YOU SHOULD WRITE IN THE ACTIVE VOICE
What is Active Voice?
In a sentence written in "active voice," the subject of the sentence is performing the action described within the sentence. The subject should precede the action or main verb of the sentence.
What is Passive Voice?
What is Passive Voice?
When a writer composes a sentence in passive voice, the subject of the sentence follows the verb, or, worse, the proper subject is missing from the sentence all together.
Why write in Active Voice?
For clarity. When you write in the passive voice, readers have a more difficult time understanding exactly what you are trying to convey, particularly if you fail to include a subject in your sentence.
1) Make sure the subject precedes the predicate.
a. The Subject – the person, place or thing that is acting, doing, establishing, or being something in the sentence. As I like to say, the subject is the noun that is doing the verb.
b. The Predicate or Main Verb – the action being performed in the sentence.
2) Look out for “to be” and other helping verbs. Whenever you use the “to be” verb followed by a past participle (typically a verb ending in “-ed”), you are likely using passive voice. Here’s a list of passive voice examples to watch out for:
a. The offer is rejected.
b. The offers are rejected.
c. The offer has been rejected.
d. The offers have been rejected.
e. The offer was rejected.
f. The offers were rejected.
g. The offer(s) had been rejected.
h. The offer(s) will be rejected.
i. The offer(s) will have been rejected.
j. The offer is being rejected.
k. The offers are being rejected.
l. The offer was being rejected.
m.The offers were being rejected.
(Notice that none of the above examples included a subject in the sentence, so we do not know who is rejecting the offers.)
3) Passive voice phrases are often followed by the word “by” and then by the subject of the sentence. Using the example from above, "The offer was rejected by Sandy." This sentence is still passive, but at least the subject is included in the sentence.
Example 1: Active: Jane delivered the paper.[Jane = the subject; delivered = verb]
Example 2: Passive: The paper was delivered by Jane.
[delivered = verb; Jane = the subject]
- or (worse) -
Example 3: Passive: The paper was delivered.
[delivered = verb; who delivered the paper??= no subject]
[delivered = verb; who delivered the paper??= no subject]
Example 4: Active: Joe submitted the assignment late.
“Joe,” the subject, precedes “submitted,” the predicate.
Example 5: Passive: The assignment was submitted late by Joe.
“Joe” is still the proper subject, but does not precede “was submitted,” the predicate.
Example 6: Passive: The assignment was submitted late.
“Joe” is still the proper subject and “was submitted” is the predicate, but “Joe” the subject does not even appear in the sentence! This is the most maddening form of passive voice. Never leave the subject out of your sentences unless you are doing so for effect (i.e., to not make Joe look so bad).
Is there ever a good time to use Passive Voice?
Yes. But as a general rule, No!
In a particular circumstance you may prefer the sound or impact of a sentence when written in passive voice. For example:
In a particular circumstance you may prefer the sound or impact of a sentence when written in passive voice. For example:
Example 7: Active: My client took the diamond from the tray.
Example 8: Passive: The diamond was taken from the tray.
Here, notice that writing in passive voice allows you to omit mention of your client. However, as you may be able to sense from this example, when you use passive voice, readers often get the impression that you are either (1) not a very good writer, or (2) not being straight forward. So, when you intend to be straight forward, avoid using passive voice.
