I was reviewing an email today for our Email Intelligence online class, when I came across a good example of a passive verb to change. Here is the context:
The writer, whom I will call Kelly, is emailing managers to ask them to find volunteers for a project. She instructs the managers:
- Find out who would like to volunteer.
- Respond to me by Thursday, April 22, with the names of the volunteers.
- If no one volunteers, someone will need to be appointed.
Do you recognize where the passive verb sneaked in?
In the third bullet point, Kelly has not stated who will appoint someone. Should the managers appoint someone? Probably. But Kelly has not asked the managers to do so. She has only said that it needs to be done.
Here's how Kelly can revise that step:
- If no one volunteers, please appoint someone.
The current (March-April) version of my free e-newsletter, Better Writing at Work, covers passive verbs in detail with lots of examples. If you haven't read it, subscribe now before the April-May version replaces it next week.
I write about passive verbs often. To see my other posts, just type passive verbs in the search box (upper right).
If you have examples of passive verbs to share, please do. I welcome your input!
Lynn
Syntax Training