passive construction

Frequency: 5.54.0 per million words

A sentence where the subject receives the action (e.g., 'The ball was thrown').

constructionADJECTIVE + NOUN (Grammar)

Categories:

passive

Examples (10)

  • The sentence 'The cake was eaten' is a classic example of a passive construction.
  • In her academic paper, she frequently used the passive construction to maintain a formal tone.
  • Teachers often encourage students to avoid the passive construction to make their writing more direct.
  • A passive construction is useful when the agent performing the action is unknown or unimportant.
  • The grammar textbook explained in detail how a passive construction is formed in English.
  • Changing this sentence from an active to a passive construction will shift the focus to the object.
  • Overuse of the passive construction can make prose sound weak and convoluted.
  • Scientific writing often employs the passive construction to emphasize the experiment rather than the researcher.
  • Can you identify the passive construction in this paragraph?
  • The report was written using a passive construction throughout, which obscured who was responsible for the decisions.