passiveverbal

Passive verbal refers to a grammatical construction where the subject of the sentence receives the action of the verb, rather than performing it. This is in contrast to the active voice, where the subject is the doer of the action. The passive voice is typically formed using a form of the verb "to be" followed by the past participle of the main verb. For example, in the sentence "The ball was thrown by the boy," "the ball" is the subject and it receives the action of being thrown. The active voice equivalent would be "The boy threw the ball," where "the boy" is the subject performing the action.

The passive voice can be used for various reasons. It is often employed when the agent performing the action is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from the context. For instance, "Mistakes were made" is a common passive construction where the person who made the mistakes is not specified. It can also be used to shift the focus of the sentence from the doer of the action to the recipient of the action. In scientific writing or formal reports, the passive voice can lend an objective tone, emphasizing the process or result rather than the researcher. However, overuse of the passive voice can sometimes make writing sound more indirect, wordy, or less engaging than the active voice.