Thursday, January 21, 2010

Passive to Active

Passive sentences often slow down and confuse readers. Rewrite the following to eliminate the passive voice:
**Second sentence has corrections.

1. Rubber coated bullets were fired into the crowd by police in riot gear.
1.Police in riot gear fired rubber coated bullets into the crowd.

2. Later in the day, the employees were informed of the layoffs by the boss himself.
2. The boss informed informed the employees of the layoffs later in the day.

3. With five seconds left, a three-point shot was missed by LeBron James.
3. LeBron James missed a three-point shot with five seconds left.

4. Tall buildings and mountain roads were avoided by Jim because he had such a fear of heights.
4. Jim avoided tall buildings and mountain roads because he had such a fear of heights.

5. The bill is being considered by the Legislature.
5. The legislature is considering the bill.

6. The practice of covering up mistakes has been pursued by the government.
6. The government pursed the practice of covering up the mistakes.

7. The car crash was reported by the officer at 1:30 a.m. Monday morning.
7. the officer reported the car crash at 1:30 a.m. Monday morning.

8. The tiny island has been destroyed by the earthquake.
8. The earthquake destroyed the tiny island.

9. A new law was enacted to fight crime.
9. A new law was enacted to fight crime.

10. The candidate was abandoned.
10. The candidate was abandoned.

Red flag: “To be” + past participle

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