Yes, now on to the issue of spelling…

Stupid me. I, um, didn’t notice that the article was by you. If I had, I would have been rather more diplomatic in my critique. (And how silly my references to “the author” come across… ) Sorry. Certainly within a 700 word limit for a general audience, the example of the chair is perfectly adequate.

Thanks again for addressing one of my pet peaves (one which will grow more peavish as I grade midterm essays in a couple of days…)

I know. Sometimes the chair doesn’t even need to be mentioned or else relegated to a subordinate clause or something. I had a 700 word maximum to work with, and I was told the article should be written in an informal style.

But otherwise, I totally agree with your comment.

Finally, a bloggernacle topic upon which you and I both agree!

One of my profs in grad school made us read a long article from the Atlantic or Harpers or something, in which the author presented a very thorough case for avoiding passive voice. Amazingly, not a single “be” form appeared anywhere in the article. Perhaps most importantly, none of us missed it.

Which brings me to another point. While I applaud the author of the article, I’m not sure he demonstrates the underlying virtue of avoiding passive voice when possible. One doesn’t go about it by taking a sentence, like he does, and simply dancing around the “be” verb. It’s not a matter of the chair “being” in the room or the chair “squatting” in the room. The latter comes off as a little pretentious to me. If one really internalizes the avoidance of passive voice, one steps back further and thinks more rigorously, which would hopefully result in a sentence not wholly devoted to the chair. To me, the chair wouldn’t deserve a verb at all; one might notice it, or pass it, or sit upon it, or something. The chair “squatting” seems to be like passive voice hiding behing extra syllables.

And of course, sometimes one simply can’t avoid passive voice. Usually one can, but every once in a while, as my prof counseled us, “something just doesn’t ‘seem,’ or ‘become,’ or ‘strike one as.’ It just plain ‘is.’”

So, you win there. Next time my students ask me how to write a prayer, I’ll tell them the passive voice is fine.

Getting back to English, what do you identify as the subject of the sentence “Thy will be done”? I claim it is “thy will,” not whoever or whatever is supposed to make the Father’s will done.

http://www.gospelgrace.com/webest/Christs_Kingdom_Is_Future_VolumeI.rtf

???? In the Greek (which is the language of the New Testament, not Latin) it’s aorist imperative. As for the cookbooks – well, that’s what I said, so it appears you agree with me.

But I don’t even know why we’re arguing this. Please read Richard Lanham’s “Analyzing Prose” and then we can continue this.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NGI1ZGExYTQ3ZjBkMzg3YTFiZThlNmIxYjQzMDE2MGQ=

they may look passive, but it isn’t. I can’t excuse your ignorance of grammar. That’s like saying “that looks like water, perhaps I’ll drink it” even though it’s really some deadly acid or poison. Imperatives always leave the subject out. For example, Second person imperatives that are found in places like cookbooks always say “pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure 2/3 cup flour” etc. – which really means “YOU should pre-heat the oven” – by their grammatical nature, imperatives leave out the subject. You can’t convince me the passive voice is okay by citing sentences that aren’t in the passive voice, sorry.

The reason teachers tell students to avoid the passive voice is because, by and large, students have very little control over their own writing. And only people who really have control over their own writing can effectively use the passive voice. My simple rule is not absolute: It was meant as informal advice to help students gain control over their own writing.

Here’s an analogy: When practicing Guitar, sometimes I practice without using my pointer finger, and I often reccomend this to friends as well. Does that mean I think no one should use their pointer finger when playing guitar? No, but doing so can show you how much you over-rely on that finger, and when you go back to using it, you’re a better player because your other fingers have become stronger.

Same with avoiding the “to be” verbs: It’s a great way to learn how to gain control of your writing, as well as show you (or anyone) just how much we overuse the passive voice and “to be” verbs in general. Of course, once that’s accomplished, you can then go back to using it – only this time you will use it more effectively and only when needed, rather than as a default setting (as with most students).