Active and Passive Voice

We normally use the passive voice when we are more interested in what is
done, not who or what does it. If we say, “the rooms are cleaned by the maid
every day,” we are more interested in the fact that the rooms are cleaned every
day than in the person who cleans the rooms (the maid).

The voice of a verb tells whether the subject of the sentence performs or receives
the action. In English there are two voices, passive and active.

Passive Voice
In passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed by the verb: A song
was written by the student.

Forming Tenses of Passive Verbs

The passive voice always consists of two parts: a form of the verb "to be" + past
participle:

Tense Passive voice form

Present it is cleaned
Past it was cleaned
Future it will be cleaned
Present perfect it has been cleaned
Past perfect it had been cleaned
Future perfect it will have been cleaned

Passive vs. active voice

Use the passive voice to:

Call attention to receiver of the action rather than the performer:

The professor was hit by three snowballs.
Point out the receiver of the action when performer is unknown or unimportant:
A love letter was slipped under the door.
The signs will be posted.
Avoid calling attention to the performer of the action (known as the "institutional
passive"):
The fines will be collected on Monday.

In active voice, on the other hand, the subject performs the action of the verb:
The cats climbed the curtains.
Grandma and Grandpa raced grocery carts across the parking lot.
Active and passive voice in writing
The choice between using the active or passive voice in writing is a matter of style,
not correctness. However, most handbooks recommend using active voice, which
they describe as more natural, direct, lively, and succinct. The passive voice is
considered wordy and weak (except when used in cases above). Examine the
following examples.

weak, passive:
The skater was slammed into the wall by Maria.
strong, active:
Maria slammed the skater into the wall.

weak, passive:
The book was enjoyed by me because the events of her childhood were described
so well by the author.
strong, active:
I enjoyed the book because the author described the events of her childhood so
well.

Hints for identifying the passive voice

An active verb may or may not have a direct object, but the passive verb almost
never does.
"It is...That" construction (It is clear that... It is noted...)
Use of the verbs To Be, Make, or Have (Passive: Your exits should be made
quickly. Active: Leave quickly.)
Endings that turn verbs into abstract nouns: -ion,-ing,-ment:

You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase will
always include a form of be, such as am, is, was, were, are, or been. The
presence of a be-verb, however, does not necessarily mean that the
sentence is in passive voice. Another way to recognize passive-voice
sentences is that they may include a "by the..." phrase after the verb; the
agent performing the action, if named, is the object of the preposition in this
phrase.

Passive: When application of force is used, the lid will open.

Active: Apply force to open the lid.

Using the Passive Voice

There are two main reasons for using the passive voice in English:
 The focus of the sentence is on the object rather than the subject
The subject of the active sentence is unknown or general.

Oftentimes, when a sentence is in passive voice, the "by" phrase is deleted.

This is because the doer of the action is understood or unknown. The "by" phrase
is only retained when the doer of the action needs to be made clear even though
the focus is on the object of the action.

Choosing Active Voice

In most nonscientific writing situations, active voice is preferable to passive for

the majority of your sentences. Even in scientific writing, overuse of passive
voice or use of passive voice in long and complicated sentences can cause
readers to lose interest or to become confused. Sentences in active voice are
generally--though not always-- clearer and more direct than those in passive
voice.

• passive (indirect):

The entrance exam was failed by over one-third of the applicants to the
school.
The brakes were slammed on by her as the car sped downhill.
Your bicycle has been damaged.

• active (direct):

Over one-third of the applicants to the school failed the entrance exam.
She slammed on the brakes as the car sped downhill.
I have damaged your bicycle.

Sentences in active voice are also more concise than those in passive voice
because fewer words are required to express action in active voice than in
passive.

• passive (more wordy):

Action on the bill is being considered by the committee.

By then, the soundtrack will have been completely remixed by the sound
engineers.

• active (more concise):

The committee is considering action on the bill.

By then, the sound engineers will have completely remixed the
soundtrack.
Changing passive to active

If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in
a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action
expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change
the verb accordingly.

• passive:

The book is being read by most of the class.

Results will be published in the next issue of the journal.
A policy of whitewashing and cover-up has been pursued.
Mistakes were made.

• active:

Most of the class is reading the book.

The researchers will publish their results in the next issue of the journal.
The CIA director and his close advisors have pursued a policy of
whitewashing and cover-up.
We made mistakes.

