The difference in one line
In the active voice, the subject does the action: The committee approved the budget. In the passive voice, the subject receives it: The budget was approved (by the committee).
How to recognise passive voice
A passive verb is a form of be (or sometimes get) plus a past participle:
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| present | The team writes the report. | The report is written by the team. |
| past | The team wrote the report. | The report was written. |
| perfect | The team has written it. | It has been written. |
| continuous | The team is writing it. | It is being written. |
| modal | The team will write it. | It will be written. |
Passive voice is not the same as past tense, and not every “was” is passive: She was tired and He was in Paris are active (there is no action being received).
A quick test: if you can add “by zombies” after the verb and the sentence still makes grammatical sense, it’s passive. The report was written (by zombies).
When passive voice is the better choice
- The actor is unknown: My bike was stolen.
- The actor is obvious or unimportant: The suspect was arrested.
- The receiver is the topic: Penicillin was discovered in 1928.
- Scientific methods in fields that prefer an impersonal style: Samples were stored at −20 °C.
- Tact: Mistakes were made avoids blame, which is also why critics dislike it.
When to rewrite it
Rewrite when passive voice hides who is responsible, makes a sentence longer, or stacks up across a paragraph:
- It was decided that the policy would be reviewed → The board decided to review the policy.
- Your application has been received and will be processed → We received your application and will process it within five days.
Ask: who did it? Make that the subject.
How much is too much?
There’s no universal rule. Plain-language guidance, such as the US Federal Plain Language Guidelines, recommends the active voice as the default; many editors aim to keep passive sentences to a small minority in general writing. Academic and legal writing uses more, by convention.
The Passive Voice Checker highlights every passive construction (including irregular verbs like written, made, chosen) and separates ones with a “by” agent. The Clarity Checker shows passive voice alongside hard sentences and adverbs.
Sources
- US Federal Plain Language Guidelines (plainlanguage.gov), “Use active voice”.
- Huddleston, R. & Pullum, G. K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, chapter 16 (passives).