All through school I was told that passive voice was a no-no. It makes writing boring and unpolished. Using active voice would make me a better writer.
Though, in the last few years, I've learned that it's more a stylistic choice. It can be used to emphasize or de-emphasize. In other words, it's just gotten a bad rap.
In my grammar class today, someone asked where the aversion to using passive voice may have come from. No one knew for sure, and the teacher wondered if this was a strictly American English construct.
So my question to you all is: Did you grow up learning that passive voice was "wrong" or "inferior" and where are you from?
Sara
