Five reasons for using Passive are:
- Because we are less interested in the agent and more concerned with the patient. For example, in:
The invoice was issued
We are not concerned with the agent (probably, we know it's someone in the finance department). We are concerned with what happened to the invoice (the patient, not the agent). - Because it's obvious what the subject is so unnecessary to state it. For example, in:
The CEO must be consulted
we are aware that it is people in the company who do the consulting. - Because we don't know what the subject is. For example, in:
Security has been breached
we don't know who breached security. - Because, stylistically or for social reasons, we are concerned not to identify the agent. For example, in:
A mistake has been identified
we do not want to lay blame at anyone's door (certainly not our own) so we omit the agent altogether. - Because we want to emphasise the agent. This is often a spoken form because we need to stress the agent when we speak. For example:
The invoice was issued by the Finance Department
emphasises the fact that it is the Finance Department to whom you should refer if there is a problem.
Exercise:
The passive is, in English and most other languages, marked in some way to lend weight to an item. For example, we can choose to say:
- The boss has arranged a meeting for this afternoon
or we can say: - A meeting has been arranged for this afternoon
but we are less likely to say: - A meeting has been arranged for this afternoon by the boss
which of the following three clauses is like to follow the three cases above:
- and it'll be at 3 in the conference room
- and he expects everyone to be there
- so any other meeting will have to wait