One "rule" that many self-appointed experts on writing return to again and again is: "Don't use the passive!" Or, as some puckishly put it, "The passive voice should be avoided." The passive voice is ...

Coming Up Next now playing Learning English Grammar Active and passive voice 6 mins Learning English Grammar Comparatives and superlatives 6 mins Learning English Grammar Adverb position We talk about ...

For many writers, feedback that your copy is "too passive" can be frustrating. The passive voice is, after all, grammatically correct. But there's a reason that public relations and communications ...

Whether you write on a part- or full-time basis, you can benefit from becoming more familiar with an often-overlooked aspect of writing that is treated in today’s column: active and passive voice ...

This tip on improving your SAT score was provided by Vivian Kerr at Veritas Prep. What does it mean when we say sentences on the SAT should be “active”? A sentence is “active” when the subject of the ...

Both sentence pairs make sense. Both describe the same facts. However, in each pair one sentence uses the active voice and one uses the passive voice. Which sentence would you use? That would depend ...

THE cult of the active voice is one of the most enduring in English grammar. From grade school onwards most everybody is taught that sentences in the active voice are the end-all and be-all of English ...

Microsoft Word 2010 can help punch up your document's prose by alerting you when you use passive voice in a sentence. If you write "the goal was achieved" instead of the more active "we achieved the ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Laura Brown writes about business communication. If you’ve ever had any writing training, either at school or on the job, you’ve ...