Re: [office-comment] Passive voice verb phrases

[marbux <marbux@gmail.com>]

On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 5:49 AM, Alex Brown <alexb@griffinbrown.co.uk> wrote:

> Right, so you'd prefer something like:
>
> "An ODF processor shall ignore whitespace in elements declared to have only element content" ?

Yes, but with the "shall" in bold face if the language in section 1.2
is retained that limits the applicability of ISO/IEC Directives Annex
H requirement keyword definitions only to those instances of terms
that are set in bold face.

> I wonder, did all the passive voicing derive from the fact that the narrative was originally a commentary spun around the schema?

I don't really know although that rings as though it may have been a
contributing factor. Another factor might be the immaturity of the
specification. I'm personally plagued by a habit of writing far too
many passive voice verb phrases in my first drafts when I'm writing in
"just get the thought down on paper" mode. Rewrite is a necessity for
me. :-)

Best regards,

Paul

-- 
Universal Interoperability Council
<http:www.universal-interop-council.org>