Table of Contents
- Key Pointers
- The Short Version
- So, what does “voice” actually mean in a sentence?
- How to identify passive voice in your own writing
- How to convert passive to active
- When passive voice is actually the right choice
- The Hemingway test
- Where passive voice creeps into writing
- Wrap-up
- FAQs
- Sign Up for Quetext Today!
Key Pointers
- The subject of an active verb comes before the action: “Maya wrote the report.”
- In the case of a passive verb, the action is put first, and so the object of that verb also becomes the subject: “The report was written by Maya.”
- You can tell if the verb is passive if you could follow it up with the phrase “by zombies” without making any grammatical errors.
- Usually, active sentences take less space than passive and contain fewer revisions than passive sentences, making active sentences easier to read. Consequently, most Style Manuals promote active writing as the preferred writing method.
- On occasion, passive sentences need to be written for a variety of reasons. Usually, this occurs to emphasize the receiver of an action and also to express that the performer of an action is unknown or irrelevant.
The Short Version
In an active voice, the doer performs an action. Conversely, in a passive voice, the recipient is performing the action (e.g., The dog chased the cat [active] vs. The cat was chased by the dog [passive]). Sentences written using the active voice tend to be shorter, clearer and more easily readable than sentences written in the passive voice.
Although the use of the passive voice is acceptable, it generally has a much weaker tone than does the active voice. The quickest way to convert a sentence from passive voice to active voice is to identify your verb, identify the person who completed the action and then move the doer of the action to the front of the sentence.
So, what does “voice” actually mean in a sentence?
You’re staring at a paragraph in your draft. Something feels off. The sentences are technically correct, but they read like a corporate press release nobody asked for. “The decision was made to delay the launch.” “Concerns were raised by several team members.” Every sentence sounds like nobody did anything, and somehow things just happened.
That’s passive voice piling up.
Voice describes the relationship between the subject of a sentence and the verb. In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action. Same idea. Different emphasis. Different rhythm.
The Purdue OWL on active and passive voice puts it cleanly: active voice puts the doer first, passive voice puts the receiver first. Most of the time, the active version is what readers want.
Active voice, in plain terms
The active voice consists of three basic elements: The subject (chef, Maya, team) is the one doing the action (prepared, wrote, launched) to the object (meal, report, product).
Thus, in this example, the three elements of each sentence are clear, and the reader knows who did what because of the concise nature of the sentence.
That clarity is why active voice dominates in journalism, marketing, technical writing, and most academic writing now. The Plain Language guidance on using active voice makes the case directly: active voice produces shorter sentences that readers process faster.
Passive voice, in plain terms
Inverted structure is created by switching the order of actor and act so that the respective object (*recipient of the action*) appears first followed by either ‘to be’, the past form of the verb (*to go/ate*) or both with an optional introductory phrase representing the actor(s).
Example(s):
- The chef prepared the meal.
- Maya wrote the report.
- The team launched the product.
These represent the act of an actor (with additional scaffolding in the forms of the first two elements), and the actor has been omitted from the last element.
Now we can see why the passive voice is so dangerous! The actor is omitted from all information provided; therefore, the actor cannot be held responsible. In fact, it is often not clear at who performed what actions have occurred. Politicians and corporations often use this structure (passive voice) in part because it allows them to talk about the occurrence of events, but takes responsibility for the occurrence of those events. i.e. Mistakes were made. i.e., “By whom?”
How to identify passive voice in your own writing
Three tests catch almost every passive sentence.
Test 1: The “by zombies” trick
If you can insert “by zombies” after the verb and the sentence still makes sense, it’s passive.
- The cake was eaten [by zombies]. ✅ passive
- Maya ate the cake [by zombies]. ❌ doesn’t fit, active
This one’s silly. It’s also the fastest test in existence. Try it on any sentence that feels off.
Test 2: Look for “to be” + past participle
Passive constructions almost always include a form of “to be” (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) followed by a past participle verb (usually ending in -ed or -en).
- The window was broken. (was + broken, passive)
- She broke the window. (no “to be” + participle, active)
This is the structural fingerprint. If you see “was [verb]ed” or “is [verb]en,” look closer.
Test 3: Find the doer
Ask “who did this?” If the answer comes before the verb, you’re in active voice. If it comes after a “by,” or doesn’t appear at all, you’re in passive.
A quick paste into Quetext’s grammar checker will surface passive constructions in seconds, which is the fastest way to catch them in a long draft. Or start with Quetext directly to run a fast pass on a paragraph before you commit to a deeper edit.
How to convert passive to active
Once you’ve spotted passive voice, fixing it is mechanical. Three steps:
Step 1: Find the verb
What action is happening in the sentence? In “The report was written by Maya,” the verb is written.
Step 2: Find who’s doing it
Who’s actually performing the verb? In the example, it’s Maya.
Step 3: Put the doer at the start
Rebuild the sentence with the doer in front of the verb. “Maya wrote the report.”
Done. Shorter. Clearer. Active.
Try this: Paste a paragraph into Quetext’s grammar checker and watch which sentences come back flagged for passive voice. The fixes usually take 30 seconds each, and the cumulative effect on the draft is significant.
Here are several before and after examples to show you how the pattern works:
- problem: The decision to postpone the meeting was made by the committee.
- activity: The committee decided to postpone the meeting.
- problem: The editor found errors in the report.
- activity: The report contained errors which were noticed by the editor.
- problem: Next month there will be implementation of the new policy.
- activity: The company will put into place the new policy next month.
All of these active versions are shorter than their passive counterparts. They also clearly communicate who is responsible for taking action.
