Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

The Difference Between Active and Passive Voice

Understanding the difference between active and passive voice is essential for effective writing. Both have their place in the language, but knowing when and how to use each can significantly impact the clarity and impact of your communication. This article will explain the distinctions, provide guidelines for their use, and illustrate with numerous examples.

What is Active Voice?

In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. This structure is straightforward and direct, making it easier for readers to understand who is doing what. Here are some examples of active voice sentences:

• The dog chased the ball.
• She wrote the report.
• The chef prepared a delicious meal.

What is Passive Voice?

In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action. This structure can sometimes obscure who is performing the action and make sentences less direct. Here are some examples of passive voice sentences:

• The ball was chased by the dog.
• The report was written by her.
• A delicious meal was prepared by the chef.

When it’s important to highlight who is responsible for an action, active voice is more effective.

When is it Best to Use Active Voice?

Active voice is often preferred in writing because it is clear, direct, and engaging. Here are specific scenarios where active voice is most effective:

Clarity and Conciseness

Active voice tends to be more straightforward and concise than passive voice. It eliminates unnecessary words, making sentences clearer and easier to understand.

• Active: The manager approved the project.
• Passive: The project was approved by the manager.

In this example, the active voice is more concise and immediately tells the reader who did what.

Engaging the Reader

Active voice makes your writing more dynamic and engaging. It keeps the reader’s attention by clearly showing who is performing the action.

• Active: The team won the championship.
• Passive: The championship was won by the team.

The active voice sentence is more engaging because it emphasizes the team’s achievement directly.

Assigning Responsibility

When it’s important to highlight who is responsible for an action, active voice is more effective. It clearly attributes actions to specific individuals or groups.

• Active: The committee made several mistakes.
• Passive: Several mistakes were made by the committee.

Here, the active voice clearly assigns responsibility to the committee, which is useful in contexts where accountability is important.

Simplifying Complex Information

Active voice can simplify complex information by presenting it in a clear, logical order. This is especially helpful in technical or instructional writing.

• Active: The developer fixed the bug in the software.
• Passive: The bug in the software was fixed by the developer.

The active voice makes it immediately clear who performed the action and what the action was, simplifying the information.

Creating a Stronger Impact

Active voice can create a stronger impact and more vivid imagery, making your writing more persuasive and memorable.

• Active: The hurricane destroyed the town.
• Passive: The town was destroyed by the hurricane.

The active voice creates a more vivid and immediate picture of the hurricane’s impact.

Maintaining Reader Interest

Active voice helps maintain reader interest by making sentences more varied and lively. This is especially important in narrative writing.

• Active: She opened the door and stepped into the room.
• Passive: The door was opened by her and the room was entered.

The active voice sentence is more engaging and fluid, keeping the reader’s attention.

Enhancing Command Statements

When giving instructions or commands, active voice is clearer and more direct, making it easier for the reader to follow.

• Active: Complete the form and submit it by Friday.
• Passive: The form should be completed and submitted by Friday.

The active voice provides clear, direct instructions that are easy to follow.

Reducing Ambiguity

Active voice reduces ambiguity by making it clear who is doing what. This is crucial in legal, technical, and academic writing where precision is important.

• Active: The researcher conducted the survey.
• Passive: The survey was conducted by the researcher.

The active voice removes any ambiguity about who conducted the survey.

Establishing a Strong Narrative Voice

In storytelling, using active voice establishes a strong narrative voice and helps convey actions and events more vividly.

• Active: The hero rescued the villagers from the dragon.
• Passive: The villagers were rescued by the hero from the dragon.

The active voice provides a stronger, more compelling narrative.

When is it Best to Use Passive Voice?

While active voice is often encouraged for its clarity and directness, passive voice has its own set of strengths and can be more appropriate in certain contexts. Understanding these contexts helps writers make informed decisions about when to use passive voice effectively.

Emphasizing the Action or Result

Passive voice is useful when the focus should be on the action itself or the result rather than on who performed the action. This can be particularly important in scientific and technical writing.

• Active: The scientist discovered the cure.
• Passive: The cure was discovered by the scientist.

In this case, the discovery (the cure) is more important than who discovered it, making the passive construction more appropriate.

Maintaining Objectivity and Formality

In academic, scientific, or formal writing, passive voice can create a sense of objectivity and formality. It helps to present information in a neutral manner, focusing on the research or findings rather than the researcher.

• Active: We conducted the experiment under controlled conditions.
• Passive: The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions.

The passive voice removes the direct reference to the researchers, maintaining a formal tone and emphasizing the experiment itself.

