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Though fun, writing can also get pretty darn confusing, especially when you’re trying to figure out whether to use the active or passive voice. What is the difference between active and passive voice? When and how should you use them?

In this complete active voice vs passive voice guide, we'll go over how each voice works in English grammar, when to use the two voices, and how to change a sentence from passive to active (and vice versa). We’ll also give you an active vs passive voice quiz to test your skills. Let's get started!

What Is Active Voice?

The active voice is when the subject of a sentence performs an action on an object. In other words, the subject does the action, and the object receives the action .

The active voice is easy to identify in writing because it follows a simple form, which is the basis of English grammar:

Subject ( doer ) → Verb → Object ( recipient )

Here’s an example of a sentence using the active voice:

The dog ate my homework.

In this example, "the dog" is the subject, "ate" is the verb, and "my homework" is the object. Here’s a diagram to better show this connection:

Here, "the dog" is doing (or, in this case, has already done) the action: it is the one that "ate." Meanwhile, "homework" is the object that is receiving this action of eating.

Here’s another example of the active voice at play:

She is writing an essay.

In this example, "she" is the subject, "is writing" is the verb (in the present progressive tense), and "an essay" is the object.

Once again, the subject ("she") is the one performing the action: "she" is "writing." And what is she writing? An "essay," i.e., the noun that’s receiving the action.

Finally, here's an example of the active voice being used without an object:

In this sentence, we have a subject ("he") and a verb ("sings") but no object. Regardless, because the subject is performing the act of singing, we can identify this as the active voice .

What Is Passive Voice?

The passive voice is basically the opposite of the active voice: it’s when the subject is acted upon by the object. In other words, the subject receives the action, and the object does the action .

The passive voice is a little trickier to identify, as it uses more words than the active voice. The basic structure is as follows:

Subject ( recipient ) → Verb ( past participle of "to be" form ) → Object ( doer )

Note that the object here is always preceded by the word "by."

Additionally, the verb takes its "to be" form (meaning it’s preceded by "is/are" for the present tense and "was/were" for the past tense) and is put in the past participle (e.g., "eaten" for the verb "eat" or "given" for the verb "give").

Here’s an example of a sentence using the passive voice:

The ice cream was bought by the little girl.

In this example, "the ice cream" is the subject, "bought" is the verb, and "the little girl" is the object. Here’s a diagram to help you understand this grammar pattern better:

As you can see, "the ice cream" (as the subject) is the one receiving the action, while "the little girl" (as the object) is the one performing the action.

Here's another passive voice example:

Our tests were graded by the teacher.

Here, the subject is "our tests," the verb is "were graded," and the object is "the teacher." Again, the subject ("our tests") is receiving the action from the object ("the teacher") , which is, in turn, performing it (i.e., the one who is grading).

Sometimes you’ll see the passive voice being used without an object (i.e., without identifying the doer of the action—only the recipient). Here’s an example:

The tea was poured.

In this sentence, "the tea" is the subject and "was poured" is the verb; however, there’s no object performing the action of pouring . Simply put, we don’t know who poured the tea! Nevertheless, we can identify this sentence as passive based on its setup: a subject followed by a verb in its past participle "to be" form.

If we wanted to insert an object here, we'd simply add the word "by" followed by a noun:

The tea was poured by my grandmother.

Now, we have an object, or doer, of this act of pouring tea: "my grandmother."

Active vs Passive Voice: When Do You Use Them?

The active and passive voice express the same ideas, just in different ways. In terms of when we actually use them, though, what is the difference between active and passive voice?

In general, you should always aim to use the active voice whenever you write. This is because the active voice is clearer and more direct, while the passive voice is wordier and more confusing.

That being said, this doesn’t mean that the passive voice is inherently wrong. There are many cases in which you might opt for the passive voice over the active voice.

Here are some scenarios in which you might want (or need) to use the passive voice:

• When you want to emphasize the recipient of the action
• When you want to emphasize the action itself
• When you don’t know who or what is performing the action
• When the doer of the action is irrelevant or unimportant

For example, say you’re writing an essay about the Declaration of Independence and you come up with the following sentence:

Most people believe that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, but this is not actually the case.

Let’s parse this out a bit. 

While part of the sentence is clearly in the active voice (the "most people believe" section), the crux of it ("the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4") is in the passive voice. Doing this lets you keep the emphasis on the document, i.e., the topic of your essay .

In addition, there were many people who signed the Declaration of Independence, but listing them all here would only make the sentence longer and more convoluted; this is why the passive voice is a better fit.

Changing From Passive to Active Voice (and Vice Versa)

There are many times you might want to change a sentence from passive to active, or even from active to passive. To do this, you’ll need to understand exactly how the two types of voices work.

First, recall that the primary difference between active and passive voice lies in the roles of the subject and object : whereas in active voice the subject is the doer and the object is the recipient of the action, in passive voice the subject is the recipient of the action and the object is the doer.

