Indicating likelihood
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Using verbs to indicate likelihood | page 5 of 5 |
Active or passive voice
Note that for most of these verbs which are used to indicate likelihood, speakers have
the choice to use active or passive voice, with passive voice (in the impersonal third
person) generally being reserved for creation of a more formal tone.
In the following extract, there is a nice contrast between the two sentences. The first sentence achieves a rather personal and informal tone through, among other things, the use of the repeated personal pronouns we and you and the contracted form don't. In the second, a more formal and objective tone is achieved through the use of the impersonal third person passive, the choice of people instead of the more idiomatic you, and of be of benefit to in place of help:
We don't know if this is controlling the disease, but we assume if you can control the immune system, you control the problem. It is assumed that it will be of benefit to people in the long term. (Bank of English)
In terms of frequency, some verbs are more common in more formal (often written) contexts:
He pointed out, too, the discrepancy between the way in which we in the Forest are going to be hit and the fact that we appear to be working in a vacuum. (Bank of English)
while other verbs and structures are more common in more informal (often spoken) contexts:
I just tend to get out of seminars and go and do my own thing.
(Bank of English)
But most of the verbs that indicate likelihood are common in a wide range of contexts: spoken, written, formal, neutral and informal.
Introduction
Active or passive voice
