Page 61: Examples

The tip-off to whether a verb is passive is if you can tack a prepositional phrase beginning with "by" to the end of the verb phrase: My engineering background was used [by me] to communicate effectively our requirements to suppliers and to understand the development engineer's specifications. Check for actual or potential "by" phrases as you read over your letter. One of the most effective features of the grammar-checkers on most word-processing software is their ability to spot passive constructions.