difference between passive and active voice

Writing filled with passive voice constructions are slow to read and difficult to understand. That's why it seems to take so much time and effort to read some government publications–or poorly written textbooks. A moment doesn't seem like long, but when you are reading a document loaded with passive voice constructions, the moments add up. There are more words, for one thing, and the grammar is more complicated. The problem with passive voice is that your brain has to take a moment to unravel this. Limerick becomes the subject of the sentence, yet it is still the receiver of the action (that is, the limerick did not do the writing). The expected actor-verb-receiver sequence is reversed instead the pattern here is receiver-verb-actor.

The limerick was written by Bob in his spare time. The actor, in this case the limerick writer, is moved into a prepositional phrase: In passive voice the actor, that is, the one who did it, is not the subject of the sentence. It is, however, possible to write this sentence another way, making the limerick the subject of the sentence. In English, we expect to hear statements in that sequence: actor, verb, receiver of the action: When the actor is the subject of the sentence, the active voice results. Most sentences have both an actor that performs the action, and something which is acted upon, or receives the action. The -ing form requires the helper verb 'to be.' Similarly, verbs in the present and past perfect tenses, 'have eaten,' 'had attended,' are not passive these perfect tenses use the participle form along with the helper verb 'to have.') (Note: past and present progressive verbs, 'are shopping' or 'were discussing' for example, are not passive voice. Passive voice combines a 'to be' verb (is, was, were, are) with a past-participle verb form (written, given, expected): 'was managed,' 'were approved,' 'is to be completed.' Passive voice, on the other hand, seems roundabout, weak, and evasive. Active voice verbs create movement, clarity, and impact. If you learn to identify passive voice verbs and recast them into active voice, your writing will improve.Īctive voice is direct, strong, and easy to understand. Better writers have learned that, most of the time, active verb constructions are better than passive ones. But not all grammatically correct writing is equally good. To describe a condition in which the actor is unknown or unimportantĮvery year, thousands of people are diagnosed as having cancer.Grammatically correct writing is good. The procedures were somehow misinterpreted. After long debate, the proposal was endorsed by. The data processing department recently presented what proved to be a controversial proposal to expand its staff.

To keep the subject and focus consistent throughout a passage To emphasize the action rather than the actorĪfter long debate, the proposal was endorsed by the long-range planning committee. There are sometimes good reasons to use the passive voice. If the subject of the sentence is somewhat anonymous, see if you can use a general term, such as “researchers,” or “the study,” or “experts in this field.”.Rewrite the sentence so that the subject buried in the “by” clause is closer to the beginning of the sentence. If you find one, the sentence may be in the passive voice. Look for a “by” phrase (e.g., “by the dog” in the last example above).Here are some tips and strategies for converting sentences from the passive to the active voice. Passive: It was earlier demonstrated that heart attacks can be caused by high stress. Passive: It is believed by the candidate that a ceiling must be placed on the budget by Congress.Īctive: Researchers earlier showed that high stress can cause heart attacks. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.Īctive: The candidate believes that Congress must place a ceiling on the budget. In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. Passive voice sentences often use more words, can be vague, and can lead to a tangle of prepositional phrases. Generally, try to use the active voice whenever possible.

Difference between passive and active voice