Purpose of using passive voice

The passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of a sentence receives the action of the verb rather than performing the action. In English, it is formed using a form of the verb "to be" along with the past participle of the main verb. For example, in the sentence "The cake was baked by Mary," the subject "cake" receives the action of baking.

The passive voice is used for several reasons:

1.       Shifting focus: By using the passive voice, you can shift the focus of a sentence from the subject performing the action to the object receiving the action. This can be useful when you want to emphasize the receiver or make it the topic of discussion. For example, "The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci" shifts the focus to the artwork rather than the artist.

2.       Lack of knowledge or emphasis on the doer: Sometimes, the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant. In such cases, the passive voice allows you to focus on the action itself rather than the doer. For example, "Mistakes were made" acknowledges the existence of errors without specifying who made them.

3.       Politeness or formality: The passive voice is often used in formal or polite contexts to soften the impact of a statement or avoid assigning direct blame or responsibility. For instance, "Mistakes were made" sounds less accusatory than "You made mistakes."

4.       Variety and style: The passive voice can add variety to sentence structures and improve the flow of writing. It can be especially useful when you want to vary sentence patterns or avoid repetitive use of active voice constructions.

However, it's important to note that the passive voice can sometimes lead to ambiguity or make sentences more complex. It is generally recommended to use the active voice for clarity and directness, but the passive voice has its place in certain contexts and writing styles.