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RE: Procedural syntax: "Click to expand" vs. "Expand by clicking"

Subject: RE: Procedural syntax: "Click to expand" vs. "Expand by clicking"
From: "Fred Ridder" <docudoc -at- hotmail -dot- com>
To: Keith_Wolfe -at- mercmarine -dot- com, David -dot- Dubin -at- sage -dot- com
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:33:41 -0500

Absolutely correct that there is no passive voice here.
But neither is there any active voice.
What we've got in each case is imperitive voice. These are all
expressed as commands, with no grammatical subject expressed
(i.e an implied second-person subject).

Pedantically yours,
Fred Ridder
Intel
Parsippany, NJ


From: Keith_Wolfe -at- mercmarine -dot- com
To: "Dubin, David" <David -dot- Dubin -at- sage -dot- com>
CC: techwr-l-bounces+keith_wolfe=mercmarine -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com,TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Subject: RE: Procedural syntax: "Click to expand" vs. "Expand by clicking"
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 07:49:54 -0600

How is option B passive voice?
Passive verb forms consist of some form of the verb to be plus the past
participle of the main verb.

A and B are both active voice.


>Personally, I like [A] because it is in active voice. I am strongly
against
>the flagrant use of passive voice in technical communications. Since most
>technical communications with regard to software and/or hardware is
designed
>to instruct the user how to do something, I believe it is best to speak to
>the user/learner in the same voice as you would if he/she were in front of
>you.

Keith Wolfe
Technical Writer
----------------------
Mercury Racing
(920) 924-2790

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References:
RE: Procedural syntax: "Click to expand" vs. "Expand by clicking": From: Keith_Wolfe

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