Re: Grammar (was Ages in GN)


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Posted by John Lambert on January 10, 2010 at 00:40:02 user John.

In Reply to: Re: Grammar (was Ages in GN) posted by David Bamford on January 09, 2010 at 19:54:38:

The subject is the "doer" of the sentence: in Dog bites man, Dog is the subject because it does the action. Man is the object because it receives the action (gets bitten).
The sentence is in active voice, but this next sentence is passive: This bill must be paid on time. There is no clear idea of WHO must pay the bill. Good writers usually try to stay away from the passive voice because its a little weak and remote - almost as if the writer is trying to distance himself from the sentence. I copied the next sentence at random from my Visa invoice: We apply payments to your new balance in the following order: is active voice. It tells you who applies the payments and is more personal and direct. It gives the reader some idea of who is talking or writing. Whereas, Payments are applied to your new balance in the following order: is more remote because it gives you no idea of WHO is applying the payments, that is, where is the subject? A few years ago, Visa would have used the passive voice, the corporate official voice that deals with you at arm's length. In my view, the active voice is friendlier, even though they are asking for money! I think most businesses are waking up to the fact that the active voice is more direct and personal.
Next lesson: Split infinitives.
Cheers,
John


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