As a linguistic expert with a deep understanding of both English and Chinese, I'm delighted to delve into the intricacies of the passive voice. The passive voice is a grammatical voice that emphasizes the receiver of an action rather than the doer of the action. It is one of the two voices of verbs, the other being the active voice.
In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action expressed by the verb. This is in contrast to the active voice, where the subject is the one performing the action. The passive voice is formed by using the appropriate form of the verb "to be" and the past participle of the main verb.
Let's consider the example provided: "The ball was thrown by the pitcher." Here, "the ball" is the subject and it is the receiver of the action 'to be thrown'. The phrase "was thrown" is the passive construction, indicating that the ball is the focus of the sentence, not the pitcher who performed the action.
The passive voice is used for various reasons, including:
1. **To emphasize the action or the recipient of the action**: When the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or less significant than the action itself or the receiver.
2. To maintain a formal or objective tone: In academic writing, the passive voice is often used to maintain a sense of objectivity.
3. **To create suspense or to avoid direct responsibility**: In narratives, the passive voice can be used to create suspense by withholding the identity of the doer of an action.
4. To focus on the experience or result: When the focus is on what happened rather than who made it happen.
However, the passive voice should be used judiciously. Overuse can lead to sentences that are less direct and can obscure the meaning or the agent of the action. It's important to balance the use of active and passive voices to ensure clarity and effectiveness in communication.
Now, let's move on to translating the explanation into Chinese.
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