Avoiding Blame or Responsibility

Passive voice can be tactfully used to avoid assigning blame or responsibility, which can be useful in sensitive situations or diplomatic communications.

• Active: The intern made a mistake in the report.
• Passive: A mistake was made in the report.

Here, the passive construction avoids directly blaming the intern, making the statement more diplomatic.

Highlighting the Receiver of the Action

When the receiver of the action is more important than the doer, passive voice places the emphasis where it is needed.

• Active: The committee will announce the winners tomorrow.
• Passive: The winners will be announced by the committee tomorrow.

In this example, the focus is on the winners rather than the committee, making the passive voice more appropriate.

When the Doer is Unknown or Irrelevant

Sometimes, the doer of the action is unknown or irrelevant to the context. Passive voice is useful in such cases to keep the focus on the action or event itself.

• Active: Someone stole my bike.
• Passive: My bike was stolen.

The passive construction is more appropriate here because the doer (the thief) is unknown and the focus is on the stolen bike.

Balancing Sentence Structure

Varying sentence structure by using both active and passive voice can make writing more engaging and less monotonous. It helps to maintain the reader’s interest and provides a natural flow to the text.

• Active: The chef prepared the meal with great care.
• Passive: The meal was enjoyed by all the guests.

Using a mix of active and passive sentences can make the writing more dynamic and well-rounded.

Providing a General Observation

Passive voice can be useful when making general observations or statements where the doer is not important.

• Active: Many researchers believe that climate change is accelerating.
• Passive: It is believed that climate change is accelerating.

The passive voice allows for a general statement without attributing the belief to specific individuals, which can be useful in broader discussions.

Converting Passive to Active Voice

To convert a sentence from passive to active voice, identify the performer of the action and make it the subject of the sentence. Here are some examples:

• Passive: The homework was completed by the students.
• Active: The students completed the homework.
• Passive: The cake was eaten by the children.
• Active: The children ate the cake.
• Passive: The solution was discovered by the scientist.
• Active: The scientist discovered the solution.

To convert a sentence from active to passive voice, make the object of the action the subject of the sentence and include the performer of the action if necessary. Here are some examples:

• Active: The teacher graded the exams.
• Passive: The exams were graded by the teacher.
• Active: The developer fixed the bug.
• Passive: The bug was fixed by the developer.
• Active: The president signed the bill.
• Passive: The bill was signed by the president.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Using active and passive voice effectively also involves avoiding common pitfalls. Here are some to watch out for:

Unnecessary Use of Passive Voice

Overusing passive voice can make your writing vague and wordy. Ensure that the use of passive voice is justified.

• Passive: The decision was made to extend the deadline.
• Improved Active: The manager decided to extend the deadline.

Hidden Performers

Passive voice can obscure who is performing the action. If it’s important to know who did what, use active voice.

• Passive: Mistakes were made in the process.
• Improved Active: The team made mistakes in the process.

Misleading Emphasis

Sometimes passive voice can inadvertently emphasize the wrong part of the sentence. Ensure the focus is where you want it.

• Passive: The award was given to the student by the principal.
• Improved Active: The principal gave the award to the student.

Practical Applications and Examples

To better understand when to use active and passive voice, let’s explore practical examples in different contexts.

Business Writing

• Active: The marketing team launched a new campaign.
• Passive: A new campaign was launched by the marketing team.

In business writing, active voice can make communications clearer and more direct. However, passive voice might be used in formal reports to emphasize the actions rather than the people.

Scientific Writing

• Active: The researchers discovered a new element.
• Passive: A new element was discovered by the researchers.

Scientific writing often uses passive voice to focus on the findings rather than the researchers, adding an element of objectivity.

Technical Writing

• Active: The engineer tested the software.
• Passive: The software was tested by the engineer.

Technical writing benefits from active voice for clarity but might use passive voice to emphasize the results of tests and processes.

Journalism

• Active: The reporter interviewed the witness.
• Passive: The witness was interviewed by the reporter.

Journalistic writing often uses active voice to keep stories engaging and direct, though passive voice might be used to highlight the person or thing being acted upon.

Summary of Key Differences

• Active voice: Direct, clear, concise. Use for engaging readers, assigning responsibility, and maintaining clarity.
• Passive voice: Emphasizes action, adds formality, avoids blame. Use in academic writing, formal contexts, or when the action is more important than the doer.
• Balance: Mix active and passive voice to maintain interest and clarity in your writing.
• Audience and context: Tailor your use of active and passive voice to your audience and the purpose of your writing.

Understanding when and how to use active and passive voice is crucial for effective writing. By balancing both and considering the context and audience, you can enhance the clarity and impact of your writing.