askeladd
Joined: 05 Jan 2010
Posts: 89
Location: Chicago area, USA
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 Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 10:16 pm Post subject: Re: Another question to be checked. |
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| www0935 wrote: |
The following is my third question:
Only 12% of Taiwanese people _____ regular exercise.
(A)engaging in (B)are engaged in (C)engagement in (D)engage in
The answer is (D), but how about (B)? Is there any difference between "be engaged in" and "engage in" when these two phrases are used in the sentence?
Thanks for your help. |
Both (B) and (D) are grammatically correct, but they have different uses.
(D) is written in the simple present, which is used when we want to state facts, or how things are or behave. For example, Cats have fur uses the simple present to state a general fact.
(B) is written using the passive voice. Passive voice (e.g., The apple was eaten by John) isn't wrong, and there may be instances where passive voice is preferable, but most of the time it's better to write using the active voice (e.g., John ate the apple) instead. This is because the passive voice is often wordy or unclear.
Hope this helps 
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