I feel like I’m in that joke I learned as a kid. I will try to translate it here, even if the jokes are not as funny when translated.

The son asks his father how to impress his new girlfriend, and the father replies that he should look into her eyes and tell her: “Time seems to stand still when I look into your eyes”. Later that evening, the son comes home upset and tells his father that his idea was bad because the girl dumped him after taking his advice. The father then asks the son to tell him what he said to the girl, and the son replies: “My watch stops when I see your face”.

At some point, I raised the issue of efficient communication and being aware of active vs passive voice uses with my current teammates. While trying to find an article describing the Active and Passive voices to present to my teammates, I found that most articles were hard to follow. I eventually settled on an article I presented to them, but I soon realised it was not enough. There was so much more that I wanted them to understand, and I couldn’t find that in one article. This gave me the drive to start writing my own article.

Introduction

This article covers the active and passive voices, their impact on effective writing, and how they should be used. You will also discover tips to help you choose the right type of voice for your writing.

Using the two voices effectively will significantly impact the clarity, directness, and effectiveness of your wiring.

Understanding Active and Passive Voice

In English, there are two voices which you can use when writing: active and passive.

Even though the active voice is the most common and considered the right way because it brings clarity by using fewer words to describe an action, the passive voice has its rightful place and, sometimes, can help the reader better grasp the presented action.

Active voice

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the active voice is the relationship between a subject and a verb in which the subject performs the action of the verb.[1]

As an analytical person, I understand things better if they are simplified or broken down into smaller chunks.

So, by analysing the definition, we can observe the following structure: Subject + Verb + Object. This structure will be your guide to mastering the creation of active voice sentences.

For example:

• "The cat (subject) chased (verb) the mouse (object)."

Remember, active voice generally creates more direct, clear, and concise sentences, regardless of the tense used.

Passive voice

Given that “A verb is in the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb.”[2], the passive voice structure is Object + Verb + Subject. The word "by" often precedes the Subject, and the Verb has the past participle form.

For example:

• "The mouse (object) was chased (verb) by the cat (subject)."

The past participle is a verb form used in English to create perfect tenses and passive voice constructions. It's typically formed by adding "-ed" to regular verbs (e.g., "walked," "talked"), but irregular verbs have unique past participle forms (e.g., "gone" for "go," "eaten" for "eat").[3]

For example:

• Active voice: "John ate the cake."
• Passive voice: "The cake was eaten by John."

In the passive voice example, "eaten" is the past participle of "eat." This form is important when discussing active and passive voice because the use of the past participle with a form of the verb "to be" (like "was" or "were") is often a sign that a sentence is in passive voice.

Even though most passive voice constructions contain the past participle, they can occasionally present themselves without it when describing ongoing actions.

For example:

• “The house is being painted.”

In this example, the use of the “is being” followed by the present participle “painted” creates a passive construction that describes an ongoing action.

Active and Passive voice uses

Both forms have strengths and weaknesses. Further, we will determine when each should be used, discuss tips for balancing their use, discuss common misconceptions of passive voice, and explain how to change passive to active voice.

When to Use Active Voice

As the construction of active voice sentences suggests, one use is when the writer wishes to emphasise the doer of the action.

For example:

• "The committee approved the proposal."

Still, it is also used:

• To offer clarity and directness
• In most business and academic writing
• When the writer wishes to create a sense of immediacy or action

Active voice is generally preferred for its conciseness and strength. It provides a clear tone that strengthens the writer's work and eliminates extra words that can clutter ideas.

When to Use Passive Voice

As the construction of the passive voice suggests, one use is when the writer wishes to emphasise the recipient of the action rather than the doer.

For example:

• "The proposal was approved (by the committee)."

Still, it is also used:

• When the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant
• In scientific writing, to maintain objectivity
• To avoid assigning blame or responsibility

Passive voice can be helpful in specific situations, such as creating an authoritative tone or describing conditions where the actor is unknown or unimportant.

Tips for Balancing Active and Passive Voice

The first thing you should do before starting to write is to identify the purpose of your writing and the audience. As previously discussed, each of the two voices has its place in writing and identifying the purpose and audience is a key factor in writing effectively.

Other things you can do to balance the two voices are to:

1. Primarily write in an active voice, then switch to passive when it serves a specific purpose
2. Read your writing aloud. This allows you to check for clarity and flow
3. Use writing tools to help identify passive constructions

Common Misconceptions About Passive Voice

When I first started differentiating between active and passive voices, I, too, fell into the trap of Passive Voice Misconceptions.

Some of those misconceptions are:

• Passive voice is always wrong
• Any sentence with "was" or "were" is passive
• Passive voice is always less clear

As I said, those are just misconceptions. As we previously discussed:

• Passive voice has its uses
• Not all sentences that contain “was” or “were” are passive
• Sometimes, passive constructions offer more clarity than active ones

How to identify Passive Voice sentences

To identify passive voice sentences, look for these key characteristics:

1. Use of a form of the verb "to be": "is," "was," "were," "are," "has been," or "will be" followed by a past participle.
2. Past participle: The main verb is usually in past participle form (often ending in -ed, -en, or -t for irregular verbs).
3. The "By" phrase: Passive voice sentences often, but not always, include a "by" phrase indicating who or what performed the action.
4. The subject receives the action: In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is not performing the action but receiving it.
5. Word order: The object of the action is often at the beginning of the sentence.

How to Change Passive Voice to Active Voice

Converting passive to active voice requires some exercise, but it is no rocket science.

There is a structure that you should follow, and it all starts with the construction of the sentence.

An effective way is to follow this structure:

1. Identify the subject, object, and verb in the passive sentence
2. Remove the word "by" if present
3. Transform the past participle into an appropriate verb form
4. Swap the positions of the subject and object

Maintaining the original tense when converting from passive to active voice is important.

For example:

• Passive (Past Simple): "The mouse was chased by the cat."
• Active (Past Simple): "The cat chased the mouse."
• Passive (Present Perfect): "The mouse has been chased by the cat."
• Active (Present Perfect): "The cat has chased the mouse."

Conclusion

Both active and passive voice have their place in effective writing. While active voice is generally preferred for its clarity and directness, passive voice can be useful in specific situations. The key is to understand the purpose of your writing and choose the voice that best serves that purpose. By mastering the use of both voices, you can enhance your writing's impact and effectiveness across various contexts and genres.

I recommend knowing your audience and tailoring your writing or speech accordingly. By doing so, I have successfully worked in sales and handled customer complaints simultaneously. I have increased sales and improved customer satisfaction while reducing product replacements, thus reducing costs. To be able to do that, you must ask questions and actively listen before trying to come up with an answer or solution.

Remember, good writing is about making conscious choices. Whether you choose active or passive voice, ensure it aligns with your message and engages your readers effectively.

About the author

Mihai Rosca is a versatile professional with over a decade of experience, his career spans sales leadership, training and development, project management, and technical writing. Their journey from Area Sales Manager to Technical Writer/Product Analyst reflects a unique blend of business acumen, communication skills, and technical expertise. This diverse background enables them to create insightful, user-friendly content that bridges complex technical concepts with practical business applications.