Active Voice vs. Passive Voice
Understanding the difference
between active and passive voice can elevate your writing, making
it clearer and more effective. These two grammatical constructions determine
how a sentence's subject, verb, and object interact.
What Is Active Voice?
In active voice, the
subject of the sentence acts. This is the most straightforward and common
sentence structure. It emphasizes who or what is responsible for the action,
making your writing more direct and dynamic.
Structure of Active Voice:
- Subject → Verb → Object
Example:
- Active Voice: The chef cooked the
meal.
- Here, “the chef” (subject) is performing the action
of cooking (verb) on the meal (object).
Benefits of Active Voice:
- Clarity: The sentence is easier to understand
because it’s clear who is doing the action.
- Conciseness: Active voice tends to be more concise,
using fewer words.
- Energy: It makes your writing more engaging and
livelier.
What Is Passive Voice?
In passive voice, the
subject receives the action instead of performing it. The object of the action
becomes the focus of the sentence, and the performer of the action may be
omitted or placed at the end.
Structure of Passive Voice:
- Object → Verb (form of “to be”) → Subject (optional)
Example:
- Passive Voice: The meal was cooked by
the chef.
- Here, “the meal” (object) is being acted upon by
“the chef” (subject), but the focus has shifted to the meal rather than
the chef.
Benefits of Passive Voice:
- Shifting Focus: Passive voice is useful when the
action is more important than the person performing it.
- Formality: It’s often used in formal or scientific
writing where the doer of the action is irrelevant or unknown.
- Variety: Passive voice can add variety to sentence
structures when used sparingly.
When to Use Active vs. Passive
Voice
- Active Voice is preferred in most
cases, especially in informal writing, journalism, and business
communication, where clarity and directness are crucial.
- Passive Voice works well when:
- The actor is unknown: The window was broken.
- The focus is on the action or result: The
experiment was conducted in 2020.
- You want to be tactful or avoid assigning blame: Mistakes
were made.
Tips to Recognize and Change
Passive Voice
- Look for a “to be” verb (is,
was, were, are, been) followed by a past participle (verb ending in -ed or
irregular forms).
- Example: The book was written by the author.
(passive) → The author wrote the book. (active)
- Rearrange the sentence to
place the subject at the beginning, followed by the action and then the
object (if necessary).
Conclusion
Mastering both active and
passive voice allows you to tailor your writing to the right tone, clarity, and
purpose. While active voice often leads to more engaging, concise sentences,
passive voice has its place when used strategically. Understanding when and how
to use both can make you a more versatile and effective writer.