Negative vs. Passive: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 29, 2023
Negative refers to expressing denial, refusal, or contradiction, often using words like "no" or "not," while passive implies a lack of active participation or response, often in behavior or language.
Key Differences
In grammar, "negative" typically refers to a construct that negates a statement or proposition, often using words like "not," "never," or "no." Conversely, "passive" is a voice that indicates the subject of a sentence is the recipient of the action, rather than the doer, often using forms of "be" plus a past participle.
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Dec 29, 2023
Negative constructions are used to express disagreement, denial, or refusal, altering the meaning of a sentence to indicate the absence of something or the opposite of an affirmative statement. In contrast, passive constructions focus on the action or state being experienced by the subject, often omitting the doer of the action.
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Dec 29, 2023
Negative statements can apply to various sentence structures, including declarative, interrogative, and imperative, changing their tone and meaning. Passive sentences, however, are primarily concerned with the structure, shifting the emphasis from the actor (doer) to the receiver of the action.
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Dec 29, 2023
The use of negative forms can significantly alter the mood and intent of communication, often used for emphasis, contradiction, or expressing a lack. Passive constructions are often employed for formality, to emphasize the action over the actor, or when the actor is unknown or irrelevant.
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Dec 29, 2023
In summary, while negative forms are versatile in changing the meaning of statements across various contexts, passive constructions are more about sentence structure and focus, highlighting the receiver of actions rather than the initiator.
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Dec 29, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Purpose
Denies or contradicts a statement.
Indicates the subject is acted upon.
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Construction
Uses words like "not," "never," "no."
Uses forms of "be" + past participle.
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Focus
On the absence or opposite of a statement.
On the receiver of the action.
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Use in Sentences
Alters tone and meaning.
Shifts emphasis from actor to action/receiver.
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Effect on Communication
Changes mood and intent for emphasis or contradiction.
Provides formality or focus on the action rather than the actor.
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Negative and Passive Definitions
Negative
Expressing denial or refusal.
She gave a negative response to the proposal.
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Passive
Receiving or enduring without resistance.
The passive student quietly accepted the criticism.
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Negative
Associated with pessimism or lack of enthusiasm.
His negative outlook on life often made him unpopular.
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Passive
In grammar, a voice that shows the subject is acted upon.
The ball was thrown by John.
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Negative
Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial
Gave a negative answer to our request.
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Passive
Not participating actively.
He remained passive during the heated debate.
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Negative
Indicating opposition or resistance
A negative reaction to the new advertising campaign.
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Passive
Receiving or subjected to an action without responding or initiating an action in return
The mind viewed as a passive receptacle for sensory experience.
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Negative
Unpleasant; disagreeable
Had a negative experience on his first job.
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Passive
Accepting or submitting without objection or resistance; submissive
A passive acceptance of one's fate.
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Passive
Existing, conducted, or experienced without active or concerted effort
“Although tick paralysis is a reportable disease in Washington, surveillance is passive, and only 10 cases were reported during 1987–1995” (US Department of Health and Human Services). “[Many parents believe] that computers are educational and, at the least, less passive than television” (Laurie Hays).
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Negative
Unfavorable or detrimental
A negative review.
A negative effect on the child's development.
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Passive
Of, relating to, or being certain bonds or shares that do not bear financial interest.
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Negative
Hostile or disparaging; malicious
Ran a negative campaign against her opponent.
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Passive
Of, relating to, or being a solar heating or cooling system that uses no external mechanical power.
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Negative
(Medicine) Not indicating the presence of a particular disease, condition, or organism.
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Passive
(Grammar) Of, relating to, or being a verb form or voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject is the object of the action or the effect of the verb. For example, in the sentence They were impressed by his manner, were impressed is in the passive voice.
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Negative
(Philosophy) Of or relating to non-being or the absence of qualities rather than being or the possession of qualities
The purely negative virtue of unselfishness.
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Passive
(Chemistry) Unreactive except under special or extreme conditions; inert.
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Negative
(Logic) Designating a proposition that denies agreement between a subject and its predicate.
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Passive
(Electronics) Exhibiting no gain or contributing no energy
A passive circuit element.
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Negative
Of or relating to a quantity, number, angle, velocity, or direction in a sense opposite to another of the same magnitude indicated or understood to be positive.
