When is it appropriate to use the passive voice?

Question

It is never appropriate
When the person or thing performing the action is unimportant or unknown
When the person or thing performing the action is a proper noun
When the person or thing performing the action comes before the verb

Answer 1

The appropriate times to use the passive voice include:

• When the person or thing performing the action is unimportant or unknown. This allows the focus to shift to the action itself or the recipient of the action rather than the actor.

The other options do not accurately reflect appropriate uses of passive voice. Passive voice can also be useful for varying sentence structure, emphasizing different elements of a sentence, or when the actor is implied or already understood from context.