Here’s an example of a sentence in the active voice vs passive voice:

Active: She created a travel blog. Passive: A travel blog was created by her.

Below is another way of looking at the difference between active and passive voice:

As you can see here, in the active voice, "she" is the subject and doer, whereas "a travel blog" is the object and recipient of the verb "created."

But in the passive voice, these designations swap : as the original subject, "she" becomes the object (but is still the doer of the action), whereas "a travel blog," which was originally the object, becomes the subject (but is still the recipient of the action).

In addition, the verb, which began in the simple past, has been converted into its past participle "to be" form .

To sum up, to convert from active to passive voice, here’s what you must do:

• Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original object is now the subject and the original subject is now the object
• Add the word "by" before the new object
• Convert the verb into its "to be" past participle form  based on the original tense used
• Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original subject is now the object and the original object is now the subject
• Delete the word "by" used before the original object (now subject)
• Convert the "to be" past participle form of the verb into the appropriate tense as indicated by the verb and overall sentence

The verb is arguably the trickiest part of converting from passive to active. You want to make sure you’re keeping the same tense as indicated by the original verb and sentence.

As an example, here's how you'd change various tenses of the word "do" from passive to active:

• is done → do/does
• is/are being done → is/are doing
• was/were done → did
• was/were being done → was/were doing
• will be done → will do

Finally, know that you cannot convert from active to passive or passive to active if you do not have an object . You can see why this doesn’t work in these active vs passive voice examples:

Active (Without Object): I drank. Passive: ??? was drunk by me.

Without an object, we have no idea what "I" actually "drank."

Passive (Without Object): The project will be completed by tomorrow. Active: ??? will complete the project by tomorrow.

Without an object, we cannot explain who "will complete the project."

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz

It’s time to test out what you learned in an active vs passive voice quiz. 

Before you start, make sure you know what the three types of questions expect you to do:

• Questions 1-3: Identify whether the sentence is active or passive
• Questions 4-5: Fill in the blanks to create a grammatically correct sentence
• Questions 6-8: Convert the sentence from active to passive, or vice versa

Answers and explanations will be provided at the end of the quiz. Good luck!

#1: Active or Passive?

This novel was not written by Charlotte Brontë but rather her sister Emily.

#2: Active or Passive?

The mail arrived on time yesterday.

#3: Active or Passive?

A study on the gender wage gap was conducted in 2018.

#4: Fill in the Blank

This gift was given to me _____ my sister.

#5: Fill in the Blank

The toy will soon be _____ by him. (past participle of "fix")

#6: Convert to Passive

Jessica is teaching me how to speak Italian.

#7: Convert to Active

He was advised by his dentist to floss more.

#8: Convert to Active

The valuable painting is finally going to be sold this year.

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz: Answers + Explanations

In this sample sentence, the subject is "the novel," the action is "was not written," and the object is "Charlotte Brontë" — we can leave out that last part since it’s not really important to understanding the voice here.

Because the object ("Charlotte Brontë") is the doer of the action — that is, she’s the one who did not write "the novel" —you should be able to tell right away that  this sentence is in the passive voice . (You might also be able to tell it’s passive due to the use of the word "by" before the object.)

Here, "the mail" is the subject and "arrived" is the verb — there is no object. Because "the mail" is the one doing the action of "arriving," this sentence uses the active voice .

In this example, "a study" is the subject and "was conducted" is the verb; there’s no object. Since "a study" is receiving the action instead of performing it, this sentence is in the passive voice .

(Just in case you’re wondering, the reason we don’t see "by" is that the object, or doer, of the action is either unknown or irrelevant.)

Right away you should recognize this as the passive voice. "This gift" is the subject, "was given" is the verb, and "my sister" is the object who is performing the action of giving.

As you know, the word "by" must come before the object in a passive sentence , so this is the missing word. The sentence should therefore read, "This gift was given to me by my sister."

Again, you should recognize this example as a passive sentence since it calls for the past participle of the verb and has the word "by" before the object. The past participle of the verb "fix" is the same as its simple past: "fixed" ; t herefore, the sentence should read, "The toy will soon be fixed by him."

To convert this sentence from active to passive, you must switch the positions of the subject and object and then convert the verb (in present progressive) to its past participle "to be" form. Don't forget that "me" must transform into its subject form ("I") when going from an object to a subject. ("Jessica" is a name and proper noun and therefore does not change form.)

Finally, place the word "by" before the new object ("Jessica"). This should give you the following passive sentence: "I am being taught how to speak Italian by Jessica."

To convert this example from passive to active, you’ll need to switch the subject and object, change the verb form from "to be" past participle to simple past, and eliminate the "by." Note that "he" will turn into "him" when converted from a subject into an object.

Doing all this correctly should give you this: "His dentist advised him to floss more."