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Negative
Of or relating to an electric charge of the same sign as that of an electron, indicated by the symbol (−).
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Passive
(psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
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Negative
(Chemistry) Of or relating to an ion, the anion, that is attracted to a positive electrode.
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Negative
(Biology) Moving or turning away from a stimulus, such as light
A negative tropism.
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Passive
(aviation) Without motive power.
A passive balloon; a passive aeroplane; passive flight, such as gliding and soaring
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Negative
A statement or act indicating or expressing a contradiction, denial, or refusal.
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Passive
(electronics) Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
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Negative
A statement or act that is highly critical of another or of others
Campaign advertising that was based solely on negatives.
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Negative
Something that lacks all positive, affirmative, or encouraging features; an element that is the counterpoint of the positive
“Life is full of overwhelming odds. You can't really eliminate the negatives but you can diminish them” (Art Linkletter).
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Negative
A feature or characteristic that is not deemed positive, affirmative, or desirable
“As voters get to know his liberal views, his negatives will rise” (Richard M. Nixon).
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Negative
(Grammar) A word or part of a word, such as no, not, or non-, that indicates negation. See Usage Note at double negative.
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Passive
(marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.
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Negative
The side in a debate that contradicts or opposes the question being debated.
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Passive
(electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
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Negative
An image in which the light areas of the object rendered appear dark and the dark areas appear light. In a color negative, hues are also reversed so that each color is represented by its complementary color.
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Passive
Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene.
The passive airUpbore their nimble tread.
The mind is wholly passive in the reception of all its simple ideas.
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Negative
A film, plate, or other photographic material containing such an image.
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Passive
Receiving or enduring without either active sympathy or active resistance; without emotion or excitement; patient; not opposing; unresisting; as, passive obedience; passive submission.
The best virtue, passive fortitude.
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Passive
Inactive; inert; unreactive; not showing strong affinity; as, red phosphorus is comparatively passive.
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Passive
Designating certain morbid conditions, as hemorrhage or dropsy, characterized by relaxation of the vessels and tissues, with deficient vitality and lack of reaction in the affected tissues.
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Passive
The voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb;
`The ball was thrown by the boy' uses the passive voice
`The ball was thrown' is an abbreviated passive
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Passive
Lacking in energy or will;
Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself
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Passive
Expressing thatthe subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb;
Academics seem to favor passive sentences
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Negative
(physics) Of electrical charge of an electron and related particles
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Passive
Lacking in energy or will.
Her passive demeanor made her seem uninterested.
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Passive
Accepting or allowing what happens without active response.
His passive acceptance of the decision was unexpected.
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Negative
Damaging; undesirable; unfavourable.
The high exchange rate will have a negative effect on our profits.
Customers didn’t like it: feedback was mostly negative.
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Negative
Pessimistic; not tending to see the bright side of things.
I don’t like to hang around him very much because he can be so negative about his petty problems.
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Negative
Of or relating to a photographic image in which the colours of the original, and the relations of left and right, are reversed.
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Negative
(chemistry) Metalloidal, nonmetallic; contrasted with positive or basic.
The nitro group is negative.
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Negative
Often preceded by emotion, energy, feeling, or thought: to be avoided, bad, difficult, disagreeable, painful, potentially damaging, unpleasant, unwanted.
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Negative
Characterized by the presence of features which do not support a hypothesis.
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Negative
(photography) An image in which dark areas represent light ones, and the converse.
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Negative
(weightlifting) A repetition performed with a weight in which the muscle begins at maximum contraction and is slowly extended; a movement performed using only the eccentric phase of muscle movement.
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Negative
Denying; implying, containing, or asserting denial, negation or refusal; returning the answer no to an inquiry or request; refusing assent; as, a negative answer; a negative opinion; - opposed to affirmative.
If thou wilt confess,Or else be impudently negative.
Denying me any power of a negative voice.
Something between an affirmative bow and a negative shake.
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Negative
Not positive; without affirmative statement or demonstration; indirect; consisting in the absence of something; privative; as, a negative argument; negative evidence; a negative morality; negative criticism.
There in another way of denying Christ, . . . which is negative, when we do not acknowledge and confess him.
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Negative
Asserting absence of connection between a subject and a predicate; as, a negative proposition.
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Negative
Of or pertaining to a picture upon glass or other material, in which the lights and shades of the original, and the relations of right and left, are reversed.
