Active and passive voice describe two different ways of organizing a sentence around its verb. In active voice, the subject performs the action: “The editor revised the article.” In passive voice, the subject receives the action: “The article was revised by the editor.” The meaning can stay nearly the same, but the focus changes.
That difference matters because good writing is not about avoiding passive voice at all costs. Active voice often makes a sentence more direct, while passive voice can be the better choice when the receiver, result, or action matters more than the doer.
Quick Answer
Passive Voice vs Active Voice mainly differs in who appears as the grammatical subject. Active voice puts the doer first, while passive voice puts the receiver or affected participant first. Active voice is usually clearer and more direct. Passive voice is useful when the doer is unknown, unimportant, obvious, or less important than the action or result.
TL;DR
- Active voice: The subject performs the action.
- Passive voice: The subject receives or experiences the action.
- Active voice often makes writing shorter and more direct.
- Passive voice can focus attention on the result or receiver.
- Not every sentence containing is, was, or were is passive.
- Only verbs with a suitable object can normally form an English passive.
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Active vs. Passive Voice at a Glance
| Feature | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| Main focus | Doer of the action | Receiver or result |
| Basic pattern | Subject + verb + object | Subject + be + past participle |
| Example | The chef prepared dinner. | Dinner was prepared by the chef. |
| Agent | Usually clear | Optional |
| Typical effect | Direct and concise | Focused on action or receiver |
| Best question to ask | Who did it? | What happened to it? |
What Is Active Voice?
Active voice means that the grammatical subject performs the action expressed by the verb. The basic pattern is:
Subject → verb → object
For example:
Jordan repaired the bicycle.
“Jordan” is the subject, “repaired” is the verb, and “the bicycle” is the direct object. Jordan performs the action, so the sentence uses active voice.
Here are more examples:
- The student finished the assignment.
- Maya opened the window.
- The technician tested the computer.
- Our team won the match.
Active voice works with different tenses:
- Present: The teacher checks the homework.
- Past: The teacher checked the homework.
- Future: The teacher will check the homework.
- Present perfect: The teacher has checked the homework.
The tense changes, but the voice remains active because the subject still performs the action.
For a concise reference, see Merriam-Webster’s explanation of active and passive voice.
What Is Passive Voice?
Passive voice makes the receiver or affected participant the grammatical subject. A common passive structure is:
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Subject + form of be + past participle
For example:
The bicycle was repaired by Jordan.
The bicycle does not perform the repairing. It receives the action. “Was repaired” is the passive verb phrase, and “by Jordan” identifies the agent.
The agent does not have to appear:
The bicycle was repaired.
This sentence tells us what happened to the bicycle without telling us who performed the repair.
That omission is often useful. You may not know the agent, or the agent may not matter. You may also want the reader to focus on the object or result.
More examples:
- The window was broken during the storm.
- The report was submitted yesterday.
- The tickets were sold within an hour.
- The bridge was closed for repairs.
The passive is normally formed with a form of be and a past participle. The agent, when included, commonly appears in a by-phrase.
Passive Voice vs Active Voice: Key Differences
The easiest way to understand the difference is to look at focus.
Compare:
The manager approved the proposal.
The proposal was approved by the manager.
Both sentences describe the same basic event. However, the first sentence makes the manager the starting point. The second makes the proposal the starting point.
That change can affect clarity and flow.
Active voice emphasizes the doer
The firefighters rescued the residents.
The firefighters are the focus.
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Passive voice emphasizes the receiver
The residents were rescued by the firefighters.
The residents are now the focus.
The choice therefore depends on what the reader needs first.
A useful rule is:
Choose active voice when the doer matters most. Choose passive voice when the receiver, action, or result matters more.
This is why it is inaccurate to say that passive voice is always weak or incorrect. Merriam-Webster notes that passive voice can be useful when the doer is unknown or when the result or receiver deserves emphasis.
How Passive Voice Works Across Tenses
Passive voice is not a tense. Voice and tense are separate grammatical features.
