I need some help on changing this sentence to active voice,"Engaging in online chats, some unsuspecting people can be misled." any suggestions

Question

I need some help on changing this sentence to  active voice,"Engaging in online chats, some unsuspecting people can be misled." any suggestions

anonymous · Answer

not sure but maybe like this: some unsuspecting people can mislead themselves upon engaging in online chat.

anonymous · Answer

I'm not sure of the context of this sentence, so here's a shot with where I think you are going with the sentence.  "Ill-meaning users of online chatrooms mislead other, unsuspecting people."  Normally with passive voice problems, I always ask myself "by whom?" at the end of the sentence.  

So if we take your original sentence and ask who is doing the action, that's where I got the 'ill-meaning users' that I made up and invite you to modify, if you wish.  E.g.:
"Engaging in online chats, some unsuspecting people can be misled (by whom?) by ill-meaning users."  Once you identify the active participant, it's easy to place them as the subject of the sentence, change the passively modified verb (misled, in this case) to an active verb (mislead) and rearrange the sentence.  Hope this helps!

anonymous · Answer

This is an easy one!
While engaging in online chats, some unsuspecting people are misled.

anonymous · Answer

Peeps, some teachers may consider that answer still passive because of the linking verb "are."  Some teachers may call them to-be verbs, but they are a huge indicator of passivity in a sentence.

anonymous · Answer

According to my word program, my sentence is not passive.  The original was.

anonymous · Answer

Teachers "consider" a lot of things that are not necessarily true.

anonymous · Answer

Peeps, I didn't mean to start an argument, I just think that your answer is still passive, even if it isn't caught in your word processor. Microsoft Word (or whatever program) can recognize patterns of passivity and other grammatical mistakes, but I never trust it with my writing. Instead, look up sources like the Purdue OWL: ( http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/05/) and books like Strunks "Elements of Style," along with the MLA Guidebook. Furthermore, and as I've already stated, linking verbs are tell-tale signs of passivity in a sentence, especially since your answer didn't provide the agent of the verb 'mislead.' Hope that helps, nettie!