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by eurvin 2426 days ago
I can add to this that some languages have an active and passive voice to express oneself. Clear thoughts are expressed and experienced by the listener/reader by using an active voice.

Example: I have written a comment on HN and I have been feeling good ever since. (passive) vs. I wrote a comment on HN and I feel good ever since. (active.)

The active sentence is both clean and concise.

Any English native speakers please chime in with better examples. (:

1 comments

You're right that the second sentence is simpler, but both of the sentences are in the active voice. (The difference between the two is in verb tense: the first sentence is in "present perfect" tense and the second sentence is in "simple present" tense. The first sentence places more emphasis on the writing as a completed action than the second sentence.)

A better example of the passive voice here is "A comment on HN was written by me".

Here's a guide to the difference between passive and active voice: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/passive-voice/

...and a guide to verb tenses: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/introduction-to-verb-t...

Thanks! I learned a lot from those links. (: