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Subject:Passive voice -- that old argument From:Arthur Comings <atc -at- CORTE-MADERA -dot- GEOQUEST -dot- SLB -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 9 May 1994 14:34:13 PDT
>The program manager window displays.
Actually, our style guide frowns on using "displays" as an
intransitive verb. Anyone else subscribe to that
prohibition?
-- Mike Pope
mikep -at- asymetrix -dot- com
I do. That sentence would make most people look at it twice (regardless
of how satisfied the writer was that a word or two was saved) wondering
what the program manager window displays. They're looking twice -- and
wasting time -- because they're used to active verbs. Note the
usefulness of passive voice in my second sentence, though -- where I
want to avoid being specific about the sex of the actor.
In my tech writing I try to stay as far away as possible from the kind
of circumlocutions that would used by a Nixon crony to hide who the
actor is. N
I personally don't object to saying "Windows does this or that," but
you can also say, "Press the Blotz button to display the Frammis
window." Then the actor is clear.
Arthur Comings
GeoQuest
Corte Madera, California
atc -at- corte-madera -dot- geoquest -dot- slb -dot- com
