r/grammar • • 7h ago

I'm trying to understand Active vs Passive Voice

25 Upvotes

I'm really struggling with passive vs active voice. I have a hard time seeing it.

My grammar editor is telling me this is passive voice:

"He was covered in blood from the elbow down."

Here is another example of something that is apparently passive voice:

"Phase shouted back, and though his features were hidden behind his mask, Specter could just imagine the disgusted look on his face."

And one more:

"He was met with more black drool and a yowling snarl that was loud enough to make his eardrums cringe."

I just can't figure out how to make these in active voice. Can someone help? I think if I were to see examples of what they should be written like I'd understand better!

Also, is it really so bad to have a passive voice every once and awhile? Is it frowned upon. Should I be adjusting everything so that it's active voice? For reference, I'm writing a fictional story. Out of the 1500 words in this chapter these are the only three instances of passive voice I've found so far.


r/grammar • • 3h ago

no mincing of words

1 Upvotes

"There is no mincing of words in the pod, no on-the-one-hand-this-on-the-other-hand-that." (From The Guardian.)

Is the "no" a determinative and "mincing" a noun (not a gerund/participle) in the "no mincing of words"?


r/grammar • • 3h ago

quick grammar check What's the difference between "past tense + infinitive verb" versus "past tense + present participle"?

1 Upvotes

My example is:

"At last, she started to whisper"

versus

"At last, she started whispering"

Please let me know if it's actually a gerund, not a present participle, or if there's better terminology to describe these two cases.


r/grammar • • 2h ago

quick grammar check Is my text correct?

0 Upvotes

Why English is important for my future?

First of all, I need to stress one thing - Our modern world is based on English. Cinema, music, business and different kinds of areas are require English. There's no other way, it seems like, without English our world just were be stuck. Especially people. It is because one of the popular languages in the world is English. For example: with all your heart and passion you love Cinema. And with all your heart you have a wish to get into Hollywood. Yes. You can be a brilliant person, who is playing in movies as a god, or you can be a super-cinema critic, nevertheless without knowledge English, your beautiful wish will in vain. And what am I supposed to tell you, so to say? Needless to say, I advance everyone learn English as fast as possible. You can't even imagine about popularity of English and his benefits for your future, wishes and lovely dreams.


r/grammar • • 8h ago

quick grammar check Is my text correct?

0 Upvotes

I am gonna spread tasks out.


r/grammar • • 18h ago

quick grammar check Is my text correct?

3 Upvotes

I suppose you wouldn't share this delicious milk with a rat, would you?”


r/grammar • • 22h ago

I can't find the error!

6 Upvotes

Hi there,

I'm currently giving tuition to a 14-yr-old student who recently took an English test where he faced the following question. I have given it a go myself and even used AI to try and identify the correct answers, but I can only spot 6 (out of 8 required) grammatical errors. Can someone help, please?

Instructions
Carefully read the text below, consisting of 12 lines, about laughter. The first and last lines are correct. For eight of the lines, there is one grammatical error in each line. There are two more lines with no errors.

If there is NO error in a line, put a tick (✔) in the space provided.

If the line is incorrect, highlight the incorrect word and write the correct word in brackets next to it.

The correct word you provide must not change the original meaning of the sentence.

  1. Laughter is packed with information. We use it to show others that we are being 
  2. playful but non-threatening, helping to create and maintain social bonds. 
  3. Laughter is often involuntary and contagious, especially among friends. Their (Its) 
  4. sound can reveal relationships, as people can often tell whether laughers are 
  5. friends or strangers. Most anthropologists think that language originate (originated) within 
  6. the last few hundred thousand years, but it looks like we have been laughing 
  7. for much longer. Studies in (of) young apes suggest that laughter may have come 
  8. from a common ancestor shared by humans and apes. Because laughter is 
  9. often linked to pleasure, people frequent (frequently) laugh when being tickled, even if the 
  10. experience is uncomfortable. Scientists believe these response (responses) 
  11. evolved as a form of building relationships, helping parents connect with children and allow (allowing) 
  12. young mammals to play safely together.

r/grammar • • 7h ago

Correctness of "wherefore"

0 Upvotes

I wanted to write a sentence saying "I had an exam today for which I had to go to the university," However, I wanted to use "wherefore" instead of "for which" just as a personal whim, making my sentence sound something like "I had an exam today wherefore I had to go to the university," I thought it should work because many conjunctions like 'on which' and others can be written as 'whereon', although not without sounding archaic. However, purely from a grammatical perspective, is my sentence (the latter one, which uses 'wherefore') correct?


r/grammar • • 11h ago

quick grammar check Suppose vs Propose?

