Mistakes Were Made: A Deep Dive into Grammar’s Most Controversial Tool
How to identify linguistic manipulation and use the passive voice for better diplomacy.
In the world of grammar, the passive voice is often treated like the eccentric relative at a dinner party: everyone knows it’s there, many people find it slightly annoying, and most writing guides suggest it should be avoided whenever possible. Yet, despite decades of stylistic policing, it remains one of the most powerful and pervasive tools in the human linguistic arsenal.
At its core, the passive voice is a grammatical construction where the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence. Instead of saying "The student submitted the assignment" (Active), we say "The assignment was submitted" (Passive). It is a shift in perspective that deliberately de-emphasizes the "doer" (the agent) to focus instead on the "done-to" (the recipient). Its primary rhetorical function is the creation of distance, objectivity, or anonymity.
The Genesis: From Latinate Roots to Scientific Necessity
The passive voice isn't a modern invention; it is baked into the DNA of the English language, inherited from its Germanic ancestors and heavily influenced by Latin. In classical Latin, the passive was a standard, sophisticated mode of expression used to convey formality and permanence.
The technique found its true "pioneer" moment during the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century. Figures like Francis Bacon and later the Royal Society promoted a new "objective" way of reporting findings. They argued that the observer shouldn't matter; the experiment should speak for itself. To say "I heated the beaker" felt too personal, perhaps even biased. To say "The beaker was heated" suggested a universal truth that would happen regardless of who held the Bunsen burner. This cultural shift towards empiricism cemented the passive voice as the "language of authority" in academia and science.
The Rise of Bureaucracy and the "Mistakes Were Made" Era
As the 19th and 20th centuries saw the rise of massive corporate and governmental bureaucracies, the passive voice evolved from a tool of scientific objectivity into a shield for institutional accountability.
The spread of the passive voice was fueled by three main forces:
Legalism: Lawyers favored the passive voice because it could describe events without prematurely assigning blame.
Standardization: In the industrial age, manuals and instructions (e.g., "The lever must be pulled") needed to sound impersonal and universal.
Political Rhetoric: This is where the technique took a darker turn. In the mid-20th century, George Orwell famously critiqued the passive voice in his essay Politics and the English Language. He argued that it was used to "make lies sound truthful and murder respectable."
By the late 20th century, the "passive-evasive" style became a hallmark of political crisis management. The infamous phrase "Mistakes were made," used by figures from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton, serves as the ultimate example. It acknowledges the action (the mistake) while completely deleting the actor (the one who made it).
Modern Application: Manipulation, Gentleness, and Power
Today, the passive voice is everywhere—from the fine print of your terms-of-service agreements to the headlines of breaking news. Its impact is felt most strongly in three distinct arenas:
1. The Media and "Police-Speak"
In journalism, the passive voice is often used to describe sensitive events, particularly involving state actors. A headline reading "Protester was struck by a projectile" creates a very different mental image than "Police officer shot a protester." The former sounds like a natural disaster; the latter sounds like a choice. This use of the technique is highly controversial because it can subtly shape public perception of responsibility.
2. Corporate Diplomacy
In interpersonal communication, the passive voice can actually be a tool for politeness and de-escalation. If a manager says, "You forgot to send the report," it feels like an attack. If they say, "The report wasn't sent," the focus stays on the problem (the missing report) rather than the person's failure. In this context, the passive voice serves as a social lubricant.
3. User Experience (UX) Design
When you see a message on your phone that says "Connection was lost," the software is using the passive voice to avoid sounding like it's blaming you—or itself. It presents the error as a state of being, reducing user frustration.
Mastering the Shift: How to Use and Detect the Passive
The goal of a sophisticated communicator isn't to abolish the passive voice, but to use it with intentionality.
When to Use It Responsibly
When the actor is unknown: "The temple was built three thousand years ago." (We don't know the specific builders).
When the object is more important than the actor: "The vaccine was approved today." (The vaccine is the news, not the specific committee that voted on it).
To soften a blow: Use it to point out errors without being accusatory.
How to Recognize Manipulation
To protect yourself from being misled, practice the "By Zombies" test. If you can add the phrase "by zombies" to the end of a sentence and it still makes grammatical sense, it is in the passive voice.
"Budget cuts were implemented... (by zombies)."
"The neighborhood was gentrified... (by zombies)."
When you hear this, ask yourself: Who is actually doing this? By mentally re-inserting the actor, you strip away the cloak of "natural occurrence" and see the human agency underneath.
Language is a reflection of how we see the world. When we use the active voice, we see a world of actors and consequences. When we use the passive voice, we see a world of results and experiences. Both are necessary. By understanding the architecture of absence, you can choose when to step into the light of accountability and when to let the actions speak for themselves.
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