Some of you have said you are having trouble distinguishing between active and passive verbs. And when we throw “being” verbs into the mix, it can get even more complicated. (A “being” verb is a form of “to be”: I am, you are, she/he is, they are, he was, they were, etc.) So here’s a brief review.

When you are active, you are doing something. When you are passive, you are not doing anything, but something could be happening to you. So think of yourself as the subject of the sentence.

If the subject is doing something, the verb is active. If something is happening to the subject, then the verb is passive.

A car hit Sally.

Car is the subject, and it did something, so the verb is active.

Sally was hit by a car.

Now Sally is the subject, and she didn’t do anything. Someone or something else did something to her. So the verb is passive.

Whether the verb is active or passive depends on the subject — did it do something? It’s active. Or was something done to it? It’s passive. It’s not based just on the words that you use. A passive verb does use a “being” verb — “was” or “were.” But the presence of those words does not mean it’s passive unless the subject receives the action.

So I could say: Sally was happy to see her mother. In this sentence, “was” is just a plain old “being” verb, and “happy” is an adjective.

Or how about this: Sally was walking to the store, and she was hit by a speeding car.

The first “was” in the sentence is part of a present progressive verb — but I doubt you care to know that! But you can tell that it is NOT a passive verb because Sally, the subject, is doing something — she is walking. But in the second half, the “was” is a passive verb, because Sally was the recipient of the action. The car hit her.

Being verb: It was a dark and stormy night.

Passive verb: She was murdered on a dark and stormy night.

(Here you don’t know who performed the action, but “she” received the action — murder. When you don’t know the actor, it might be a good time to use a passive verb. Trying to avoid it can result is something wordy that is not an improvement: Her murder occurred on a dark and stormy night.)

And sometimes, of course, only a “being” verb will do the job. I tried to eliminate them from this blog, but how else can I say: That one is a “being” verb. A “being” verb is like an equal sign, so if that’s what you are trying to express, go ahead.

So a “being” verb provides a clue that the verb might be passive, but the presence of a “being” verb does not always indicate a passive verb.

By the way, try not to use too many “being” verbs either. Most sentences with a “being” verb can be improved. In particular, avoid starting sentences with “there are.” I’ve noticed that “being” verbs tend to be addictive, or at least habit forming — once you start using them, you can’t seem to stop. The same goes for “has” and “have.” Yes, “has” is technically an active verb, but it’s kind of blah and doesn’t provide very much information.

For example, this paragraph has a “being” verb, then a passive verb, and then a “has” verb:

The Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic village is open again after it was renovated. It now has air conditioning and heating units, plus insulation to keep the 1900s-era building more comfortable for visitors. (34 words)

Let’s try it with active verbs:

The Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village reopened after a two-year renovation. The university added air conditioning, heating units, and insulation to the 1900s-era buildings to make them more comfortable for visitors. (33 words)

The active verbs in the second version make the writing tighter — it provides more information with fewer words. In the first one, you didn’t know that the renovation took two years or that it was the university in charge of doing it.

So if I told you that you needed to “tighten up” sections of your feature story — and I think I told almost everyone — look for passive verbs, “being” verbs, and “has.” I don’t mean that you must eliminate all of those; sometimes you need them. But I do want you to reconsider each one. Doing that will prevent you from using them habitually in a repetitive pattern.