Question

When you compose messages, you may use the active or passive voice to convey meaning. Most business messages use the active voice. Which of the following are instances when you would use the passive voice in a business message?

Check all that apply.

a. To de-emphasize negative news
b. To emphasize an action instead of the recipient of an action
c. To conceal the doer of an action
d To emphasize the sender not the reader

Answer 1

The correct answers are letters "A", "B", and "C": To de-emphasize negative news; To emphasize an action instead of the recipient of an action; To conceal the doer of an action.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Business, the passive voice is used to emphasize the action and the object of a statement. This typically happens when the subject is unknown, not as important as the action committed, or simply should be concealed. Besides, these types of sentences are used to de-emphasize negative news. Passive voice sentences have the structure: Subject + verb "to be" + verb in Past Participle.