You can use passive voice in several tenses and forms. The form of be changes to show tense or aspect, while the main verb appears as a past participle.
| Tense or Form | Active | Passive |
| Simple present | The team cleans the room. | The room is cleaned by the team. |
| Simple past | The team cleaned the room. | The room was cleaned by the team. |
| Present continuous | The team is cleaning the room. | The room is being cleaned by the team. |
| Past continuous | The team was cleaning the room. | The room was being cleaned by the team. |
| Present perfect | The team has cleaned the room. | The room has been cleaned by the team. |
| Past perfect | The team had cleaned the room. | The room had been cleaned by the team. |
| Future | The team will clean the room. | The room will be cleaned by the team. |
| Modal | The team must clean the room. | The room must be cleaned by the team. |
The same pattern works with passive infinitives:
Active: We need to repair the roof.
Passive: The roof needs to be repaired.
It also works with perfect forms:
Active: The staff have completed the survey.
Passive: The survey has been completed by the staff.
Detailed grammar references likewise show passive forms across simple, continuous, perfect, modal, and infinitive constructions.
When Should You Use Active Voice?
Active voice is usually the clearest choice when the doer is important.
Use it when you want readers to quickly understand who did what.
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1. Use active voice for direct communication
The customer called the office.
This is simple and direct.
A passive version would be:
The office was called by the customer.
The second version is grammatical, but it places attention on the office. Unless the office is the important topic, the active version is more natural.
2. Use active voice for clear responsibility
The company changed the policy.
The sentence clearly identifies the actor.
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Compare:
The policy was changed.
The passive sentence may be appropriate when the person or organization that made the change is unknown or irrelevant. However, if responsibility matters, active voice often communicates it more clearly.
3. Use active voice when it reduces unnecessary words
The manager approved the request.
This is usually more concise than:
The request was approved by the manager.
That does not mean every passive sentence is wordy. Passive sentences can omit the agent:
The request was approved.
The best choice depends on which information deserves attention.
George Mason University’s Writing Center specifically notes that active constructions can be easier to process and may be more concise because they can avoid the extra be construction and by-phrase.
When Should You Use Passive Voice?
Passive voice is useful when the receiver, action, or result is more important than the doer.
Here are four common situations.
1. The doer is unknown
My laptop was stolen yesterday.
The speaker may know that the laptop was stolen but not who stole it.
An active version would require an unknown subject:
Someone stole my laptop yesterday.
That version is possible, but the passive sentence keeps the focus on the laptop.
2. The doer is not important
The building was completed in 1985.
If the sentence is about the building’s history, the name of the builder may not matter.
The passive structure keeps the building as the topic.
3. The result matters most
The road has been closed for repairs.
The reader usually needs to know that the road is closed. The identity of the person who placed the barriers may be irrelevant.
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4. You want the sentence to connect smoothly with the previous sentence
Suppose you are writing about a research report:
The researchers collected 500 responses. The responses were analyzed using three methods.
The second sentence works naturally because the previous sentence introduced the responses. Keeping that noun as the new subject can improve the flow.
Passive voice can therefore support information flow, not just formality.
University writing guidance also identifies the reader’s existing or “known” information as a legitimate reason to place the receiver at the beginning of a passive sentence.
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How to Tell Whether a Sentence Is Passive
A common clue is:
form of be + past participle
Examples include:
- is written
- was repaired
- were chosen
- has been completed
- will be delivered
- is being tested
However, this is only a clue, not a complete test.
Not every be + word ending in -ed is passive.
Compare:
The door was closed by Alex.
This is clearly passive. Someone closed the door.
Now compare:
The door was closed all night.
Depending on the context, closed may describe the door’s state rather than present a completed action in passive voice.
Another example:
She was exhausted after the race.
“Exhausted” functions as an adjective describing her condition. The sentence does not need to be analyzed as a passive construction.
Also consider:
The students were tired.
This is not passive voice simply because it contains were. Tired describes the students.
A better identification test
Ask these questions:
- What is the main verb?
- Does the subject receive or undergo the action?
- Is the verb phrase built as a passive construction?
- Could a genuine agent be understood, even if the sentence does not name one?
For example:
The package was delivered before noon.
The package receives the delivery action. A delivery person or service is understood. This is passive.
By contrast:
The package was heavy.
“Heavy” describes the package. There is no passive action.
