In active voice, the subject does the action: "The committee approved the budget." In passive voice, the subject receives the action: "The budget was approved by the committee," or simply "The budget was approved." Active voice is usually clearer and shorter, so it is the default for most writing. Passive voice is the better choice when the doer is unknown, unimportant or deliberately in the background.
The rule is not "never use passive." It is "use passive on purpose."
How each voice is built
Active: subject + verb + object.
- The chef prepared the meal.
- Our team missed the deadline.
Passive: the object moves into the subject position, and the verb becomes a form of "be" + past participle. The original doer becomes optional, introduced with "by."
- The meal was prepared (by the chef).
- The deadline was missed (by our team).
Passive voice works in every tense:
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present | The lab tests the samples. | The samples are tested. |
| Past | The lab tested the samples. | The samples were tested. |
| Present perfect | The lab has tested the samples. | The samples have been tested. |
| Future | The lab will test the samples. | The samples will be tested. |
| Progressive | The lab is testing the samples. | The samples are being tested. |
| Modal | The lab should test the samples. | The samples should be tested. |
How to spot the passive
Look for two things together: a form of "be" (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) and a past participle (often ending in -ed, but irregular ones too: written, taken, made, given, seen).
Then try the "by zombies" test. If you can add "by zombies" after the verb and the sentence still makes grammatical sense, it is passive.
- "The report was submitted by zombies." Passive.
- "The report was late by zombies." Not passive; "late" is an adjective.
It is a silly test, which is why people remember it.
Why active voice is usually the better default
It is clearer about who did what. "Mistakes were made" hides responsibility. "I made a mistake" does not. In business writing, reports and instructions, readers often need to know who is responsible.
It is shorter. Passive constructions add helper verbs and "by" phrases. Across a long document, that adds up.
It reads with more energy. Active sentences move from actor to action to result, which matches how readers picture events.
Before: It was decided by the board that the policy would be reviewed. Concerns had been raised by several staff members, and it was felt that changes should be made before the policy was implemented.
After: The board decided to review the policy. Several staff members had raised concerns, and the board felt the policy needed changes before it took effect.
The revision is shorter, names the actors and is easier to follow on first read.
When passive voice is the right choice
Good writers use passive voice deliberately in several situations.
The doer is unknown
"My bike was stolen." You do not know who stole it, and "Someone stole my bike" adds nothing.
The doer is obvious or unimportant
"The suspect was arrested on Tuesday." Naming the police adds no information.
You want to keep the focus on the receiver
"Penicillin was discovered in 1928." In a paragraph about antibiotics, penicillin is the topic. Making it the subject keeps the paragraph coherent.
Scientific and technical conventions
In many methods sections, the procedure matters more than who performed it: "Samples were centrifuged for ten minutes." Some fields and journals now prefer active voice with "we," so check the guidelines you are writing for.
Smoother flow between sentences
Readers follow text more easily when each sentence starts with something familiar and ends with something new. Sometimes passive voice makes that possible:
"Our study focused on coastal wetlands. These wetlands are threatened by rising sea levels."
Here the second sentence starts with "these wetlands," linking back to the first, and ends with the new information.
Tact
"Your payment has not been received" is softer than "You have not paid." In customer emails and sensitive feedback, that softness can be appropriate. Be careful not to slide into evasion, though, especially when you are the one responsible.
How to convert passive to active
- Find the doer. It may be in a "by" phrase, or you may need to work out who did it.
- Make the doer the subject.
- Change the verb to the active form in the same tense.
- Put the receiver after the verb as the object.
| Passive | Active |
|---|---|
| The results were analyzed by the research team. | The research team analyzed the results. |
| The email will be sent tomorrow. | We will send the email tomorrow. |
| A decision has been made. | The manager has made a decision. |
| Errors were found in the code. | Testers found errors in the code. |
Notice that in the last three you have to supply a doer. That is often the point: passive voice let the writer avoid deciding who acted. Deciding usually makes the sentence stronger.
Sentence RewriterRephrase a sentence several waysCommon mistakes
Changing every passive sentence. Running a grammar checker and flipping every flagged sentence can make writing worse, especially in scientific or technical text. Read each one and decide.
Inventing a vague doer. "Things were done" turned into "People did things" is not an improvement. If you cannot name a meaningful doer, the passive may be fine, or the sentence needs rethinking.
Confusing passive with past tense. "She wrote the letter" is past tense and active. "The letter was written" is past tense and passive. Voice and tense are separate.
Confusing passive with "weak" verbs. "There are many students who are interested" is wordy, but not passive. The fix is different: "Many students are interested."
Voice by type of writing
Different kinds of writing lean in different directions. These are tendencies, not rules:
| Writing type | Usual preference | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Emails and business writing | Mostly active | Readers need to know who is doing what |
| Instructions and how-tos | Active, often imperative | "Click Save" beats "Save should be clicked" |
| News reporting | Mixed | Passive when the victim or event matters more than the actor |
| Lab reports and methods | Mixed, field-dependent | Procedure often matters more than the person |
| Legal and policy documents | Mixed | Passive appears in rules that apply to anyone |
| Fiction | Mostly active | Keeps scenes vivid and characters in charge |
A quick practice exercise
Try converting these yourself before reading the suggested answers.
- The new software was installed over the weekend.
- The winners will be announced by the judges on Friday.
- It has been suggested that the meeting be moved.
Suggested answers: (1) IT installed the new software over the weekend. (2) The judges will announce the winners on Friday. (3) Several team members have suggested moving the meeting.
Each answer needed a decision about who acted. In sentence 1, the passive is arguably fine if nobody cares who installed it.
Using tools to check voice
A grammar checker can highlight passive constructions so you can review them. It cannot judge context, so treat each highlight as a question, not a correction. A sentence rewriter can show you an active alternative when you are not sure how to restructure a sentence. Compare it with your original and keep whichever serves the paragraph better.
Key takeaways
- Active voice: subject does the action. Passive: subject receives it.
- Spot the passive by "be" + past participle, or try the "by zombies" test.
- Default to active for clarity, brevity and responsibility.
- Use passive when the doer is unknown, unimportant, obvious, or when it improves flow or follows your field's conventions.
- Do not flip every passive sentence automatically. Decide case by case.
Try this on your current draft: highlight every passive sentence, then rewrite only those where naming the doer makes the sentence clearer.