Passive transformation
The grammatical transformation of active voice sentences to passive voice, moving the object to subject position and obscuring or omitting the agent. For example, 'The cake was eaten' (from 'Someone ate the cake').
Real World
After the 2010 BP oil spill, company statements used passives like 'mistakes were made' and 'the spill was regretted' to avoid naming who was responsible, a strategy journalists quickly highlighted as evasive.
Exam Focus
Always note whether the agent is included or deleted in the passive, and explain how agent deletion obscures responsibility or shifts focus.
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