This distinction matters because grammar checkers and quick identification tricks can encourage readers to label every was + past participle expression as passive.
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How to Change Active and Passive Voice
Changing voice is easier when you identify the sentence’s grammatical roles first.
To change active to passive
Start with:
The chef prepared the meal.
Step 1: Find the subject.
The chef performs the action.
Step 2: Find the direct object.
The meal receives the action.
Step 3: Move the object into the subject position.
The meal…
Step 4: Use the correct form of be plus the past participle.
The meal was prepared…
Step 5: Add the original subject with by if you need to name the agent.
The meal was prepared by the chef.
To change passive to active
Start with:
The meal was prepared by the chef.
Step 1: Find the agent.
The chef performs the action.
Step 2: Make the agent the subject.
The chef…
Step 3: Restore the verb to the matching tense.
The chef prepared…
Step 4: Make the former passive subject the object.
The chef prepared the meal.
Keep the tense the same
This is one of the most common conversion mistakes.
Active: The team completed the project.
Passive: The project was completed by the team.
The active verb is simple past, so the passive uses was + past participle.
Another example:
Active: The team has completed the project.
Passive: The project has been completed by the team.
The tense changes form, but the time relationship remains the same.
EF’s conversion guide demonstrates this same principle across multiple tense and form combinations.
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Common Mistakes and Tricky Cases
Mistake 1: Thinking passive voice is always wrong
Incorrect idea:
“Never use passive voice.”
Better rule:
Use the voice that best matches your intended focus.
Passive voice is often useful when the agent is unknown, unnecessary, or less important.
Mistake 2: Believing every verb can become passive
A typical passive construction needs an appropriate object.
For example:
Lena opened the door.
The verb opened takes a direct object: the door. The sentence can become:
The door was opened by Lena.
But consider:
Lena laughed.
There is no direct object. You cannot naturally create a standard passive form such as:
❌ A laugh was laughed by Lena.
The problem is not that active voice is somehow too strong. The verb laugh simply does not take the required object in this use.
English grammar resources commonly describe this distinction in terms of transitive and intransitive verbs. A transitive verb can take a direct object; an intransitive verb cannot. Only a suitable transitive construction can normally form the English passive.
Mistake 3: Changing the meaning while changing the voice
Consider:
Sarah gave Mark a book.
Two passive versions are possible:
Mark was given a book by Sarah.
A book was given to Mark by Sarah.
The choice changes which participant becomes the grammatical subject, but the event remains the same.
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Mistake 4: Confusing passive voice with be + adjective
The window was broken by the storm.
This describes an action.
But:
The window was dirty.
This describes a state.
The verb was does not make a sentence passive by itself.
Mistake 5: Assuming passive voice must contain by
It does not.
The documents were lost.
This is passive even though no agent appears.
The agent could be unknown, obvious, or deliberately omitted.
Mistake 6: Making an active rewrite unnatural
Sometimes a passive sentence is already the most natural choice.
The suspect was arrested Tuesday.
An active rewrite such as:
The police arrested the suspect Tuesday.
may be clearer when the police are relevant.
However, if the identity of the arresting officers does not matter, the passive can keep the focus where the writer wants it.
Active vs. Passive in Different Types of Writing
Voice choice often depends on the purpose of the writing.
| Context | Often useful choice | Why |
| Everyday conversation | Active | Quickly identifies who did what |
| Emails | Active | Usually direct and easy to scan |
| Argumentative writing | Active | Helps state claims and responsibility clearly |
| Scientific methods | Passive or active | Depends on whether the process or researcher matters |
| News reports | Passive in some cases | Useful when the event or affected person is known before the agent |
| Technical writing | Either | Choose based on clarity and information focus |
| Historical writing | Either | Depends on the person, event, or result being emphasized |
For example, in an everyday email:
I sent the invoice yesterday.
Active voice is natural because the writer is telling the reader what the writer did.
In a process description:
The samples were stored at room temperature.
Passive voice can be useful because the samples and their treatment are the focus.
In professional communication:
The accounting team approved the payment.
Active voice identifies responsibility.
But:
The payment was approved.
may be suitable when the approval itself matters more than the identity of the approver.
