rahul_mcsd  +  35603 Sat, 03 Jul 04 01:36 PM What are passive sentences ? rahul_mcsd Joined on Sat, Jul 3 2004 Indore, India Junior Member 68 An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

	anon1  +  35625 Sat, 03 Jul 04 04:42 PM "A sentence is active when the subject is the doer (or the agent) of the action. A sentence is passive when the subject is the receiver of the action." Have a look here: http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/resources/handouts/act_pass_sent.pdf John threw the ball. Active The ball was thrown to John. Passive Mary created a sofware program. Active A software program was created for Mary. Passive In most cases, active voice is preferable. It is more dynamic and powerful. That said, you should use passive occasionally. Some academic stuff is mostly written in passive voice. I dislike it, but some people believe it more "scholarly." "It is understood that A=B because blah blah blah." Who understands? Why do they understand? Passive voice removes the "doer" agent. Hope that helps. anon1 Joined on Fri, Jul 2 2004 Senior Member 2,049 Passive Sentences

	miriam  +  35722 Sun, 04 Jul 04 05:54 AM Hello, Rahul Mcsd You can also have a look at these threads: http://www.englishforums.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=33803 http://www.englishforums.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=15646 Miriam miriam Joined on Mon, May 10 2004 Argentina Regular Member 821 "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." Plato Passive Sentences

	rahul_mcsd  +  35896 Mon, 05 Jul 04 10:30 AM Thanks a lot..... That answers my question. I was peeved at MS-Word underlining a lot of my sentences. I can see the error of my ways. Thanks again rahul_mcsd Passive Sentences

	kynguyen  +  36702 Fri, 09 Jul 04 10:13 PM HI Mountainkiker posted: Mary created a sofware program. Active A software program was created for Mary. Passive Is it for Mary or by Mary? I think Mary is the one who created the software. For Mary, to me is like someone else created for her. Am I correct? thanks, Ky kynguyen Joined on Fri, Jul 2 2004 New Member 35 Passive Sentences

	dino95126  +  36715 Sat, 10 Jul 04 02:22 AM You are correct, kynguyen. "A software program was created for Mary" means that it was created for the benefit of Mary, or designed to her own personal specifications. It is unknown who created it. To indicate that, you must use the preposition "by": "A software program was created by Vivian for Mary." dino95126 Joined on Sat, Jul 10 2004 San Jose, California, USA New Member 16 "I've tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I've tried them all, I really have. And, the only church that feeds the soul, day in, day out, is... Prepositions, Passive Sentences

	miriam  +  36735 Sat, 10 Jul 04 06:26 AM Hello, Kynguyen You are right. There was a mistake in Mountain Hiker's example. If "Mary created a software program", then the passive counterpart of that sentence is "A software program was created by Mary". In a sentence in the passive voice, the construction that acted as subject in the active sentence becomes what is called "agent", and it is introduced by the preposition "by". That is, *if* it is needed at all. One of the most common reasons for using the passive voice is precisely the fact that the "doer" of the action is unimportant, unknown, or understood without the need of stating it in the sentence. Miriam miriam Prepositions, Constructions, Passive Sentences

	anon1  +  36780 Sat, 10 Jul 04 08:50 PM There was a mistake in Mountain Hiker's example. Where? In a sentence in the passive voice, the construction that acted as subject in the active sentence becomes what is called "agent", and it is introduced by the preposition "by". That is, *if* it is needed at all. One of the most common reasons for using the passive voice is precisely the fact that the "doer" of the action is unimportant, unknown, or understood without the need of stating it in the sentence. We both agree that the following sentence is active? A) Mary created a sofware program. Active Then, I wrote, B) A software program was created for Mary. Passive As you yourself mention that the doer of the action is unimportant, unknown, or understood without the need of stating it in the sentence. In the second example, I don't know who created the software program for Mary, nor do I care. Sentences such as exemplified in the second example are common in everyday spoken and written English. As far as I know, sentence B is not active. If I throw that sentence into MS Word, it comes back as passive. Imagine the following situation: Juan: Did Mary get that custom software she needed? Julie: Yes, a software program was created for Mary. In this case, nobody knows or cares about who created the software. I look forward to your reply. anon1 Prepositions, Constructions, Passive Sentences