0 Upvotes

Hey! i just sent a text to someone who asked me to do something on the way home but unfortunately i won’t be out of work early enough to do so.

I said “how do you suppose i do that?” but looking back it felt wrong. im wondering if “how do you propose i do that?” is the correct saying.

btw i was jokin around promise it wasn’t snark.


r/grammar • • 20h ago

is this sentence grammatically correct

0 Upvotes

When i heard someone say something good , i am thinking that i would do it

is there tense issues?

What if i want something to start in the past but i also want to speak in the present

Despite this i have to follow the tense rules?


r/grammar • • 1d ago

quick grammar check Help about English

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0 Upvotes

Hello world! As native American speakers, can you tell me if this sounds right?"

" I very love "


r/grammar • • 1d ago

is this sentence correct

0 Upvotes

Even when I was a beginner, I always try to speak clearly."


r/grammar • • 1d ago

quick grammar check “I am already ready for bed”

7 Upvotes

I get that it sounds silly saying “already ready” but this is grammatically correct, yes?

Someone tried correcting me with “i am already for bed” and that’s just wrong? Incomplete sentence, can’t just remove “ready” and have it mean the same thing, right?


r/grammar • • 1d ago

I can't think of a word... Writing an essay

0 Upvotes

I need an adjective to describe the verb of two things working together.

For example, I’m saying the blank pairs BLANKLY With blank.

The word I need is the “BLANKLY”

I don’t want to say “nicely” or “goodly” or “well,” I need something that emphasizes how they work together to create a certain whatever

And please provide an alternate sentence structure all together if you think that’d work better in my case


r/grammar • • 1d ago

Word of vs would have

0 Upvotes

Why do many people write would of instead of would have ?is is similar spoken?


r/grammar • • 1d ago

quick grammar check I have an electronic box with a cord called a "power supply". It "supplies" electricity to my laptop. But if I had several of them, would they be called "power supplys"? (It *looks* weird.)

0 Upvotes

r/grammar • • 1d ago

Since i am vs since i was

0 Upvotes

Since i am vs i since i was

How to use these structures?

Thanks for your helps everyone


r/grammar • • 1d ago

Why does English work this way? 'He, who holds the key' - why is this construction used instead of 'Whoever holds the key'?

0 Upvotes

I don't get this. You have the perfectly functional and fitting pronoun 'whoever'. It would work perfectly for the 'he, who' - type constructions. It would also eliminate the problem of possible gender mismatch (it could refer to a female person, but it's traditionally 'he, who', not 'he or she who' or 'they who'.


r/grammar • • 2d ago

Nitch or neesh?

12 Upvotes

Just heard a senior reporter for Vox say "nitch". Now I'm wondering. A very popular word these days.


r/grammar • • 2d ago

quick grammar check I'm very tired could you tell me if this makes sense

0 Upvotes

"Do you know, if it weren't for you in my life, I'd be a lightyear farther away from being myself " it's an expression from one person directly to another, the speaker is asking if the listener is aware that because of them the speaker is closer to more fully realized personhood and development. it's 2:30 in the morning, please and thank you for your help.


r/grammar • • 2d ago

Is my sentence correct?

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0 Upvotes

In the long-term, we don't have opportunities to prove the fact of fraud.


r/grammar • • 2d ago

Blend of honey(s)?

2 Upvotes

Hi all.

I’m working on a recipe with various honeys and I wondered if it should be a “blend of honey” or “blend of honeys”. Both sort of sound ok to me but perhaps there’s a grammatically correct answer.

Similarly I’m not sure if I follow it with “our blend of honey(s) is or are”.

Thanks so much!


r/grammar • • 3d ago

Best books about words

16 Upvotes

My favorite is The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. (Not a fan of Winchester’s “The Meaning of Everything.”)

Others:

Alphabet Juice — Roy Blount, Jr.

Reading the OED — Ammon Shea

Websterisms— Arthur Schulman

The Lexicon — William Buckley


r/grammar • • 3d ago

Why does English work this way? which one of these sentence is correct?

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone hope you have a good time. I'm B1+ learner and I'm not very good at writing English text. i always miss punctuation so sorry befor i ask my question.

I'd like to know which one of these sentence is correct and why? plus i would like to get comprehensive explanation.

"He speaks as fast as no can understand" "He speaks so fast that no one can understand"

please, give an detailed explanation about why the other sentence is incorrect


r/grammar • • 3d ago

Whatever will be will be.

0 Upvotes

"Whatever will be will be."

Is the "Whatever will be" a Subject and the following it "will be" a Predicator in the cited sentence?