Professional and technical writing guides likewise emphasize that voice should serve clarity, emphasis, and the communication goal rather than a blanket rule.
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A Simple Decision Rule
When you are unsure which voice to use, use this three-step test:
Step 1: Ask, “Who or what is doing the action?”
If the answer is important, start with that person or thing.
The technician fixed the printer.
Step 2: Ask, “What does the reader need to focus on?”
If the receiver or result matters more, passive may work better.
The printer was fixed this morning.
Step 3: Ask, “Would passive hide information the reader needs?”
If yes, use active voice.
For example:
The company changed the refund policy.
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is better than:
The refund policy was changed.
when the reader needs to know who made the change.
The quick choice
Use active voice when:
- the doer matters;
- responsibility matters;
- clarity and directness are priorities;
- the active sentence sounds natural.
Use passive voice when:
- the receiver matters more;
- the doer is unknown;
- the doer is obvious or irrelevant;
- the result or process deserves emphasis;
- passive improves the flow from one sentence to the next.
This approach is more useful than trying to eliminate passive voice from every paragraph.
FAQs
Is passive voice grammatically wrong?
No. Passive voice is a normal grammatical construction in English. It becomes a style problem only when it makes the meaning harder to follow, hides important information, or creates unnecessary wordiness. The right choice depends on purpose and context.
Is active voice always better than passive voice?
No. Active voice is often more direct, but passive voice can be better when the receiver or result is the main topic. For example, “The road was closed for repairs” may be more useful than naming the person who closed it.
How can I identify passive voice quickly?
Look for a passive verb phrase, commonly a form of be followed by a past participle, and ask whether the grammatical subject receives the action. Do not rely on is, was, or were alone.
Can an intransitive verb be passive?
Normally, no. Standard English passive formation requires a suitable object from a transitive verb. A sentence such as “The baby slept” has no direct object that can become a passive subject.
Does passive voice always use “by”?
No. The agent may be omitted. For example, “The window was broken” is passive even though the sentence does not say who broke it.
Is “The door was closed” passive voice?
It can be, depending on context. In “The door was closed by the guard,” it is clearly passive. In “The door was closed all night,” closed may instead describe the door’s state. Context determines the analysis.
Is passive voice suitable for academic writing?
Yes. Academic writing can use both voices. Passive constructions are useful when the process, result, or research material matters more than the person performing the action. The best choice depends on the discipline and sentence purpose.
Test Your Understanding
1. Which sentence is written in active voice?
A. The package was delivered by Nina.
B. The package was delivered yesterday.
C. Nina delivered the package.
D. The package has been delivered.
2. Which sentence is passive?
A. The students completed the test.
B. The teacher graded the papers.
C. The students were studying quietly.
D. The papers were graded by the teacher.
3. Why is passive voice appropriate in “The bridge was closed for repairs”?
A. The sentence has no verb.
B. The bridge is more relevant than the person who closed it.
C. Passive voice always sounds more formal.
D. Active voice cannot describe repairs.
4. Which is the best passive form of “The manager approved the request”?
A. The request approved the manager.
B. The request was approved by the manager.
C. The manager was approved by the request.
D. The request is approving the manager.
5. Which sentence is not normally passive?
A. The report was completed.
B. The report was reviewed by Maya.
C. The report was detailed.
D. The report was submitted yesterday.
Answer Key
1. C — Nina delivered the package.
Nina performs the action, so the subject is the doer.
2. D — The papers were graded by the teacher.
“The papers” receive the action, and “were graded” is a passive verb phrase.
3. B — The bridge is more relevant than the person who closed it.
The passive keeps attention on the bridge and its status.
4. B — The request was approved by the manager.
The original object becomes the passive subject, and the past-tense passive uses was + approved.
5. C — The report was detailed.
Here, detailed can function as an adjective describing the report rather than as a passive action.
Conclusion
Passive Voice vs Active Voice is mainly a choice about grammatical structure and focus. Active voice places the doer first and often creates a direct, concise sentence. Passive voice places the receiver or affected participant first and can be useful when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or less relevant. Instead of avoiding passive voice automatically, look at what your reader needs to notice first. Choose the voice that makes that information clearest.
