Education, 2003;
• Zdrenghea, Mihai Mircea; Greere, Anca
Luminiţa, A Practical English Grammar with
Exercises, Cluj-Napoca, Clusium, 1999.