If you didn’t know it already, this question is actually a trick! But how? Because there is no object in this passive sentence, there’s no way to convert it into the active voice. In other words, we have no idea who is going to sell the painting.

If we tried to convert it, we’d get this nonsensical statement: "??? is finally going to sell the valuable painting this year." As such, we cannot create a sentence in the active voice without a subject .

What’s Next?

Now that you understand active voice vs passive voice examples, want to brush up on your English grammar? Then check out our detailed guides on semicolons , verbs , prepositions , proper nouns , and parts of speech .

To ace the SAT/ACT, you'll need to have an excellent grasp of the English language.  Learn the most important SAT grammar rules and ACT grammar rules so you can earn an amazing score.

Need help with using and identifying literary devices? Our expert guide explains more than 30 key literary devices and how they work to help you become a pro at reading and writing.

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Active vs. Passive Voice: What's The Difference?

What to Know When a sentence is in the active voice , the subject of the sentence is the one doing the action expressed by the verb. In the passive voice , the subject is the person or thing acted on or affected by the verb's action. The passive voice is typically formed with a form of the verb be —such as is , was , or has been —and the past participle of the verb, as in "The ball was thrown by Jerry." Although sometimes criticized for being evasive, the passive voice can be useful when someone wants to emphasize an action that has taken place or when the agent of an action is unknown, as is often the case in news coverage.

Mistakes were made.

In English class, we are taught the difference between active and passive voice.

The active voice asserts that the person or thing represented by the grammatical subject performs the action represented by the verb.

The passive voice makes the subject the person or thing acted on or affected by the action represented by the verb.

Active voice: Jerry knocked over the lamp. Passive voice: The lamp was knocked over by Jerry.

Both sentences describe the same action taking place—Jerry making contact with a lamp and causing it to fall over—with the first sentence making Jerry the subject and the second making the lamp the subject.

The passive voice is often distinguished by its use of a linking verb form (e.g., was , had been ) followed by another verb in its past participle form (e.g., "I have been given an opportunity").

Usefulness of Passive Voice

Passive voice often gets criticized as a weak and evasive form of expression. But it is useful for those instances when you want to emphasize the fact of an action having taken place rather than who performed the action. It is also helpful for instances when the doer of an action (also known as the agent) is unknown.

Active voice: The kids have cleaned the kitchen. Passive voice: The kitchen has been cleaned. Active voice: We found an old car in the woods. Passive voice: An old car was found in the woods.

(There is also the mediopassive voice, which is a whole other animal that we discuss in this article .)

In the News

The differences between active and passive voice come up as a subject for discussion in criticism of news coverage. When news media reports on incidents of crime, for example, they will often use headlines that feature the passive voice: “Man (Is) Attacked on Elm Street” instead of “Person Attacks Man on Elm Street.”

The passive voice allows for a shorter headline, but more pertinently, it puts up front information that is known. In many cases, especially in stories involving crime, the fact of the crime being committed, and whom it was committed against, is known before who committed it becomes clear.

The reason for the passive is therefore practical: one might not know who carried out the attack, only that someone did, and that the attacker might still be at large. Even once an attacker has been identified, news writers might avoid the active voice for fear of stating what that person is accused of as fact. (Hence, “Arrest Made in Elm Street Attack.”)

The passive voice gets called out on occasion as a tool for expressing the avoidance of responsibility, like when one says “Mistakes were made” rather than “We made some mistakes.” Sometimes, as in our Elm Street example, it is criticized for placing what appears to be a burden of responsibility on the person who receives the action (i.e., the victim) rather than the person who performs it.

Passive voice is for when the state does violence. Active voice is for when a protester does? Got it. https://t.co/2ror8Sen1K — Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) May 31, 2020

Confusing Active and Passive Voice

There are other instances that technically count as active voice but nonetheless use language that dissociates the performer from the action being performed.

“The lamp fell over” is active voice, but it feels like a passive statement because there is no obvious causative agent like Jerry in “Jerry knocked over the lamp.”

This occurs in news writing as well. A sentence like “a rock shattered the store’s window” is phrased in active voice—the subject is rock , the verb is shatter , and the object is window —though it might be derided as elusive because it avoids the question of who was the agent who propelled the rock that broke the glass.

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Changing Passive to Active Voice

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If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly. Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from the surrounding sentences which provide context.

If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a by the... phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit by the... phrase is optional.

This passive voice contains a by the... phrase. Removing the by the... phrase and reworking the sentence will give it the active voice.

Image Caption: Making "most of the class" the subject of the sentence moves the action of the sentence onto the class, and shifts the sentence from passive into active voice.

The agent is not explicitly stated, but it is most likely researchers. Making the agent the subject of the sentence will allow you to use the active voice.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the researchers) are now performing the action as the sentence subject.

