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You are here: Home / Potpourri / Stop Using Passive Tense

Stop Using Passive Tense

Stop Using Passive Tense

Writing in passive tense is generally awful.

Please stop using it.

I mean, come on. This is not brain surgery, people.

“Everyone ate dinner.” Sounds better than: “Dinner was eaten by everyone.”

“Sterling will clean the house.” Sounds better than: “The house will be cleaned by Sterling.”

“Farmers grow cotton.” Sounds better than: “Cotton is grown by farmers.”

Do you see it?

Great!

Now stop it.

For the love of all of us, stop it right now.

Verbs come in two types, active and passive. With an active verb, the subject of the sentence is doing something. With a passive verb, something is being done to the subject of the sentence. The subject is just letting it happen. You should avoid the passive tense.

-Stephen King, On Writing

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Filed Under: PotpourriTagged With: #Style, #Writing

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