What’s the Difference Between Active and Passive Voice?

What is the difference between active and passive voice? As a freelance proofreader or editor, you should be able to answer this question. Understanding the nuances of active and passive voice is a fundamental skill, but it is often overlooked, especially by newbie proofreaders. By grasping the distinction between the two, you can help your clients improve the clarity and impact of their communications.

In today’s blog post, you’ll learn:

• What active and passive voice are
• Examples of them in context
• When you should opt for passive voice
• How to change passive voice to active voice when proofreading documents

What Is Active Voice?

Active voice is a sentence construction where the subject performs the action. In active voice, the subject is the doer, and the action is directed toward an object.

This form of expression is straightforward, direct, and often more engaging for readers. As a result, writers are encouraged to use active voice.

Active Voice Examples

Sentences that use active voice follow this formula:

Subject + Verb (action) + Object.

For example:

The chef prepared a delicious meal.

The team won the championship.

Mark threw the ball.

We use active voice when we want the reader to focus on the subject and action of the sentence.

You might notice that fiction writers often use active voice in their stories. It works particularly well in character-driven narratives, where the focus is on the character’s emotions and decisions. Active voice can help writers “speed up” the narrative by making the action more direct and immediate. Similarly, because active voice places emphasis on the subject performing the action, it can help readers place themselves in or envision a scene more vividly.

What Is Passive Voice?

On the other hand, passive voice is a construction where the subject receives the action. In passive voice, the object becomes the sentence’s subject, and the doer is placed at the end or omitted.

Passive Voice Examples

Sentences that use passive voice follow this formula:

Object + A “Be” Verb (e.g., is or were) + Past Participle of Main Verb + By + Agent.

For example:

A delicious meal was prepared by the chef.

The championship was won by the team.

The ball was thrown by Mark.

When Should You Use Passive Voice?

Readers tend to favor active voice due to its direct and clear tone. However, there are times when it’s appropriate to use passive voice:

1. When you want to emphasize the action: Passive voice can be useful when the action itself is more critical than the doer. For instance, “The documents were stolen” emphasizes the theft over who committed it.
2. When there is an unknown or unimportant doer: If the doer is unknown or unimportant in a sentence, passive voice is a handy choice. For example, “Mistakes were made” doesn’t specify who made the mistakes.
3. To create object-centric focus: When you want to emphasize the object or the recipient of the action, passive voice is apt. “A new product was launched” places emphasis on the product, not the entity that launched it.

How to Change Passive Voice to Active Voice

Proofreaders often encounter passive sentences that can be improved for clarity and readability. Making such changes isn’t difficult. The key is identifying the subject performing the action and restructuring the sentence accordingly. Let’s look at some examples of passive-to-active transformations:

Passive: The presentation was given by Tom.

Active: Tom gave the presentation.

Here, we’ve shifted the focus from the passive “was given” to the active “gave.”

Passive: The report has been reviewed by the manager.

Active: The manager has reviewed the report.

In this example, we’ve restructured the sentence to highlight the manager as the doer of the action.

Passive: The project will be completed by the team next week.

Active: The team will complete the project next week.

A client might prefer using passive voice, so it’s best to verify that they are happy with your changes. You can simply do this by leaving a comment in the document.

Summary: Active vs. Passive Voice

Understanding the difference between active and passive voice is vital for effective communication. Active voice is direct and engaging, while passive voice can be useful when focusing on the action or when the doer isn’t important.

Changing from passive to active voice involves identifying the subject or doer and reordering the sentence accordingly.

By mastering both voices, you can help your clients tailor their writing to their audience and purpose as well as improve clarity and readability.

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