What’s the Difference Between Active and Passive Voice?
Do you know the difference between active and passive voice? Don’t worry if you don’t! It’s an area that’s often misunderstood or overlooked, especially by those who are new to proofreading. But understanding the effect and purpose of both the active and the passive voice is valuable for proofreaders and editors. By recognizing the distinction between the two constructions, and knowing how to put each to best use, you can help writers improve the clarity and impact of their writing.
To help you build this knowledge, in this blog post, we’ll explore:
- What active voice and passive voice are
- Examples of each type of sentence structure
- When active voice is more appropriate
- When passive voice is the best choice
- When and how to change passive voice to active voice when proofreading
What Is Active Voice?
In most sentences, there is a subject and an object – the subject performs the action (the verb), and the object receives or is affected by it.
In a sentence written in the active voice, the focus is on the subject and what it is doing to the object. This form of expression is straightforward and direct, and it can be the simplest way of describing an action. It typically makes for a more concise sentence. As a result, writers are often encouraged to use active voice.
To show you what this means in practice, we can break this type of sentence down into a formula.
Examples of Active Voice
Sentences that use active voice follow this formula:
Subject + Verb (action) + Object.
For example:
The chef prepared a delicious meal.
Our team won the championship.
Mark threw the water balloon. And it hit me.
We use the active voice when we want the reader to focus on the actor (and/or the action) in the sentence.
The Active Voice in Creative Writing
Fiction writers often use active voice to keep their narratives dynamic and engaging. It works particularly well in character-driven plots, where the focus is on the character’s emotions and decisions. By making the subject of each sentence the clear agent of the action, active voice brings immediacy and energy to the storytelling.
It also helps readers visualize the scene more vividly – they can picture the protagonist racing down the hallway rather than passively being seen running.
The Active Voice in Marketing Copy
In marketing, clarity is key – and that’s where active voice shines. Customer-facing content works best when it’s direct and easy to understand. Passive constructions can bog down the message or take up precious space, especially in online copy where word or character limits apply. For example, compare “Your request has been received” with “We’ve received your request” – the latter is shorter and sounds more natural.
Active voice is also well suited to calls to action, especially when using imperative verbs aimed at the reader. Phrases like “Start your free trial” or “Download our guide” are clear and compelling because they speak directly to the audience and make the next step obvious.
What Is Passive Voice?
In contrast to active voice, passive voice focuses on the object over the subject. If a sentence has passive construction, the receiver of the action is placed at the forefront, and the doer is either relegated to the end or is completely unknown.
Examples of Passive Voice
Sentences that use passive voice follow this formula:
Object + A form of the verb to be + Past participle of the main verb + Subject or actor.
For example:
Delicious meals were prepared by the chef.
The championship trophy was given to the away team.
All models are hand-painted by skilled artists.
Note that the passive voice can also make use of forms of the verb to get instead of to be. This is generally only seen in informal writing, but it’s still useful to be aware of. This is what that structure looks like:
The windows got broken by the hooligans.
You may get hired by the company without an interview.
My snazzy handbag always gets commented on by strangers.
As you can see, in each case, the emphasis is on the object (the thing being acted upon), with the actor mentioned in a less prominent position. This means that passive sentences are not as simple or direct as active ones, but this is not necessarily a problem.
But wait – there’s another piece to the puzzle! In many passive constructions, the actor is omitted entirely. Take a look at some of our examples with the actor omitted:
Delicious meals were prepared.
All models are hand-painted.
You may get hired without an interview.
The sentences still make sense – but we don’t know who is performing the action. Again, this is not necessarily a problem!
How to Change Passive Voice to Active Voice
As a proofreader, you’ll come across passive constructions that could be made clearer and more direct. The good news? Making these edits is usually straightforward. The trick is to identify who is performing the action and then tweak the sentence to bring that subject to the fore.
Let’s look at some examples of passive-to-active transformations:
| Passive | Active |
| The presentation was led by Tom. | Tom led the presentation. |
| The report has been reviewed by two managers. | Two managers have reviewed the report. |
| Our campaign will be launched by the team tomorrow. | The team will launch our campaign tomorrow. |
In each case, switching to the active voice not only shortens the sentence but also makes the meaning more immediate and engaging. That said, some clients might prefer passive phrasing in certain contexts – especially in formal or academic writing. When in doubt, it’s a good idea to leave a comment in the document to confirm they’re happy with the change.
When Is Passive Voice Useful?
In some circumstances, active voice is the best choice due to its direct and clear tone. However, there are times when it’s appropriate, more natural, or downright necessary to use passive voice:
- When the action or result is the focus: Passive voice is useful when the action or its consequence is more important than the doer. For instance, “The documents were stolen by someone” emphasizes the theft over who committed the crime.
- When the actor is unknown or irrelevant: If it’s not clear who performed the action, or if it’s being deliberately withheld, passive voice is a handy choice. For example, “Mistakes were made” doesn’t specify who got something wrong (so no one needs to accept blame!).
- When objectivity is essential: In studies or scientific writing, the passive voice helps keep things impartial. It’s also a way to avoid the first person in academic writing. For example, “A study was carried out” keeps the tone abstract and neutral and is more appropriate than “I carried out a study”
When Is Passive Voice a Problem?
While passive voice has its place, it can cause problems when it’s used unintentionally or without a clear reason. One of the biggest issues is ambiguity. If it’s not obvious who’s performing the action, the reader can be left confused or misinformed.
In editing, clarity is king. If the passive voice muddies the meaning of a sentence, it may be best to rewrite it in the active voice. If you are proofreading a text, then a comment is likely the most appropriate course of action. However, if you are editing, you may need to rewrite it yourself!
This often just means identifying the doer and adjusting the verb accordingly. Sometimes, though, it takes a bit of detective work to piece together the full picture from the surrounding context.
Let’s look at a few examples where the passive voice creates confusion – and how switching to the active voice can solve the problem:
- Passive: The updated business plan will be presented during the event.
Potential issue: Who is responsible for the presentation? That detail could matter.
Active: The nominated speaker will present the updated business plan during the event. - Passive: The project was evaluated, but final approval was not granted.
Potential issue: Who carried out the evaluation, and who withheld approval?
Active: The managing director evaluated the project, but the head of logistics did not grant final approval. - Passive: An antidote can be created by mixing solution 1 and solution 2.
Potential issue: Does this mean it is possible to do this? Or is it avoiding the more direct phrasing of you can create?
Active: Create an antidote by combining solution 1 and solution 2.
Alternative: It is possible to create an antidote by combining solution 1 and solution 2.
In each case, switching to the active voice makes the sentence more direct, more informative, or simply understandable! It gives the reader a clearer picture of what’s happening and who’s involved. That’s why, in most cases, if the passive voice is making things less clear, it’s worth revisiting the sentence to see how it can be improved.
Learn to Proofread Active and Passive Voice
Active voice is direct and engaging, while passive voice shifts the focus and ensures objectivity. Being able to use both appropriately makes for more effective communication.
By understanding these grammatical constructions, and when to switch between them, you can tailor writing to its target audience and purpose as well as improve clarity and readability.
If you want to learn how to do this and much more, check out our comprehensive Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor courses! Gain the skills and knowledge to correct errors, clarify meaning, and create perfectly polished writing for your clients. And if you score 80% or above in the final assignments, you’ll have the chance to get started right away with a paid work trial with Proofed. Try two lessons for free to see if Knowadays is right for you!
Updated on March 28, 2025
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