‘By my grandma’
How to identify the passive voice
Do you have trouble finding and fixing the passive voice? Here are two tips for making in easier.
1. Add “by my grandma.”
If you can add “by my grandma” to the end of a sentence, it’s probably passive voice, agent deleted, says Tim Burnett, who handles Express communications at FedEx.
Example: “A nap was taken … by my grandma.”
2. Make sure the subject is doing the verb.
- Identify the verb.
- Figure out who’s doing that verb.
- Move that subject in front of the verb.
For “A nap was taken by my grandma,” ask:
- What’s the verb? Took (a nap).
- Who took the nap? My grandma.
- Move “my grandma” in front of the verb, and you’ll get “My grandma took a nap.”
Cut Through the Clutter
Want to make every piece you write easier to read and understand?
- Get it off your desk: Invite Ann’s team in to handle a special writing or editing project.
- Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a Cut Through the Clutter workshop.
- Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to cut the clutter in your own copy in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next Cut Through the Clutter webinar.
- Learn more: Read Ann’s Cut Through the Clutter manual. And get free writing tips every month when you subscribe to our e-zine.
- Join the club: Get the whole story in the latest issue of Rev Up Readership. And find dozens of Cut Through the Clutter tipsheets on RevUpReadership.com.