The CIA director and his close advisors are the agent of change in this sentence, but they are not the subject. Making the agent the subject will transform the sentence into a more concise, active voice phrase.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the CIA director and his close advisors) is performing the action as the sentence subject.

The agent is not specified in this sentence.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (we) is the subject of the sentence.

This active voice sentence's agent is the presiding officer, which is the subject.

Changing the sentence subject from the agent (the presiding officer) to the object of the verb (the committee's recommendation) and adding a by the...phrase transforms the sentence into the passive voice.

This sentence includes the agent (the leaders) as the subject performing the action of the verb.

This sentence now uses the passive voice because the subject has been changed from the agent (the leaders) to the object of the verb (a fair resolution).

The scientists are the agent performing the verb's action in this active voice sentence.

This passive voice sentence no longer specifies the agent (scientists) and now uses the passive voice because the verb's object (traces of ice) is now the subject.

Active And Passive Voice With Rules and Examples

Active and passive voice are two important concepts in English grammar that determine how the subject and object of a sentence are connected. In active voice, the subject performs the action, while, in passive voice , the subject receives the action. Understanding the difference between the two can greatly improve our writing and communication skills. So, Let’s explore the basics of active and passive voice with examples.

Table of Contents

Active & Passive Voice

First of all, what is the voice of the verb?

The voice of a verb refers to whether the subject is performing the action (active voice) or receiving the action (passive voice).

What is active voice?

Active voice is a sentence structure where the subject performs the action and the object receives that action. In active voice, the subject is clear and acts as the doer of the action, making the sentence more direct, clear, and straightforward.

For example,

Sana waters the plants.

In this sentence, (Sana) is the doer of the action (waters), and (the plants) is the recipient of the action.

Active voice is generally preferred in writing and communication because it is more direct, concise, and easier to understand.

What is passive voice?

Passive voice is the sentence structure where the subject becomes the receiver of the action, and the doer (if mentioned) comes after the verb with the preposition “by.” it is often used when the doer is unknown or less important than the action itself. Passive voice sentences typically include an auxiliary verb (be, is, are, am, was, were, being) and the past participle of the main verb.

For example

A song is sung by her.

Here, The subject (A song) is now the one who receives the action, and the object (her) becomes the doer of the action.

The focus is on the recipient of the action rather than the doer, and the sentence structure is slightly different.

How to change an active voice into passive voice?

Changing an active voice sentence into passive voice is quite simple. Here are some basic

Rules for forming a passive voice,

• Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
• Move the object of the active sentence to the beginning of the passive sentence. in other words (The places of subject and object are interchanged).
• Use the appropriate form of the helping verb (am, is, are, was, were, been, being, etc.) according to the tense of the active sentence.
• The pronoun representing the subject changes based on the subject’s role in the sentence.

Optionally, mention the subject (the doer of the action) using the preposition “by” if necessary.

Difference Between Active And Passive Voice

• Active voice sentence structure typically follows the subject + verb + object (SVO) pattern.
• Passive voice sentence structure typically follows the object + v3 + by + subject (OVS) pattern.

Formation of active and passive voice in different tenses.

The tense of the sentence does not affect whether you can use active or passive voice; both voices can be used with any tense. However, the structure of the sentence will vary depending on the tense. Let’s go through some common tenses and how they are used in both active and passive voices:

Simple Present Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Present Continuous Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Present Perfect Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Simple Past Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Past Continuous Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Past Perfect Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Simple Future Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Future Perfect Active And Passive Voice Examples Sentences

Not all sentences can be converted into passive voice.

• Present perfect continuous tense
• Past perfect continuous tense
• Future continuous tense
• Future perfect continuous tense

Also, the sentences having intransitive verbs.

Only sentences with a transitive verb (a verb that requires an object) can be converted

Example sentences

Q.1. When do we use passive voice?

Ans. Passive voice is used when the doer of the action is unknown, less important, or when the focus is on the receiver of the action.

Q.2. How do we identify the passive voice sentence?

Ans. Passive voice can be identified by looking for a sentence where the subject is receiving the action rather than performing it, and the main verb is in the form of “be” (e.g., is, am, are, was, were) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Q.3. How to identify active-passive voice sentences?

Ans. If the subject is performing the action, then the sentence is in the active voice. If the subject is simply receiving the action, then the sentence is in the passive voice.

Q.4. How can I convert active-voice to passive-voice?

Ans. To convert active voice to passive voice , move the object to the beginning of the sentence, use the appropriate form of “to be,” and add the past participle form of the verb. Optionally, include the original subject with “by” to show who performed the action.

Q.5. How can I identify passive voice?

Ans. Passive voice can be identified by the object coming before the verb and the use of the verb “to be” (e.g., is, am, are, was, were) with the past participle form of the main verb.

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Grammarflex

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice in Grammar

• August 9, 2023

Active voice vs. passive voice

Do you drive your car or, is your car driven by you ? What’s the difference in the phrasing of these questions? Technically, both ask the same thing, but the first poses the questions in the active voice ; whereas the second uses the passive voice .

