1. Active and Passive Voice ; Strong and Weak Verbs

2. Active and Passive Voice
1. The “Grammar Badger” Video:
2. The Purdue Owl “Active and Passive Voice” Poster: df

3. Remember that it may sometimes be beneficial to use passive voice
Remember that it may sometimes be beneficial to use passive voice. If you have used passive voice, you should be able to justify your decision. Good Reasons to Use Passive Voice:
To depersonalize a situation on purpose (Take attention away from the actor (who or what does the action in the sentence)
The actor of the sentence is unknown
The thing or person acted upon should be the focus of the sentence

4. Flocabulary Example
Pay careful attention to the following example. Take note of when sentences are active and when they are passive.
Work with a partner to mimic the Flocabulary example; write a song or (very short) story that shows off what you know about active and passive voice. (8 minutes)

5. Strong versus Weak Verbs

6. When Can We Use “To Be” Verbs?
It’s not that “to be” verbs are always bad; sometimes writers must use “to be” verbs to communicate exactly what the writer wants to say.
In fact, these verb forms can be difficult to replace. When the verb links to the subject (the do-er) of the sentence as a state of being, it performs one of these five functions:
Exists−Is there any trouble? Yes, I am he (predicate nominative).
Happens−The meetings are over.
Locates−He was at the birthday party.
Identifies−Those children were friendly (predicate adjective).
Describes−That could be scary (helping verb)! He is being helpful (progressive tense). Those girls have been so mean (perfect tense).

7. Strong and Weak Verbs ARE NOT the same thing as active and passive voice
But they have something in common:
1. An author should be able to:
Defend the use of passive voice in his or her writing.
Defend the use of weak verbs in his or her writing.
2. Because in general:
Active voice is better than passive voice.
Strong verbs are better than weak verbs.

8. Tips to Avoid “To Be” Verbs