when should a lawyer use passive verb form

Use passive voice in persuasive writing when you want to de-emphasize the actor or even conceal the actor’s identity. For instance, if your client committed a crime, you might use passive voice to describe what happened. On the other hand, if your client is the victim, use active voice and active verbs to link the defendant to the crime.

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What is the passive form of the verb write?

Nov 06, 2019 · It is overused by lawyers (passive). Lawyers overuse it (active). So when you edit your writing, check for passive-voice constructions—maybe do a search for was and were. When you spot the passive voice, ask yourself, “Do I need the passive voice here?” If you don’t, the active voice will be more vigorous and more concise.

How do you change a verb from active to passive?

Apr 09, 2019 · Writers may use passive voice as a persuasive technique to mindfully accomplish burying, obscuring, or softening certain information. A criminal defense attorney may admit that “the man was murdered” without implicating anyone by including a sentence subject.

How to use the passive voice with different tenses?

Jun 02, 2016 · Specifically, in legal writing, you may use passive voice if you want to deflect attention from the subject/actor in a sentence. For example, if you were representing a man name Joe Smith, who allegedly robbed a bank, you would …

Should you use passive voice in legal writing?

Active/Passive Voice Editing Run-on Sentences Sentence Fragments Subject/Verb Agreement Pronouns Punctuation Active/Passive Voice You've likely read about active and passive voice in Richard Wydick, Plain English for Lawyers (Chapter 4). Here is some more information on what these different constructions are and when you should use each of them. Scroll down to the …

Should lawyers use passive verb forms when addressing a judge?

Courts and attorneys generally prefer active sentences to passive sentences in legal writing.Sep 18, 2011

When would it be appropriate to use a passive verb?

Passive voice should be used when it's important to emphasize the action being performed rather than who is doing it. If what matters is that Suzie is the one who asked, then active voice would be appropriate.

Is passive voice appropriate in legal writing?

For example, passive voice is appropriate for emphasizing what was done, as opposed to who did it: The subpoena was served on January 19th (from Wydick). You may use the passive when the actor is unknown: The data files were mysteriously destroyed (Wydick again).Dec 4, 2015

How is active voice used in legal writing?

When you write in active voice, the subject of your sentence does the acting. In contrast, in passive voice, the subject or actor is “passive”-- acted upon by someone or something else. Because passive voice is harder to understand and usually takes more words, you should generally use the active voice.

When would it be appropriate to write using a passive voice quizlet?

When is it a good time to use passive voice? When you are in science class, during technical writing, doing lab reports, publishing newspaper, and political events.

When should the passive voice be used quizlet?

When is passive voice used? To emphasize an action or the recipient of the action, to de-emphasize negative news, to conceal the doer of an action.

Why is passive voice used in law?

With the passive voice, your sentences tend to have extra words. The active voice has fewer words. And you know who is acting. With the passive voice, the subject of the clause doesn't perform the action but receives it.Jul 26, 2021

What are the merits of active and passive voice sentences in legal writing?

 Passive voice does have its place, but active voice makes legal writing clearer, stronger, and more brief.  Passive sentences may be helpful in preventing repetitive sentence structures. Starting multiple sentences with the same subject may be awkward.

How do you change a sentence into passive voice?

To change an active voice sentence to a passive voice sentence:Make the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.Use the verb “to be” in the same tense as the main verb of the active sentence.Use the past participle of the main verb of the active sentence.

What are active passive examples?

Examples of Active and Passive Voice Active- He loves me. Passive- I am loved by him. The subject of the active voice example above is "he," the verb is "loves," and the object is "me." The subject of the passive voice phrase is "I," the verb is "am loved," and the object is "him."

What are the rules of active and passive voice?

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Present Continuous TenseActive VoicePassive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- is/am/are + being)Subject + is/am/are+ v1+ ing + objectObject+ is/am/are+ being+ V3+ by + subjectSubject + is/am/are+ not+ v1+ ing+ objectObject + is/am/are+ not + being+V3+ by Subject1 more row•Jul 10, 2019

Was signed active or passive?

With passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb. It makes for a murky, roundabout sentence; you can be more straightforward with active voice....Active and Passive Voice Comparison.Active VoicePassive VoiceThe two kings are signing the treaty.The treaty is being signed by the two kings.23 more rows

When to use passive voice in a sentence?

Specifically, in legal writing, you may use passive voice if you want to deflect attention from the subject/actor in a sentence. For example, if you were representing a man name Joe Smith, who allegedly robbed a bank, you would want to phrase your sentence using passive voice. “The bank was robbed on Tuesday.”.

What is passive voice?

Technically, passive voice is defined as a ‘grammatical construction’ . And, in passive voice, the noun, or noun phrase, that would be the ‘object’ in an active voice sentence (e.g. the boy threw the ball), becomes the ‘subject’ in a passive voice sentence (e.g. the ball was thrown by the boy). Now, I can hear what you are thinking.

Why is active voice better than passive voice?