When passive voice is actually the right choice
Using passive voice isn’t necessarily bad but is used too often. There are actually times where using passive voice is a better option than active voice.
Use Passive Voice When:
- The Actor is Unknown
If the actor is unknown, it’s perfectly reasonable to write in passive voice.
Examples:
The painting was taken in the night. (No one knows who took it.)
If you were to write in active voice here you would have to create an actor who isn’t there.
- The Actor is Irrelevant
There are times where it does not matter who did the action, it matters what happened.
Examples:
The vaccine was developed in 2020. (The reader is interested in the time frame not the scientists who created it)
If naming the actor only adds unnecessary clutter to the sentence, passive voice is appropriate.
- You Want to Highlight the Receiver
When you’re trying to emphasize the receiver of the action, passive voice will position them first in the sentence.
Examples:
Three heads of state signed the historic agreement.
If the focus is on the agreement and not the signatories, then the passive voice will put the proper emphasis on the agreement.
Use Passive Voice in Scientific and Technical Writing
Scientific articles tend to use passive voice so the focus remains on the experiment and not on the experimenter.
Examples:
The samples were heated to 200 degrees Celsius.
While more scientific journals are moving towards using active voice in scientific articles (most journals are now accepting “We heated the samples to 200 degrees Celsius”), the use of passive voice is still common in more formal methods sections of scientific articles.
The UNC Writing Center’s guide to passive voice covers these exceptions clearly and is worth a read if you’re working on academic or scientific writing.
The Hemingway test
Beyond the manual checks, free tools highlight passive voice automatically. Hemingway Editor flags every passive sentence in green, which makes it obvious when a paragraph has too many. Many grammar checkers do the same, often inside the same scan that catches grammar and spelling errors.
For a wider look at how AI-assisted editing handles voice issues alongside other grammar problems, our breakdown on how to use AI to write better sentences covers the workflow most working writers actually use.
Where passive voice creeps into writing
A few writing contexts where passive voice piles up faster than people realize:
Emails. “It was suggested that we move the meeting” instead of “I suggested we move the meeting.” The passive version sounds softer, which is why people reach for it in workplace writing. But it usually reads as evasive. The email writing tips for professional emails covers the email-specific patterns worth fixing.
Academic essays. Students often default to passive voice because they think it sounds more scholarly. It doesn’t. It usually sounds more confusing. The piece on essay writing: check grammar, punctuation, and more walks through the editing checks that catch this drift.
Business writing. Reports, memos, and updates often hide responsibility behind passive constructions. “Steps will be taken.” “Plans are being made.” Nobody is doing anything. Switching to active voice forces clarity about who’s accountable.
Marketing copy. Passive voice in marketing is almost always weaker. “Our product is loved by thousands of customers” is forgettable. “Thousands of customers love our product” hits harder.
Wrap-up
Passive voice isn’t broken English. It’s just usually the wrong tool for the job. Active voice is shorter, clearer, and easier for readers to process. Use it as the default. Reach for passive only when you have a specific reason: unknown actor, irrelevant actor, deliberate emphasis on the receiver.
The habit that fixes most of this is small: read your draft and ask “who’s doing this?” in every sentence. If you can’t tell, rewrite it. The clarity gain shows up in the first paragraph.
Run your next draft through run a paragraph through Quetext free and see how many sentences could land harder in active voice. The fixes are quick. The change in the writing is not.
FAQs
What’s the difference between active and passive voice?
Active voice puts the subject doing the action first (“Maya wrote the report”). Passive voice puts the receiver of the action first (“The report was written by Maya”). Same information, different emphasis. Active sentences are usually shorter and clearer. Passive sentences are usually longer and softer. Most modern writing guides recommend active voice as the default, with passive reserved for specific situations like unknown actors or deliberate emphasis on the receiver.
- Active: subject does the action
- Passive: subject receives the action
- Active is usually shorter and clearer
How can I tell if a sentence is in passive voice?
Fast tests for identifying passive voice. Test one: add “by zombies” to the end of the sentence if the sentence still works the sentence is in passive voice. E.g., “The cake was eaten by zombies” works, but “Maya ate the cake by zombies” does not. Test two: look for some form of “to be” (was/were/is/are/been) followed by a past participle (verb that has been made into a state). Test three: ask the question, “who did this?” If the answer to this question comes after the verb in the sentence; or if there is not an answer to this question in the sentence, it is likely a passive sentence.
- Use the “by zombies” test for fastest identification.
- Look for the verb “to be” + past participle
- The doer (the subject) is frequently at the end of the sentence
Is passive voice always bad?
No, the passive voice is not wrong, but it has been incorrectly utilized in the general sense that it is used too often. It is perfectly acceptable to use passive voice when the doer or the actor is unknown; to emphasize the receiver of the action (whose action is being performed) as opposed to doing it by the actor; and when you simply want to provide information about what happened without regard to the actor. In general terms, scientific writing utilizes passive voice far more than any other type of writing.
“Our rule does not state not to use the passive voice; rather, it states not to use the passive voice without reason.”
- In instances where the doer or actor is unknown, use the passive voice.
- In situations where you want to emphasize the receiver(s) as opposed to the doer(s), use the passive voice.
- Do not use the passive voice when you are attempting to hedge or avoid taking responsibility.
How do I quickly convert passive sentences to active voice?
Three steps. Find the verb. Find who’s actually doing the verb. Put that doer at the start of the sentence. So “The report was written by Maya” becomes “Maya wrote the report.” Most conversions take ten seconds. Free tools like Hemingway and grammar checkers flag passive sentences automatically, which makes the editing pass much faster than catching them by eye.
- Find the verb
- Find the doer
- Put the doer at the start
