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The passive is used if the emphasis

• The passive is used if the emphasis is on the action being performed rather than on the agent (i.e. whoever is performing the action). This can happen in any context and at any level of formality to kno more visite www.writerbd.com

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The passive is used if the emphasis

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  1. •The passive is used if the emphasis is on the action being performed rather than on the agent (i.e. whoever is performing the action). This can happen in any context and at any level of formality: sometimes I want to say that Benz invented the gasoline-powered automobile (active), sometimes I want to say that the gasoline-powered automobile was invented in 1885 (passive). Sometimes I get to say that the Lions made the Packers look stupid (active), but a lot of the time I have to admit that the Lions $%^&* were kicked (passive). Nevertheless, there are some factors that make it more likely for you to see the passive, and these include: oThe agent is unknown, e.g. if a crime has been committed but it's not known who did it oEuphemisms of various sorts, such as politicians saying "taxes were raised" instead of "I raised taxes." oReports on scientific experiments oYou are more likely to see the passive in formal contexts than in informal contexts ▪In English, writing teachers strongly encourage their students to use the active voice in order for their writing to be more direct, forceful, and readable. This is also the case in German, but to a lesser extent. Click here for a slightly more detailed explanation of the uses of the passive •The passive is formed in German by combining the appropriate conjugated form of werden [which by itself means "to become"] with the past participle of the main verb. To change the tense of your passive sentence, change the tense of werden. Notice how in the following table it is only the forms of werden that change as the tense changes:

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