Consider the following pairs of sentences:
I’m lovin’ it!
vs.
It is being loved by me!
and
I can’t get no satisfaction.
vs.
Satisfaction could not be gotten by me.
Which sentence of these two pairs is more direct, more powerful, more active? These sentence pairs show the difference between active and passive voice in sentences. Generally, active voice is more succinct, direct and powerful. Passive voice, in contrast, is usually wordier, indirect, less powerful and less precise.
What is Active Voice?
Active sentences tend to follow a simple pattern: subject verb object. In active voice, the subject (the person or thing doing the acting) takes the focus of the sentence.
For example:
The wolverine ate all of the pie.
In this sentence, the wolverine (i.e., the subject) is doing the eating (i.e., the action). All of the pie is the object of the sentence, as it receives the action (i.e., gets eaten).
What is Passive Voice?
In passive voice, the sentence object takes precedence as the sentence follows a different pattern: object verb subject.
For example:
All of the pie was eaten by the wolverine.
This sentence says the same thing as the active voice example sentence, but its a little wordier and less clear. The object, all of the pie, is the focus of the sentence. The subject, the wolverine, is relegated to the end of the sentence and far from the reader’s attention.
How Can You Spot a Passive Sentence?
The foolproof way to determine if a sentence is in the passive voice is to look at the focus of the sentence—is it the thing acting, or the thing being acted upon? Is the focus of your sentence active (doing something) or passive (having something done to it)?
For example:
Surprisingly, the vampire loves garlic bread.
In this active voice sentence, we have a subject (the vampire), a verb (loves) and an object (garlic bread). The subject is the focus and active agent of the sentence, while the object takes a back seat and receives the action. This sentence is clear and direct; you know exactly who (the vampire) is doing what (loving) to whom (garlic bread).
In contrast:
Surprisingly, garlic bread is loved by the vampire.
In this passive voice sentence, the focus is the sentence object (garlic bread), even though it is not the active agent of the sentence. This sentence is a little awkward and wordier than the first example. We can still identify the subject, action and object of the sentence, but it just takes a little longer than the first sentence.
What About Be Verbs?
People often make the mistake of thinking that any sentence with a be verb (am, is, was, were, be, being, been) is in the passive voice. It is true the passive sentences often use be verbs, such as in this sentence:
The chocolate cake was baked by Mrs. Morrison.
This sentence is in the passive voice; the focus of the sentence is the chocolate cake, but Mrs. Morrison is the one doing the acting in the sentence.
However, the be verb alone is not enough to determine if a sentence is active or passive. Here is an example of an active voice sentence using a be verb:
The mummy was holding a sign reading, “Dead People are People Too.”
This sentence uses a be verb—was—but the mummy is the active agent and the focus of the sentence. Here’s the sentence written in the passive voice:
The sign reading, “Dead People are People Too” was held by the mummy.
In this sentence, the sign is the main focus of the sentence, but it isn’t doing anything. It is a passive, not active agent; therefore, this is a passive voice sentence.
Is Active Voice Better Than Passive Voice?
In many cases, yes. Active voice is clearer and keeps your sentences from getting too wordy or complicated. Passive voice sentences can be vague and overly complicated. Rewriting a sentence in active voice can often tighten up your writing and makes your sentences more powerful and effective.
When writing in passive voice, it is easy to leave out the active agent of the sentence. For example, in the passive voice sentence—
Your sandwich was eaten.
—the reader doesn’t know who ate the sandwich, only that it was eaten. This technique is a sneaky way of intentionally omitting the active agent, such as in the following sentences:
Mistakes were made.
Shots were fired.
The protesters were arrested.
Your electricity was shut off due to non-payment of your bill.
In all of these examples, the active agent is missing. Who made mistakes, fired shots, arrested protesters or shut off your power? Some writers often use passive voice to intentionally obscure the active agents of their sentences, particularly is the actions might be seen as negative.
When Should I Use Passive Voice?
There are some occasions when you might prefer to use active voice. You may not know the active agent, such as in the sentence:
The preserved brain was stolen from the laboratory.
If we don’t know who stole the brain, then we can’t make them the focus of the sentence. Writers will often use passive voice for crime reports, for the simple reason that we don’t know who committed the crime, only that a crime was committed.
Scientific Writing
Traditionally, scientific writing used passive voice to give the text a sense of objectivity. Passive voice takes the human element out of the sentence and focuses on the actions and results.
For example:
Data was gathered through a series of experiments.
vs.
Dr. Finkleman gathered data through a series of experiments.
The first sentence feels more impersonal and objective than the second. Also, the focus of the first sentence is on the outcome of the experiments, i.e., the collected data, rather than the individual scientist performing the experiments. The active agent, Dr. Finkleman, is not as important as the outcome or the experimentation process, so the active agent is left out to preserve the intended focus of the sentence.
Most modern medical journals and scientific style manuals recommend active voice whenever possible, as it is clearer and more precise. Scientific writers should continue to use passive voice when they can’t identify the active agent or if they want to focus solely on the object of the action. However, writers should use active voice in all other cases to make their writing clear, powerful and focused.
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