Active form vs Passive form

Question

Could you confirm whether both of the (A) and (B) are acceptable and sound natural in the following sentence?
If you think one of them is better than the other though all of them are okay, just tell me about it please.
Thank you.

When Orville Wright took flight in 1903, muscles gave way to engines. And the fantasy of

(A) powering aircraft by ourselves, largely evaporated.
(B) aircraft powered by ourselves, largely evaporated.

Dave_anon · Accepted Answer

Hi

First, the commas do not look right. The second sentence could have two (a first one after 'aircraft') or none at all. I think the first one should definitely not have any:

- And the fantasy of powering aircraft by ourselves largely evaporated.
- And the fantasy of aircraft powered by ourselves largely evaporated.
- And the fantasy of aircraft, powered by ourselves, largely evaporated.

All of these are OK. I slightly prefer the first and that's probably because of the old advice: if in doubt, use the active form of a sentence or phrase. The fantasy seems an active one to me: I dream of powering the aircraft through the sky, rather than: I dream of an aircraft that is powered by me

But it is probably a matter of taste, in part, and how the sentence fits into the rest of the paragraph

Dave

Active form vs Passive form

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