Thomas Trotter
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Active vs. Passive Help
I'm having quite a bit of trouble with this active/passive stuff. I literally have no education on the subject and I'm having trouble spotting it.
Here is a sentence in an article I'm writing:
"The next release I had been looking forward to was..."
Now, is that passive? Should it be written like this:
"The next release I looked forward to was..."
My brain hurts from trying to figure it all out. The first sentence just 'sounds' better to me. I just hope my ears aren't tuned to hear the wrong
way of doing things. Also, in the first sentence could 'had been' be replaced with 'was' to make it active, or would that put too many 'was' in it?
Any insight would be a great help.
[Edited on 5/9/2010 by Thomas Trotter]
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LIVIN
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How about "The next release I anticipated was..."
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Thomas Trotter
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Thanks, LIVIN. That works even better. I guess that rewriting a sentence is sometimes the best solution.
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Michy
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Quote: Originally posted by Thomas Trotter  | I'm having quite a bit of trouble with this active/passive stuff. I literally have no education on the subject and I'm having trouble spotting it.
Here is a sentence in an article I'm writing:
"The next release I had been looking forward to was..."
Now, is that passive? Should it be written like this:
"The next release I looked forward to was..."
My brain hurts from trying to figure it all out. The first sentence just 'sounds' better to me. I just hope my ears aren't tuned to hear the wrong
way of doing things. Also, in the first sentence could 'had been' be replaced with 'was' to make it active, or would that put too many 'was' in it?
Any insight would be a great help.
[Edited on 5/9/2010 by Thomas Trotter] |
Passive voice is when the subject of the sentence RECEIVES the action of the verb instead of doing it.
The book was read by my.
Vs.
I read the book.
.....
In your sentence, you have to diagram it:
//The next release// /I/ //had been looking// forward to was
*I* should be the subject. "the next release" should be the direct object. In this instance, you have them backward, so that 'the next release' is the
subject and I is an indirect object.
Because of this, the subject 'the next release' is RECEIVING the action 'had been looking forward to'
The way to make it active voice:
I had been looking forward to the next release, NAME OF RELEASE.
...
That puts it in active voice and gives all the pertinent information.
Love and stuff,
Michy
~~Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations~~
Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." James R. Cook
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Michy
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More on passive voice:
http://accentuateservices.com/blog/2008/02/07/passive-voice-linking...
Love and stuff,
Michy
~~Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations~~
Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." James R. Cook
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Thomas Trotter
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Thank you for the help. I will study up on this.
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