Constructs to Avoid

We all fall into language pitfalls sometimes. Often, we don’t even realize we are misusing certain constructs until we take a closer look.

Let’s take a look at the most common constructs to avoid.

Passive voice

In active voice, the subject acts upon the verb, but in passive voice, the verb acts upon the subject. Active voice emphasizes the doer of the action, while passive voice emphasizes the receiver of the action. Active voice is more direct and concise, and usually preferred. Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or when the doer is unknown or less important. Let's look at an example:

• Active voice → "The national team took the world cup."

• Passive voice → "The world cup was taken by the national team."

In the example above, the former lays more emphasis on the national team, whereas the latter focuses more on the world cup.

In the sentences written in passive voice are often longer than those written in active voice because passive voice requires the main verb’s past participleA verb form that is created by adding "-ed" or "-d" to a verb's root form. to be present for the sentence to make sense. You should use active voice over passive voice as much as possible.

If you find yourself writing in passive voice, you should fix it quickly. For example, take the following sentence:

• Passive voice → "Functions are primarily used to provide code reusability, which saves computational time and ensures that code is well-structured and clean." 

This sentence is written in passive voice. Now, take a look at the same sentence written in active voice:

• Active voice → "Functions provide code reusability, which saves computational time and ensures that code is well-structured and clean."

Notice how the first part of the sentence no longer requires the phrase "are primarily used to." This is why active voice is usually preferred over passive voice.