Active and passive voice

Compare these sentences:

Sam helps Sally. (active voice)

Sally is helped by Sam. (passive voice)

In the active voice, the subject performs the sentence’s action: Sam (subject) helps Sally . Because Sally receives the action from the subject, Sally is the sentence object .

The second sentence focuses on Sally as the action’s target or direct object of the verb. See how the passive voice flips the sentence focus to the direct object from the subject that performs the action.

So, the first sentence, where the verb shows that subject does something, is said to be in the active voice. In the second sentence, where the verb is done to something or someone by the subject, and the action is being received, uses the passive voice.

Grammar rule!

The active voice is where the sentence subject acts or performs the verb, whereas the passive voice is when the action is done to a person or thing by the subject.  

The distinction is between doing something and having something being done to you/it. It’s a somewhat subtle distinction, but it’s an important lesson in grammar to understand.

Examples using the active voice

1. The cat chased the mouse.

2. She wrote a novel last year.

3. The chef is preparing a delicious meal.

4. The company launched a new product yesterday.

5. He fixed the broken window.

Examples using the passive voice

1. The mouse was chased by the cat.

2. A novel was written by her last year.

3. A delicious meal is being prepared by the chef.

4. A new product was launched by the company yesterday.

5. The broken window was fixed by him.

Sentence subject using the passive voice

When we move from the active to the passive voice, what was initially the sentence object becomes the subject by being acted upon by the verb. In other words, what receives the action in an active sentence (and is the sentence object) flips to becoming the subject of the sentence in the passive voice.

For example, in the sentence, she wrote a novel last year , the noun novel is the sentence object. If we modify the sentence to the passive voice, (i.e., a novel was written by her last year ) the word novel is now the sentence subject. It follows that only sentences with transitive verbs can form the passive voice, since there needs to be a sentence object/receiver of an action to form the passive voice.

How to write in the passive voice

To create the passive voice, we use an auxiliary verb along with the past participle form of the verb, e.g., was written , was built , was fixed , etc. See the examples of sentences modified from active to passive:

Some boys were helping the wounded puppy. ( active )

The wounded puppy was being helped by some boys. ( passive )

The construction men are building the skyscraper. ( active )

The skyscraper is being built by the construction men. ( passive )

The children planted trees in the park. ( active )

The trees in the park had been planted by the children. ( passive )

Questions & review

Modify the sentences below from the active voice to the passive voice.

1. The dog fetched the ball.

2. She baked a cake for the party.

3. He solved the difficult math problem.

4. The artist created a stunning sculpture.

5. The mechanic repaired the car’s engine.

Modify the sentences below from the passive voice to the active voice.

1. The book was read by the entire class.

2. The cake was baked by my grandmother.

3. The movie was watched by millions of people.

4. The proposal will be reviewed by the committee.

5. The report has been written by the team.

Keep on learning!

• When to Use ‘Weren’t’ or ‘Wasn’t’? A Guide
• What’s Subject Verb Agreement? (Rules of Subject Verb Agreement)
• When to Use ‘A’ or ‘An’ (What’s an Article?)
• What is the Past Tense? (Forms of the Past Tense)
• Active and Passive Voice, High School English and Grammar Composition , P.C. Wren and Martin, 2000.

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Passive Voice (Active vs. Passive) with Examples

What is passive voice? And what is active voice ? Does the use of passive verbs make passive voice? Does it have an effect on the writing tone?

Learn everything about passive voice (and the differences with active voice) in this worksheet…

What is passive voice?

When constructing a statement using passive voice, the object of the phrase comes first, and the sentence’s subject comes last.

Although passive voice is not a grammatical error, it makes your writing less straightforward and understandable.

When we wish to put more emphasis on the action (the verb ) and the object of a statement rather than the subject of the phrase, we employ passive voice.

This indicates that the topic is either not as significant as the action itself or that we do not know who or what the subject is. Either of these possibilities is possible.

What are examples of passive voice?

1. Susanne was driven to the airport in a vehicle.

In this instance, Susanne did not carry out the action corresponding to the verb “to drive.” She was the recipient of the action. She was the one who benefited from the activity.

2. The black kite is a species that is now protected.

The process is being carried out in relation to the topic of “black kite.”

3. In this chamber, the grapes are crushed, and the juice is extracted from them.

The action, which is being carried out, is being done to “the grapes.”

How to recognize passive voice

To determine if a sentence has an active or passive voice, consider both what occurred and who was accountable for carrying it out.

If the person or object responsible for doing the acts is either removed from the phrase entirely or comes in the sentence after the event. If you find a past participle directly after the form of “to be,” the statement is written in passive voice.

1. Invasion was carried out in Afghanistan.

Passive voice is used when the agent of the action is not present.

2. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

That is known as passive voice. The action is described in the second sentence, followed by the person who carried it out.

3. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

This is an example of active voice . The one who takes action comes first.

How to use passive voice

When there is uncertainty regarding who was responsible for anything that had a place, the passive voice is often chosen:

• An unidentified person stole the car.
• The factory was set ablaze early in the wee hours of the morning.
• The terrifying tales were passed around the school camp.

As seen from the first two instances, passive voice is appropriate when discussing unsolved cases.

It is also acceptable to use passive voice when the person who is doing the activity is unimportant:

• Example: The Museum was shown to the public for the first time in 1942.

In this particular instance, we are not concerned with the identity of the person who unveiled the monument.

Instead, we are interested in the date the statue was revealed to the public. That justifies the use of passive voice.

When to avoid using passive voice

When writing in a more professional or academic style, the use of the passive voice is often discouraged.

Using passive voice in more casual and informal communication is more acceptable.

To prevent confusing statements

Using passive voice might result in lengthy phrases that are difficult to understand.

It can also lead to sentences that just sound weird.

To avoid unclear statements

If using passive voice makes a statement too ambiguous, avoid using it.

To stay away from unknown sources

Because it enables a speaker to make assertions or comments without expressly specifying a source of information; passive voice is often frowned upon in the academic world.

How to form passive voice

You can create sentences in the passive voice by following this structure::

• Subject in the passive voice + to be + past participle

It is important to note that the participle form of the primary verb comes after conjugating the word “be.”

For instance:

• The farm was established in 1972.
• My colleague is being interviewed today.
• The construction of the dam has been finished recently. 

In most cases, passive voice does not use the perfect continuous or other perfect tenses .

Present simple

The structure of passive voice in the present simple is: am / is / are + past participle (3rd form of the verb).

• A senior student assisted the newcomer to the class.

Present progressive

When forming passive voice in the present progressive tense, use this structure:

• The present tense form of the verb to be (am, is, are) +being + the past participle form of the verb ( eaten , done, began , etc.). 
• The TV is being played continuously by the child.

Past simple

Passive voice in the past simple tense is created like this:

• Object + was/were + Past Participle form of the verb + subject
• The Kite Runner was written by Kahlil Gibran.

Past progressive

Passive voice in the past progressive tense is created like this:

• Object + was/were + being + past participle + by + subject
• Harry Potter was being defeated by Draco Malfoy in a duel.

Future tense

Passive voice in the future tense is created like this:

• Object + will/shall + be + past participle form of verb
• The project will be finished by Susanne tomorrow.

Present perfect

Passive voice in the present perfect tense is created like this:

• Object + has/have + been + past participle form of the verb + by + subject
• James has been confronted by the principle .

Future perfect

Passive voice in the future perfect tense is created like this:

• Object + will/shall + have been + past participle form of verb + Subject
• Timothy will have been going to Germany.

Modals (can/could)

Here is how you can make passive voice using modals (can/could):

• Object + can/could + be + past participle form of verb + by + Subject
• The book could have been torn by Susanne.

Modal (must)

Here is how you can make passive voice using modals (must):

• Object + must + be + past participle form of verb + by + Subject
• The book must be returned by John to the librarian.

What is stative and dynamic passive voice?

Most of the time, dynamic verbs , also known as “action verbs,” are used to describe either acts that we can take or events that take place.

Stative verbs often relate to a situation or circumstance that is stable or unlikely to undergo any changes in the near future.

This distinction is significant because stative verbs typically cannot get employed in the continuous forms (BE + ING) derived from BE.

Examples of misuse of passive voice

1. Sam was going to the departmental store. The sun was at its prime, and it made him sweat. His sister had told him to buy noodles because her friend had told her to bring noodles to the sleepover.

In this example, Sam is reactive. His sisters tell him to bring noodles. Her friend wants her to make noodles for the sleepover. The sun was sweltering and it made him sweat.

Here are some simple examples of misuse:

• Samantha planned the trick.
• The wedding cake was bought by Simone.
• The school team was given multiple awards by the coaches.
• A fun party was enjoyed by all.

How to fix passive voice in writing

Most of the time, changing a sentence written in the passive voice into one written in the active voice is the most effective way to improve the overall writing quality.

The active and passive forms of the phrase need to convey the meaning to the reader.

In most cases, the subject of a statement written in passive voice is recast as the sentence’s direct object . The person doing the action is the subject of the new sentence in the [now] active voice.

Let’s look at some problematic statements and correct them to see how this works.

In the passive : The show was watched by my brother.

In the active : My brother watched the show.

“The show” was shown as the subject in the passive sentence. When changed to an active sentence , it now becomes the direct object.

Additional examples are as follows:

1. Passive : The tourist accidentally fell into a hole that was inhabited by both non-poisonous spiders and dangerous tarantulas. He sustained many bite wounds.