And, believe it or not, active voice keeps the reader’s attention much better than does a passive voice sentence. It jumps out at the reader and keeps them interested. In contrast, passive voice sentences can become vague or more complicated because it may be unclear who/what is doing the action in the sentence .

What does it mean when you use active voice?

An ‘active voice’ gets to the point! When you write using active voice, you also use fewer words. Thus, if you are trying to convey certain concepts, or to persuade the reader, he/she will remember the ideas/arguments that you are making much easier when you present them using active voice.

What is the most important class in law school?

One of the most important classes which you will take is Legal Writing . In Legal Writing, students learn how to conduct legal research, and how to write both objectively (i.e., legal memoranda) and, as an advocate (e.g., a trial brief or an appellate brief). (We will discuss writing objectively and as an advocate another time.)

When to use passive verbs?

Use passive verbs when you do not want to specify the actor. If the actor is either unknown or irrelevant, you may not want to specify an actor: “Crimes were committed.”. In this case, the actor’s name is purposely avoided.

What is passive present tense?

Present Progressive (verbs ending in -ing) Active: Passive: A combination of wind, pressure, and moisture is forming the thunderstorm.

What is an active passive?

Active: Passive: The company ships the computers to many foreign countries. Computers are shipped to many foreign countries. In the active example of simple present tense, the company ships the computers. Here, the company is doing the action.

Passive Form of Verbs

The passive form (voice) of verbs is made with the appropriate tense of BE + the past participle :#N#For example : English is spoken here.#N#Only verbs which take an object (transitive verbs) can be put into the passive.#N#(for example: Tom catches the ball.

Formation and use, with examples and exercises

The passive form (voice) of verbs is made with the appropriate tense of BE + the past participle :#N#For example : English is spoken here.#N#Only verbs which take an object (transitive verbs) can be put into the passive.#N#(for example: Tom catches the ball.

What is past participles?

Past participles are the 3rd form of a verb. E.g. eat - ate - eaten. Past participles are sometimes difficult to remember. The agent (the one who 'does' the action of the verb) is often not included. If the agent is included, you have to use a preposition (by).

What does "post mortem" mean?

A post-mortem – a medical examination of a body after it has died. Written by Luke, from The London School of English.

What does "going to happen" mean?

Glossary. To be due to do something – to be arranged to happen. It is going to happen because it is planned. To resuscitate someone – to bring someone to life – using electricity, or breathing or pumping the chest. Written by Luke, from The London School of English.

What is the London School of English?

The London School of English has over 100 years of history teaching English and communication skills to adult learners . It is the joint #1 English language school in the UK according to the British Council inspections, the highest rated English language school in the world on Trustpilot, and the best value for money school according The English ...

What happens when you write a sentence in passive voice?

If we write the sentence in the passive voice, we change the order to have the subject first and the object last: Mandy is talked to by Michael. This not only makes for a wordier sentence but it also changes the nuance. In the passive voice, the emphasis falls on Mandy. She is still the passive recipient of the action, ...

Why do we use passive voice?

2. Creates a Sense of Anonymity. When we don’t know who performed the action, we tend to use the passive voice because it allows us to omit the subject. This comes in handy when we don’t want to reveal, just yet, who the guilty party is. It creates anonymity and also a sense of mystery.

Why is passive voice better than active voice?

It makes for clearer writing. It creates a sense of immediacy, so it improves the pacing of your writing. The passive voice, in contrast: Creates distance between the reader and the narrative.

Why do we use passive voice in scientific writing?

Because the passive voice creates a sense of emotional distance between the reader and the narrative, the reader can become more objective about what he or she is reading . This is one of the main reasons why scientific reports are often written in the passive voice. While the journalism writing coaches encourage active writing, especially in broadcast, there are often legal reasons that underpin the choice of passive voice. For example: The water was polluted by a nearby mining operation. In Canada, where I was a journalist, the passive form of this statement is legally safer. A court hasn’t yet proven, or the mining company hasn’t yet claimed responsibility, that a specific mining company is culpable for the pollution in this body of water. The X mining operation polluted the nearby water. After all, when you read the sentence in the active voice, you feel almost ready to go picket at mining operation’s offices, don’t you?

Why do writers use active voices?

This is one of the reasons why writing coaches and editors will encourage you to use the active voice in your writing: it provokes a stronger emotional reaction and draws you into the narrative. There are other benefits of using the active voice too: 1 Your sentences are tighter, less wordy. 2 It makes for clearer writing. 3 It creates a sense of immediacy, so it improves the pacing of your writing.

How to make a passive verb?

To make a passive verb form, we have to use be in a particular verb tense and add the past participle of the main verb after it. You can see how to use the passive voice with different tenses below. In a passive sentence, the object of an active sentence becomes the subject.

What is passive sentence?

Active and passive. In a passive sentence, the object of an active sentence becomes the subject. In a passive voice sentence, the subject is the receiver of the action, not the doer of the action. They take the photos in Africa. (active) The photos are taken in Africa. (passive) Do the Exercises. Exercises: 1 2 3 4.