How to Be a Good Listener (with Examples)Remember what you've been told. One important part of being a good listener is to actually absorb the information the person has told you. So, if the person is telling you about his problems with his best friend, Jake, and you've never met the guy before, you can at least remember his name so you can refer to him that way, making it seem like you're better acquainted with the situation. If you don't remember any names, details, or important events, then it won't sound like you're listening. It's okay if you don't have a razor sharp memory. However, if you keep having to stop and ask for clarification or keep forgetting who everyone is, then yeah, you won't come off as a very good listener. You don't have to remember every little detail, but you don't want the person who is speaking to feel like they have to repeat themselves a million times, either. ![]() ![]() The Passive Voice. Passive and Active Voices. Verbs are also said to be either active (The executive committee approved the new policy) or passive (The new policy was approved by the executive committee) in voice. In the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a be- er or a do- er and the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a do- er or a be- er, but is acted upon by some other agent or by something unnamed (The new policy was approved). Functions of the passive voice The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that. Computerized grammar checkers can pick out a passive voice construction from miles away and ask you to revise it to a more active construction. There is nothing inherently wrong with the passive voice, but if you can say the same thing in the active mode, do so (see exceptions below). Your text will have more pizzazz as a result, since passive verb constructions tend to lie about in their pajamas and avoid actual work. We find an overabundance of the passive voice in sentences created by self- protective business interests, magniloquent educators, and bombastic military writers (who must get weary of this accusation), who use the passive voice to avoid responsibility for actions taken. Thus "Cigarette ads were designed to appeal especially to children" places the burden on the ads — as opposed to "We designed the cigarette ads to appeal especially to children," in which "we" accepts responsibility. At a White House press briefing we might hear that "The President was advised that certain members of Congress were being audited" rather than "The Head of the Internal Revenue service advised the President that her agency was auditing certain members of Congress" because the passive construction avoids responsibility for advising and for auditing. One further caution about the passive voice: we should not mix active and passive constructions in the same sentence: "The executive committee approved the new policy, and the calendar for next year's meetings was revised" should be recast as "The executive committee approved the new policy and revised the calendar for next year's meeting."Take the quiz (below) as an exercise in recognizing and changing passive verbs. The passive voice does exist for a reason, however, and its presence is not always to be despised. The passive is particularly useful (even recommended) in two situations: When it is more important to draw our attention to the person or thing acted upon: The unidentified victim was apparently struck during the early morning hours. When the actor in the situation is not important: The aurora borealis can be observed in the early morning hours. Active voice refers to a type of sentence or clause in which the subject performs or causes the action expressed by the verb. If a goggles-for-brains Lego character can master the difference between active and passive verbs, you can too. Troy Sterling and the Active and Passive Verbs. The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in scientific or technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or principle being described is of ultimate importance. Instead of writing "I poured 2. Twenty cc of acid is/was poured into the beaker." The passive voice is also useful when describing, say, a mechanical process in which the details of process are much more important than anyone's taking responsibility for the action: "The first coat of primer paint is applied immediately after the acid rinse." We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which we wish to shift emphasis from what was the object in a first sentence to what becomes the subject in subsequent sentences. The executive committee approved an entirely new policy for dealing with academic suspension and withdrawal. The policyhad been written by a subcommittee on student behavior. If students withdraw from course work before suspension can take effect, the policy states, a mark of "IW" . ![]() The paragraph is clearly about this new policy so it is appropriate that policy move from being the object in the first sentence to being the subject of the second sentence. The passive voice allows for this transition.†Passive Verb Formation. The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the "to be verb" with the past participle of the main verb. Other helping verbs are also sometimes present: "The measure could have been killed in committee." The passive can be used, also, in various tenses. Let's take a look at the passive forms of "design."Tense. Subject. Auxiliary. Past Participle. Singular. Plural. Present. The car/cars is are designed. Present perfect. The car/cars has been have been designed. Past. The car/cars was were designed. Past perfect. The car/cars had been had been designed. Future. The car/cars will be will be designed. Future perfect. The car/cars will have been will have been designed. Present progressive. The car/cars is being are being designed. Past progressive. The car/cars was being were being designed. A sentence cast in the passive voice will not always include an agent of the action. For instance if a gorilla crushes a tin can, we could say "The tin can was crushedby the gorilla." But a perfectly good sentence would leave out the gorilla: "The tin can was crushed." Also, when an active sentence with an indirect object is recast in the passive, the indirect object can take on the role of subject in the passive sentence: Active. Professor Villa gave Jorge an A. Passive. An A was givento Jorge by Professor Villa. Passive. Jorge was given an A. Only transitive verbs (those that take objects) can be transformed into passive constructions. Furthermore, active sentences containing certain verbs cannot be transformed into passive structures. To have is the most important of these verbs. We can say "He has a new car," but we cannot say "A new car is had by him." We can say "Josefina lacked finesse," but we cannot say "Finesse was lacked." Here is a brief list of such verbs*: resemble look like equal agree with mean contain hold comprise lack suit fit become.
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