Active : The traveler was unfortunate enough to fall into a hole that both harmless spiders and dangerous tarantulas inhabited. To his good fortune, only the spiders repeatedly bit him.

2. Passive : It has been established that dogs make better companion animals than cats.

Active : The Society for the Preservation of Dogs and Cats concluded that cats make poorer pets than dogs.

The most common construction is a variant of the auxiliary verb ‘to be’ followed by the past participle of a transitive verb.

Here’s the formula for active voice:  [subject]+[verb (performed by the subject)]+[optional object]

Passive voice usually refers to the object in a passive manner.

You can change words like “be” to “get.” Or “may” to “can.” Active sentences sound more definitive. It’s best to avoid passive sentences in formal writing (scientific writing, essays, etc.). Use the passive voice for informal writing, like letters or emails.

Sentence structure

More on sentence structure:

• Dangling modifier
• Transition sentences
• Active voice
• Passive voice
• Adverbial clause
• Parallelism

Inside this article

Fact checked: Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. Learn more.

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

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Grammar: Voice

Active and passive voice.

There are two main “voices” in English writing: the active voice and the passive voice. You’ve probably heard a lot about them—and you’ve probably been warned away from the passive voice. But what exactly are they?

In the simplest terms, an active voice sentence is written in the form of “A does B.” (For example, “Carmen sings the song.”) A passive voice sentence is written in the form of “B is done by A.” (For example, “The song is sung by Carmen.”) Both constructions are grammatically sound and correct.

Let’s look at a couple more examples of the passive voice:

• I’ve been hit! ( or , I have been hit!)
• Jasper was thrown from the car when it was struck from behind.

You may have noticed something unique about the previous two sentences: the subject of the sentence is not the person (or thing) performing the action. The passive voice “hides” who does the action. Despite these sentences being completely grammatically sound, we don’t know who hit “me” or what struck the car.

The passive is created using the verb to be  and the past participle. Because  to be  has other uses than just creating the passive voice, we need to be careful when we identify passive sentences. It’s easy to mistake a sentence like “She was falling.” or “He is short.” for a passive sentence. However, in “She was falling,” was  simply indicates that the sentence takes place in the past. In “He is short,” is is a linking verb. If there is no “real” action taking place, is is simply acting as a linking verb.

There are two key features that will help you identify a passive sentence:

• Something is happening (the sentence has a verb that is not a linking verb).
• The subject of the sentence is not doing that thing.

As you read at the two sentences below, think about the how the different voice may affect the meaning or implications of the sentence:

• Passive voice: The rate of evaporation is controlled by the size of an opening.
• Active voice: The size of an opening controls the rate of evaporation.

The passive choice slightly emphasizes “the rate of evaporation,” while the active choice emphasizes “the size of an opening.” Simple. So why all the fuss? Because passive constructions can produce grammatically tangled sentences such as this:

Groundwater flow is influenced by zones of fracture concentration, as can be recognized by the two model simulations (see Figures 1 and 2), by which one can see . . .

The sentence is becoming a burden for the reader, and probably for the writer too. As often happens, the passive voice here has smothered potential verbs and kicked off a runaway train of prepositions. But the reader’s task gets much easier in the revised version below:

Two model simulations (Figures 1 and 2) illustrate how zones of fracture concentration influence groundwater flow. These simulations show . . .

To revise the above, all I did was look for the two buried things (simulations and zones) in the original version that could actually do something, and I made the sentence clearly about these two nouns by placing them in front of active verbs. This is the general principle to follow as you compose in the active voice: Place concrete nouns that can perform work in front of active verbs.

Are the following sentences in the active or passive voice? How can you tell?

• Jayden drank more sodas than anyone else at the party.
• The samples were prepared in a clean room before being sent out for further examination.
• Karen was dancing with Joshua when she suddenly realized she needed to leave.
• Carlos was a very serious scientist with unique interests.
• When I returned to my room, my luggage had been stolen.
• This sentence uses the active voice.  Jayden does the action ( drank ) to the object ( more sodas ). If this sentence were written in the passive it would read “More sodas were drunk by Jayden than by anyone else at the party.”
• This sentence uses the passive voice. The action (prepared) was done to the subject of the sentence (samples). If this sentence were written in the active it would be something like this: “[Actor] prepared the samples in a clean room before sending them out for further examination.” Since we do not know who prepared the samples, the active sentence is incomplete.
• This sentence uses the active voice. In this case  was indicates that the sentence happened in the past; it does not indicate the passive voice.
• This sentence uses the active voice. In this case  was  is acting as a linking verb. It links  Carlos with the phrase  very serious scientist .
• The introductory phrase to the sentence (When I returned to my room) is in the active voice. The second phrase (my luggage had been stolen) uses the passive voice.

