The voice of your verbs definitely impacts the effect of your writing. Voice can be either active, in which the subject of the sentence is doing something, or passive, in which the subject is having something done to it.
In general, it is best to use the active voice for stronger, more interesting sentences. The sentence Tim tossed the file out the window, for example, is direct and energetic, with the subject doing the tossing. On the other hand, the sentence The file was tossed out the window by Tim is indirect and sluggish, with the subject getting tossed.
Passive voice does have its place, however. It serves well in certain types of formal writing, such as the minutes of a meeting. Used judiciously, passive voice can also soften a bad-news message.
Moving on, the mood of a verb involves the manner of doing or being. There are three verb moods, although only two - indicative and imperative - are commonly used in modern English. Let's look at each.
- Indicative mood states a fact or asks a question. Here are two examples:
I picked up the fossil.
What geological period did this come from?
- Imperative mood gives a command, as in this example:
Put that down immediately.
The third mood, the subjunctive, suggests a hypothetical situation or an action that may or may not happen. Here are two examples:
If we were to make a donation, we could claim it as a tax exemption.
I suggest that the topic be tabled until our next meeting.
You can learn more about voice of verbs on page 246 in Write for Business: A Compact Guide to Writing and Communicating in the Workplace, and on page 96 of Business and Sales Correspondence, from the EZ series, just two of the many helpful business writing materials from UpWrite Press.
- Joyce Lee
Podcast
Comments
chat sohbet