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> Write everything in the active voice. Every verb in the original paragraph was already in the active voice. I'm not sure whether your replacement is better o
by gjm11 13y ago
> Write everything in the active voice.
Every verb in the original paragraph was already in the active voice. I'm not sure whether your replacement is better or worse than the original, but the differences have nothing to do with active vs. passive voice.
(You are far from alone in saying "active" where you mean something else. See, e.g., http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/grammar/passives.html http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/grammar/passives.html and the various Language Log articles linked from there.)
- btilly 13y agoYou are right, I was merely using the term as I've seen it used. My real point was that he does not organize sentences by the standard subject-verb-object. This makes the sentences more complex. That complexity makes it harder for people to understand what is said. It would be OK to do that occasionally, but he did it with every single sentence!