Active Versus Passive Voice
Summary:
This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active.
Contributors:April Toadvine, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli
Last Edited: 2012-10-12 03:05:53
Active voice is used for most non-scientific writing. Using active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Even in scientific writing, too much use of passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences.
Image Caption: The action is performed upon the sentence subject, meaning this sentence is passive (indirect).
Image Caption: This is an example of the active voice because the sentence subject performs the action.
Image Caption: This is an example of the passive voice.
Image Caption: This is an example of an active voice sentence because the sentence subject performs the action.
Image Caption: This is an example of the passive voice.
Image Caption: This is an example of an active voice sentence because its subject performs the action expressed in the verb.
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.
Image Caption: This passive voice sentence is less concise than its active voice counterpart (shown below).
Image Caption: This active voice sentence requires fewer words to communicate the same idea as the passive voice version (above).
Image Caption: This passive voice sentence is more wordy than an active voice version.
Image Caption: This active voice sentence is more concise than the passive voice version (above) because the subject directly performs the action.