Choosing Passive Voice

While active voice helps to create clear and direct sentences, sometimes writers
find that using an indirect expression is rhetorically effective in a given situation,
so they choose passive voice. Also, as mentioned above, writers in the sciences
conventionally use passive voice more often than writers in other discourses.
Passive voice makes sense when the agent performing the action is obvious,
unimportant, or unknown or when a writer wishes to postpone mentioning the
agent until the last part of the sentence or to avoid mentioning the agent at all.
The passive voice is effective in such circumstances because it highlights the
action and what is acted upon rather than the agent performing the action.

• active:

The dispatcher is notifying police that three prisoners have escaped.

Surgeons successfully performed a new experimental liver-transplant
operation yesterday.
"Authorities make rules to be broken," he said defiantly.

• passive:

Police are being notified that three prisoners have escaped.

A new experimental liver-transplant operation was performed
 successfully yesterday.
"Rules are made to be broken," he said defiantly.

In each of these examples, the passive voice makes sense because the agent
is relatively unimportant compared to the action itself and what is acted upon.

Changing active to passive

If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider

carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then
make that agent the object of a "by the..." phrase. Make what is acted upon the
subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle.
Including an explicit "by the..." phrase is optional.

• active:

The presiding officer vetoed the committee's recommendation.

The leaders are seeking a fair resolution to the crisis.
Scientists have discovered traces of ice on the surface of Mars.

• passive:

The committee's recommendation was vetoed by the presiding officer.

A fair resolution to the crisis is being sought.
Traces of ice have been discovered on the surface of Mars.

In each of these examples, the passive voice is useful for highlighting the action
and what is acted upon instead of the agent.

Some suggestions

1. Avoid starting a sentence in active voice and then shifting to passive.

• Unnecessary shift in voice:

Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to drink, but
it was still ordered frequently.
He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but he was still
laughed at by the other students.

• Revised:

Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to drink, but
they still ordered it frequently.
He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but the other students
still laughed at him.
 2. Avoid dangling modifiers1 caused by the use of passive voice.

• Dangling modifier with passive voice:

To save time, the paper was written on a computer.

Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, consultants were
hired to break the bad news.

• Revised:

To save time, Kristin wrote the paper on a computer.

Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, the CEO hired
consultants to break the bad news.

3. Don't trust the grammar-checking programs in word-processing software.

Many grammar checkers flag all passive constructions, but you

may want to keep some that are flagged.

THE PASSIVE TENSES

Simple present
active: passive:
• The company ships the computers • Computers are shipped to many
to many foreign countries. foreign countries.
Present Progressive
active: passive:
• The chef is preparing the food. • The food is being prepared.
Simple Past
active: passive:
• The delivery man delivered the • The package was delivered
package yesterday. yesterday.
Past Progressive
active: passive:
• The producer was making an • An announcement was being
announcement. made.
Future
active: passive:
• Our representative will pick up the
• The computer will be picked up.
computer.

1
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence.
 Present Perfect
active: passive:
• Someone has made the • The arrangements have been
arrangements for us. made for us.
Past Perfect
active: passive:
• They had given us visas for three • We had been given visas for three
months. months.
Modals
active: passive:
• You can use the computer. • The computer can be used.
Subject/Object
active: passive:
• They sent the man a package. • The man was sent a package.
By
active: passive:
• Their friends often take them to • They are often taken to interesting
interesting places. places by their friends.

1) You’re going to look for 6 Active Voice statements and shift

them to Passive Voice.
2) Read the following paragraph. All of the sentences are in active voice.
SIX of the sentences would be better in passive voice. Choose the six
sentences and rewrite them in the passive voice on your paper. Think
about focus and the importance of the subjects when making your
choice.

1. Mustard is a popular food that is three thousand years old.

2. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese used it.
3. Today, many cultures can't do without it.
4. The French insist on having it with beef.
5. Americans won’t eat their hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches unless there is
mustard.
6. Mustard, however, is famous not only as a food.
7. For thousands of years people considered mustard as medicine.
8. The heat from mustard helped warm the body.
9. Therefore, people would apply mustard for chest colds and rheumatism.
10. Using mustard as medicine is not so popular today.
11. The mustard plant is a pretty plant with bright yellow flowers.
12. Anyone can easily grow it almost everywhere.
13. How does this pretty plant become a popular condiment?
14. Workers remove the seeds from the plant.
15. Then, people grind the seeds and mix them with salt, spices, and vinegar.
16. Mustard gets its bright yellow color from the spices.