Quote of the Day – Passives

From Language Log:

If passives were UFOs, the country would be frantic over all the sightings, but the Air Force wouldn’t be scrambling any jets.

I have two pet peeves with regard to passives. First, there are those who find passives where there are none, as in the post cited by Language Log. Second, there are those who refuse to use any passives at all. It’s quite possible to overuse passives, but sometimes a passive is appropriate, and sometimes it provides variety.