The passive voice has been getting a bum rap lately.

Writing teachers tell would-be Hemingways to purge their papers of passive verbs. Computer grammar checkers beep and burp at every "was" and "were." And newspaper copy editors change "was stalked by paparazzi" to "the paparazzi stalked."

Talk about being passive-aggressive!

OK, so the anti-passivists do have a point. Active verbs enliven and invigorate writing, while passive verbs drain it of energy. "Jane kicks the ball" soars and scores, while "The ball is kicked by Jane" drifts aimlessly out of bounds.

William Zinsser, a commandant in the Passive Resistance Movement, puts it this way: "Active verbs push hard; passive verbs tug fitfully ... The difference between an active-verb style and a passive-verb style — in clarity and vigor — is the difference between life and death for a writer."

And because the passive voice often leaves people unclear about who's doing what, it's a favorite refuge of bureaucrats, e.g., "initiatives were undertaken"; "bombs were dropped." Seeking to escape blame for the Iran-Contra Affair, for instance, the usually vigorous President Ronald Reagan turned passive. "Mistakes were made," he said, leaving us to wonder, "by whom?"

In the poem "Passive Voice," Laura Da' poignantly exposes this crafty evasion of responsibility by quoting the "the riveted bramble of passive verbs" on a historical marker where U.S. troops destroyed a Native American village: "where trouble was brewing ... where, after further hostilities the army was directed to enter ... where the village was razed."

But the current obsession with avoiding the passive voice is pushing a good thing too far. In many situations, it's fine to be a passivist:

— When the receiver of the action is more important than the doer ("four houses were destroyed by fire").

— When the doer is unknown ("the building was vandalized"), unimportant ("children should be supervised"), or obvious ("he was found guilty").

— When the receiver of the action is a surprise: "The Emmy for most family-friendly TV drama was won by 'Game of Thrones'!"

Many great writers have used the passive voice skillfully to convey an attitude or tone. In Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman," for instance, Willy Loman's wife, Linda, doesn't tell her sons, Biff and Happy, "Pay attention to your father!"

Instead, Miller uses the passive voice, thus elevating her plea to a universal outcry: "Attention must be paid!"

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254.

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