Business English for Success

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• B – Mackenzie processes all sales orders daily.

Most readers prefer sentence B, but why? You’ll recall that all sentences have a subject
and a verb, but you may not have paid much attention to their functions. Let’s look at
how the subject and verb function in these two sentences. In sentence A, the subject is
“Mackenzie,” and the subject is the doer of the action expressed by the verb (processes).
In sentence A, the subject is “sales orders,” and the subject is the receiver of the action
expressed by the verb (are processed). Sentence A is written in active voice—a sentence
structure in which the subject carries out the action. Sentence B is written in
passive voice—a sentence structure in which the subject receives the action.

Active sentences tend to be shorter, more precise, and easier to understand. This is
especially true because passive sentences can be written in ways that do not tell the
reader who the doer of the action is. For example, “All sales orders are processed daily”
is a complete and correct sentence in passive voice.

Active voice is the clear choice for a variety of contexts, but not all. When you want to
deemphasize the doer of the action, you may write, “Ten late arrivals were recorded this
month” and not even mention who was late. The passive form doesn’t place blame or
credit, so it can be more diplomatic in some contexts. Passive voice allows the writer to
avoid personal references or personal pronouns (he, she, they) to create a more
objective tone. There are also situations where the doer of the action is unknown, as in
“graffiti was painted on the side of our building last night.”

Overall, business communication resources tend to recommend active voice as the
preferred style. Still, the styles themselves are not the problem or challenge, but it is
how we use them that matters. A skilled business writer will see both styles as options
within a range of choices and learn to distinguish when each style is most appropriate to
facilitate communication.

Commonly Confused Words

The sentences in Table 11.6 "Common Errors in English" focus on some of the most
common errors in English. You may recall this exercise from the introduction of this
chapter. How did you do? Visit the “Additional Resources” section at the end of the
chapter for some resources on English grammar and usage.

Table 11.6 Common Errors in English

1. accept or
   except

The office will

_______

applications until 5

p.m. on the 31st.

accept Attendance is

required for all

employees

_______

supervisors.

except

2. affect or
   effect

To _______ the

growth of plants, we

can regulate the

affect A lack of water has a

predictable

_______ on most

effect