Some English teachers actively encourage their students to depend on active voice, while others allow their students to depend on passive voice. What’s the difference, and why is the difference important?

一些英語教師積極鼓勵學生使用主動語態(tài)，而另一些教師則允許學生使用被動語態(tài)。主動語態(tài)和被動語態(tài)的區(qū)別是什么?這些區(qū)別為什么如此重要?

Active voice appears in sentences such as, “The detective discovered that the manager was a thief.” Passive voice appears in sentences such as, “It was discovered that the manager was a thief.”

使用主動語態(tài)的句子例如“The detective discovered that the manager was a thief.”(偵探發(fā)現(xiàn)經(jīng)理是小偷)，而使用被動語態(tài)的句子則是“It was discovered that the manager was a thief.”(經(jīng)理被發(fā)現(xiàn)是小偷)。

Why would someone use passive voice in a sentence like that? Because they want to call the manager a thief, but are afraid to say why!

為什么有人會在這種句子里使用被動語態(tài)?因為他們想說經(jīng)理是小偷，但是害怕說出原因!

Passive voice is common in scientific papers, because it lets the writers avoid using the words I or we, to avoid saying where their ideas came from. That’s why some teachers think that passive voice sounds more educated. Usually, though, it’s simply less definite. It might (or might not) fool your teacher, but in the real world, when they have something to say, even scientists don’t have the luxury of not being definite.

被動語態(tài)在科學論文中很常見，因為它可以讓作者避免使用I、me等詞來表明的想法的出處。這就是為什么有些教師認為被動語態(tài)聽起來更文雅。盡管如此，使用被動語態(tài)的句子往往含義更不明確。它也許可以(也許不能)從你的老師那里蒙混過關(guān)，但是走向社會后，當人們想說點什么時，就算科學家們也沒有含糊不清的權(quán)利。

In business writing, sentences make the most sense when the subject comes first, followed by what the subject is doing. So make sure passive writing is not reducing the efficiency of your words.

在商業(yè)寫作中，主語開頭，后面接主語的動作，這樣的句子最合乎常理。因此，千萬別讓被動語態(tài)削弱文章的效果。

Some English teachers actively encourage their students to depend on active voice, while others allow their students to depend on passive voice. What’s the difference, and why is the difference important?

一些英語教師積極鼓勵學生使用主動語態(tài)，而另一些教師則允許學生使用被動語態(tài)。主動語態(tài)和被動語態(tài)的區(qū)別是什么?這些區(qū)別為什么如此重要?

Active voice appears in sentences such as, “The detective discovered that the manager was a thief.” Passive voice appears in sentences such as, “It was discovered that the manager was a thief.”

使用主動語態(tài)的句子例如“The detective discovered that the manager was a thief.”(偵探發(fā)現(xiàn)經(jīng)理是小偷)，而使用被動語態(tài)的句子則是“It was discovered that the manager was a thief.”(經(jīng)理被發(fā)現(xiàn)是小偷)。

Why would someone use passive voice in a sentence like that? Because they want to call the manager a thief, but are afraid to say why!

為什么有人會在這種句子里使用被動語態(tài)?因為他們想說經(jīng)理是小偷，但是害怕說出原因!

Passive voice is common in scientific papers, because it lets the writers avoid using the words I or we, to avoid saying where their ideas came from. That’s why some teachers think that passive voice sounds more educated. Usually, though, it’s simply less definite. It might (or might not) fool your teacher, but in the real world, when they have something to say, even scientists don’t have the luxury of not being definite.

被動語態(tài)在科學論文中很常見，因為它可以讓作者避免使用I、me等詞來表明的想法的出處。這就是為什么有些教師認為被動語態(tài)聽起來更文雅。盡管如此，使用被動語態(tài)的句子往往含義更不明確。它也許可以(也許不能)從你的老師那里蒙混過關(guān)，但是走向社會后，當人們想說點什么時，就算科學家們也沒有含糊不清的權(quán)利。

In business writing, sentences make the most sense when the subject comes first, followed by what the subject is doing. So make sure passive writing is not reducing the efficiency of your words.

在商業(yè)寫作中，主語開頭，后面接主語的動作，這樣的句子最合乎常理。因此，千萬別讓被動語態(tài)削弱文章的效果。