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Yes, lots of them. I keep files of famous lines that break writing "rules" to share with my students: They need to understand that sometimes you have to break a rule to achieve your goal. But I haven't been teaching during the pandemic so I'll have to try to dredge up my passive-voice file.

One rule I've written about at length on Medium is that "omit adverbs" edict that Jane Austen violates with the "universally" in the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice (in my post "Are we all wrong about the first line of Pride and Prejudice?"). That post is one of my most popular, month after month, so maybe I should do one on passive constructions, too. Thanks for the inspiration :).

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Janice Harayda
Janice Harayda

Written by Janice Harayda

Critic, novelist, award-winning journalist. Former book editor of the Plain Dealer and book columnist for Glamour. Words in NYT, WSJ, and other major media.

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