The use of passive and active voice in writing is a matter of style, not grammar; however, there are times when one is more appropriate than the other. If you’ve ever written an essay or blog post, you probably know that there’s a big difference between active and passive voice.
In fact, if you’re new to writing at all, this might be the first time you’re reading about this topic! But don’t worry—I won’t make it so technical that no one can understand what I’m saying (because then my article would just be boring). Instead, I’ll explain how sentences work so that we can understand why active sentences are more precise than passive ones.
Active voice sentences are always more precise than passive voice. Active verbs are stronger and more than passive verbs, which makes them easier to understand.
What Is Voice?
Voice is the attitude and tone that a writer takes toward their subject and audience. It’s what makes a piece of writing sound like it’s coming from a real person, rather than a machine. There are two main types of voice: passive and active.
Passive Voice
In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon by the verb. For example, “The gift was given to my brother by me.” In this sentence, the subject (gift) is receiving the action of the verb (given), and the actor (me) has been removed.
Active Voice
In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. For example, “I gave the gift to my brother.” The subject (I) is performing the verb (gave), and the direct object (gift) is receiving the action. This is the most common voice in English.
Passive vs Active Voice
On a daily basis, we use countless phrases in both passive and active voices. However, many people don’t know the difference between the two. In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is being acted upon by the verb. For example, “The lamp was knocked over by a gust of wind.” Active voice reverses this, putting the subject first and the object second. “A gust of wind knocked over the lamp.” Both are grammatically correct, but it’s important to know when to use each one. For example,
- The cashier counted the money. (active)
- The money was counted by the cashier. (passive)
When to Use Passive Voice
Passive voice is often seen as weaker or less direct than active voice. However, there are times when it is necessary to use passive voice. For example, if you don’t know who did something, you have to use passive voice. “The window was broken” instead of “Someone broke the window.”
if you want to emphasize the object rather than the subject in a sentence, passive voice can be a good choice. Consider this sentence, written in both active and passive voice:
Active: The cashier counted the money.
Passive: The money was counted by the cashier.
In the active version, the focus is on the cashier and what she did. In the passive version, the focus is on the money itself.
When to Use Active Voice
In general, use the active voice when the subject is doing the action. The active voice is more concise and easier to read than the passive voice. The only time you should use the passive voice is if you are trying to emphasize the object of the sentence or if the subject is unknown. For example, “Isela wrote the grant.” The active voice is also more direct. If you want to show that something is happening now or is an ongoing situation, use the active voice. For example, “The sun is shining.” If you want to make a general statement about something that happens regularly, use the active voice. For example, “Birds fly.”
- All active sentences follow this basic formula: Subject + Verb + Direct Object.
The direct object of an active sentence is always the receiver of the action.
The direct object of an active sentence is always the receiver of the action. It can be a person, place, or thing. It can also be a pronoun (I do) or a noun (the dog).
If you use passive voice in your writing, you are saying that something happened to someone or something else instead of describing what happened yourself. You might want to think about whether it’s better for readers if they hear what happened or hear how it happened too because there are some cases where both options work equally well!
Passive sentences use more “helper” verbs than active sentences.
The passive voice uses “to be” in the present, past, and future tenses. This is because it describes a state of being rather than an action or process. For example:
- “The ball was kicked.” This describes what happened when the ball was kicked – it didn’t kick itself!
- “The person who did the kicking is unknown.” The person who did the kicking is not known to us at this point in time; we don’t know who they are or where they live (or even if they exist). This makes sense because if you were going around asking people where their balls were kicked by other people then there would be no point writing a story about it – everyone would laugh at your jokes anyway!
In passive sentences, the subject is no longer performing the action, but receiving it.
In passive sentences, the subject is no longer performing the action, but receiving it. The most common reason to use a passive voice is when you want to avoid responsibility or avoid using pronouns like “you.” This can be done in several ways:
- You can rewrite your sentence with an active voice by substituting an active verb for your original verb. For example, instead of writing “The chocolate cake was eaten by our cat,” write “Our cat ate the chocolate cake.”
- Another option is changing all your verbs into nouns (this process will be discussed below). For example: “The keys were found under my seat” becomes “Under my seat were found [the keys].” This could also be done if there are multiple objects involved in the action; however, it’s often easier just to swap out one object than several complicated phrases!
Active voice makes writing more clear.
The active voice is more direct and clear. It refers to the use of the verb in its active form, rather than as a passive (referring to an action that’s been done on you). In example sentences, active voice generally flows better:
- “I walked outside. The sun was hot. I felt tired, so I went home early.”
- “The service worker was fired for stealing from us.”
Active voice has many advantages over passive voice when it comes to clarity and fluency. However, writing in passive can be tricky because it’s easy for readers not to understand what you’re trying to say—and if they don’t get it right away, they might not even bother reading further!
Passive vs Active Voice: Which Should you use?
The best way to choose between passive and active voice is to read your work aloud. If it sounds natural, that’s the right choice. If it sounds forced or like you’re trying too hard, that’s the wrong choice. In general, an active voice is more direct, concise, and easier to read. Passive voice can be used effectively in certain situations, but overuse of passive voice makes writing sound dull and bureaucratic.
Conclusion
After reading this article, I hope you have a better understanding of the difference between passive and active voice. In general, active voice is more concise and easier to read, while passive voice can be used to add emphasis or to be more polite. There are exceptions to every rule, but in general, it is best to use an active voice whenever possible.
