Using the passive voice has a number of disadvantages.
It tends to sound rather formal and remote:
Volunteers were sought to set up the tables.
It can lead to rather complicated expressions:
The opinions of staff and governors were sought and although there were some reservations it was decided that a questionnaire should be distributed to parents.
Sentence 1 would be better as:
They asked for volunteers to set up the tables.
Sentence 2 Would be simpler if it were made active:
We asked staff and governors for their views. Although not everyone agreed completely, we decided to send a questionnaire to parents.
On the other hand, the passive can make sentences shorter and clearer. For example, this:
She was run over by a car travelling at excessive speed and overtaking on the wrong side.
is better than:
A car travelling at excessive speed and overtaking on the wrong side ran her over.
The first sentence has a short subject She and is easy to follow. The subject of the second sentence is too long and we lose the sense before we get to the verb.
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