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Negative
Metalloidal; nonmetallic; - contrasted with positive or basic; as, the nitro group is negative.
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Negative
A proposition by which something is denied or forbidden; a conception or term formed by prefixing the negative particle to one which is positive; an opposite or contradictory term or conception.
This is a known rule in divinity, that there is no command that runs in negatives but couches under it a positive duty.
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Negative
A word used in denial or refusal; as, not, no.
No wine ne drank she, neither white nor red.
These eyes that never did nor never shallSo much as frown on you.
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Negative
The refusal or withholding of assents; veto.
If a kind without his kingdom be, in a civil sense, nothing, then . . . his negative is as good as nothing.
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Negative
That side of a question which denies or refuses, or which is taken by an opposing or denying party; the relation or position of denial or opposition; as, the question was decided in the negative.
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Negative
A picture upon glass or other material, in which the light portions of the original are represented in some opaque material (usually reduced silver), and the dark portions by the uncovered and transparent or semitransparent ground of the picture.
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Negative
To prove unreal or untrue; to disprove.
The omission or infrequency of such recitals does not negative the existence of miracles.
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Negative
To reject by vote; to refuse to enact or sanction; as, the Senate negatived the bill.
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Negative
A piece of photographic film showing an image with black and white tones reversed
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Negative
Vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent;
The President vetoed the bill
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Negative
Characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features;
A negative outlook on life
A colorless negative personality
A negative evaluation
A negative reaction to an advertising campaign
A positive attitude
The reviews were all positive
A positive benefit
A positive demand
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Negative
Having a negative electric charge;
Electrons are negative
Protons are positive
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Negative
Having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant;
Ran a negative campaign
Delinquents retarded by their negative outlook on life
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Negative
Not indicating the presence of microorganisms or disease or a specific condition;
The HIV test was negative
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Negative
Designed or tending to discredit, especially without positive or helpful suggestions;
Negative criticism
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Negative
Denoting the absence of something.
The room was negative of light, completely dark.
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Negative
Indicating the opposite of an affirmative.
His answer was not yes, but the negative.
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Negative
In mathematics, less than zero.
The temperature dropped to negative five degrees.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
Can a sentence be both negative and passive?
Yes, a sentence can be both, e.g., "The letter was not written by her."
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Dec 29, 2023
What is a negative statement?
A statement that denies, contradicts, or expresses the opposite of an affirmative statement.
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Dec 29, 2023
What is the effect of using negative language?
It changes the tone to express disagreement, refusal, or the absence of something.
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How is passive voice identified?
Passive voice is identified when the subject of the sentence is acted upon, typically using forms of "be" and a past participle.
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Why use passive voice?
To emphasize the action or the receiver, especially when the doer is unknown or irrelevant.
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Is negative language always bad?
Not necessarily; it can be used effectively for emphasis or clarity.
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Can passive voice be used in questions?
Yes, e.g., "Is the book being read by you?"
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Are negative sentences more common in certain contexts?
Yes, often in formal, academic, or professional settings for precision or emphasis.
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Can negative form alter the mood of a conversation?
Yes, it can create a more contradictory or confrontational tone.
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Is passive voice considered weak in writing?
Sometimes, as it can make writing less engaging or clear.
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Is passive voice less direct than active voice?
Generally, yes; it can be less straightforward and more formal.
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How does negation affect verb forms?
It often requires auxiliary verbs, e.g., "do not go," "is not going."
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What is a passive construction in grammar?
A sentence where the subject is acted upon, e.g., "The song was sung."
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Can passive sentences be active?
Yes, by rephrasing to focus on the actor, e.g., "John threw the ball."
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Are negative questions common in English?
Yes, especially for confirmation or emphasis, e.g., "Isn't it raining?"
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Can negation be implicit?
Yes, through context or tone, without explicit negative words.
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Does negative language affect sentence structure?
Yes, it can change word order and require auxiliary verbs.
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Dec 29, 2023
Are there different types of negative words?
Yes, including adverbs, determiners, and pronouns, e.g., "nobody," "never."
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Dec 29, 2023
Why might someone choose passive structure?
For stylistic reasons, to focus on the action, or to avoid naming the actor.
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Dec 29, 2023
Is passive voice common in spoken English?
Less so than in written English, but it's still used for specific purposes.
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Dec 29, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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