Active and Passive Voice

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Active Voice

In sentences written in active voice, the subject performs the action expressed in the verb; the subject acts.

In each example above, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.

You can see examples of all the verb tenses in active voice at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_tenses2.html.

Passive Voice

In sentences written in passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed in the verb; the subject is acted upon.
The agent performing the action may appear in a "by the . . ." phrase or may be omitted.
(agent performing action has been
omitted.)

Sometimes the use of passive voice can create awkward sentences, as in the last example above. Also, overuse of
passive voice throughout an essay can cause your prose to seem flat and uninteresting. In scientific writing,
however, passive voice is more readily accepted since using it allows one to write without using personal
pronouns or the names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences (see the third example above). This
practice helps to create the appearance of an objective, fact-based discourse because writers can present
research and conclusions without attributing them to particular agents. Instead, the writing appears to convey
information that is not limited or biased by individual perspectives or personal interests.

You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase will always include a form of be, such as
am, is, was, were, are, or been. The presence of a be-verb, however, does not necessarily mean that the sentence
is in passive voice. Another way to recognize passive-voice sentences is that they may include a "by the..." phrase
after the verb; the agent performing the action, if named, is the object of the preposition in this phrase.

You can see examples of all the verb tenses in passive voice at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_tenses2.html.

Choosing Active Voice

In most nonscientific writing situations, active voice is preferable to passive for the majority of your sentences.
Even in scientific writing, overuse of passive voice or use of passive voice in long and complicated sentences can
cause readers to lose interest or to become confused. Sentences in active voice are generally--though not
always-- clearer and more direct than those in passive voice.

passive (indirect) active (direct):

Sentences in active voice are also more concise than those in passive voice because fewer words are required to express
action in active voice than in passive.

passive (more wordy) active (more concise)

Changing passive to active

If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider
carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the
sentence, and change the verb accordingly. Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from the surrounding
sentences which provide context.

Passive Voice Agent Changed to Active Voice

most of the class

agent not
specified; most
likely agents such
as "the
researchers"
 the CIA director
and his close
advisors

agent not
specified; most
likely agents such
as "we"
 Choosing Passive Voice

While active voice helps to create clear and direct sentences, sometimes writers find that using an indirect expression is
rhetorically effective in a given situation, so they choose passive voice. Also, as mentioned above, writers in the sciences
conventionally use passive voice more often than writers in other discourses. Passive voice makes sense when the agent
performing the action is obvious, unimportant, or unknown or when a writer wishes to postpone mentioning the agent
until the last part of the sentence or to avoid mentioning the agent at all. The passive voice is effective in such
circumstances because it highlights the action and what is acted upon rather than the agent performing the action.

active passive
The dispatcher is notifying police that three prisoners Police are being notified that three prisoners have escaped.
have escaped.
Surgeons successfully performed a new experimental A new experimental liver-transplant operation was
liver-transplant operation yesterday. performed successfully yesterday.
"Rules are made to be broken," he said defiantly.
"Authorities make rules to be broken," he said defiantly.

In each of these examples, the passive voice makes sense because the agent is relatively unimportant compared to the
action itself and what is acted upon.

Changing active to passive

If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action
expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a "by the..." phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject
of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit "by the..." phrase is optional.

Active Voice Agent Changed to Passive Voice

 The presiding
officer

The leaders

The scientists

In each of these examples, the passive voice is useful for highlighting the action and what is acted upon instead of the
agent.

Some suggestions

1. Avoid starting a sentence in active voice and then shifting to passive.

Unnecessary shift in voice Revised

Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee
Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to
too bitter to drink, but it was still ordered
drink, but they still ordered it frequently.
frequently.
He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but the other
but he was still laughed at by the other students. students still laughed at him.
2. Avoid dangling modifiers caused by the use of passive voice. A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a
word not clearly stated in the sentence.

Dangling modifier with passive voice Revised

To save time, the paper was written on a computer.
To save time, Kristin wrote the paper on a computer.
(Who was saving time? The paper?)
Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame,
Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, the CEO
consultants were hired to break the bad news. Who
hired consultants to break the bad news.
was seeking to lay off workers? The consultants?)
3. Don't trust the grammar-checking programs in word-processing software. Many grammar checkers flag all passive
constructions, but you may want to keep some that are flagged. Trust your judgement, or ask another human being for
their opinion about which sentence sounds best.

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