IELTS

Passives verbs: I guess it's essential to get them into your speaking.

But don't overdo it . . . don't use too many. Try hard to use them in the right situation.

Here's something for beginners: Making a sentence in English (and most other languages) is easy! The first thing that comes into your head will be the topic of the sentence. In grammar, that is called the subject. Put that subject at (or near) the beginning of your sentence.

Usually, what your subject is doing, or does, or will do etc comes next in the form of a verb, which is an action.

Most writing (and I suppose speaking) courses emphasize the need for good strong action verbs because they make your writing (and speaking) more dynamic and forceful. We clearly know the subject and the action. In other words we know who is doing what.

Passive verbs are weaker and we don't always know who is doing (or did, or has done etc) the action. So they don't sound as good.

But the passive voice is pretty common in academic writing for some reason. And it's a good idea to use it a few times . . . to show your range!