Revise Weak Passive-Voice Sentences

As we’ve mentioned, the passive voice can be a shifty operator—it can cover up its source, that is, who’s doing the acting, as this example shows:

• Graded by whom though?
• Active: The teacher will grade the papers according to the criteria stated in the syllabus.

It’s this ability to cover the actor or agent of the sentence that makes the passive voice a favorite of people in authority—policemen, city officials, and, yes, teachers. At any rate, you can see how the passive voice can cause wordiness, indirectness, and comprehension problems.

Convert these passive voice sentences into the active voice:

• The process, which was essential for the experiment’s success, was completed by Enzo.
• Alana’s toes were crushed by the garage door.
• The cake that I worked on all day long is being eaten by Justin.
• Rebeca’s favorite spot in the lecture hall had been taken by the time she got to class.
• Enzo completed the process, which was essential for the experiment’s success.
• The garage door crushed Alana’s toes.
• Justin is eating the cake that I worked on all day long.
• Someone had taken Rebeca’s favorite spot in the lecture hall by the time she got to class.
• By the time Rebeca got to class, someone had taken her favorite spot in the lecture hall.

Don’t get the idea that the passive voice is always wrong and should never be used. It is a good writing technique when we don’t want to be bothered with an obvious or too-often-repeated subject and when we need to rearrange words in a sentence for emphasis. The next page will focus more on how and why to use the passive voice.

• Revision and Adaptation. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Practice Activities. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• The Passive versus Active Voice Dilemma. Authored by : Joe Schall. Provided by : The Pennsylvania State University. Located at : https://www.e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c1_p11.html . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Power-Revision Techniques: Sentence-Level Revision. Authored by : David McMurrey. Located at : https://www.prismnet.com/~hcexres/textbook/hirev2.html#passive . License : CC BY: Attribution

Active and Passive Voice

Basic usage.

• Any sentence can be written in either the active or the passive voice. In the active voice, the subject of the verb performs the action:

The athlete hit the ball. The zooming car crossed the finish line.

• In the passive voice, the subject receives the verb’s action:

The ball was hit by the boy. The finish line was crossed by the zooming car.

• The passive voice always uses a helping verb (usually a form of to be ). In addition, it often uses a preposition (usually by ):

Passive The pedestrian was struck by the car. Active The car struck the pedestrian.

Why is Active Voice More Effective Than Passive Voice?

• Sentences in which the subject performs the action are more direct or vivid.

Passive A new fiscal plan was drafted at the staff meeting yesterday.

Active Yesterday, staff members drafted a new fiscal plan. Passive Hands were clapped , cheers were shouted and tears were shed by the fans when the Cardinals were declared winners of the World Series.

Active Fans clapped , cheered and cried when the Cardinals won the World Series.

• The active voice emphasizes who or what is performing the action. (In the passive voice, the person or thing performing the action often does not even appear in the sentence.)

Passive Mistakes were made by me. Active I made mistakes.

• Often, the writer drops the by clause entirely in a passive sentence.
• Subjects that act require powerful verbs that stimulate the imagination and senses.

Passive The Jeep was driven down the street. Active The Jeep careened down the street.

Passive The horse was ridden down the lane. Active The horse bolted down the lane.

• Sentences using the active voice are more concise.

Passive The bouquet was caught by Molly. Active Molly caught the bouquet.

Is the Passive Voice Ever a Good Option?

The passive voice does have legitimate uses. It can be an effective choice when:

• You want to emphasize the receiver of the action, not the doer.

Joplin was leveled by a tornado. Ninety interviews were conducted for the report. The bill was passed unanimously.

• You do not know who or what performed the action.

The painting was stolen last night. The vase was smashed to smithereens.

• You do not want to say who performed an action.

Layoffs will be announced today. Angry words were spoken at the meeting.

• You want to create a particular mood or effect.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights….”

How Do I Recognize the Passive Voice?

• To test whether or not a sentence is written in the passive voice, ask:

What action is being performed?

Who is performing the action?

• Is the performer the subject of the sentence?

Take, for example, the following sentence: The car was washed by Remy.

What action is being performed? washed

• Who is performing the action? Remy

Is the performer the subject of the sentence? No. Therefore, this sentence is constructed in the passive voice.

Don’t Confuse the Passive Voice With the Past Tense

• Just remember this simple rule: You can express any verb tense in active or passive voice.

You can express any verb tense in active or passive voice. (present tense, active voice)

• Any verb tense can be expressed in active or passive voice. (present tense, passive voice)

She was taught that any verb tense could be expressed in active or passive voice. (past tense, passive voice)

She learned that she could express any verb tense in active or passive voice. (past tense, active voice)

8.6 Active vs. Passive Voice

English verbs have two voices— active and passive . New writers often use the passive voice because they think it sounds more professional. However, passive voice, instead of making a paper sound more professional, actually makes the writing unclear, hard to follow, and, at times, even boring. Good writing keeps passive voice to a minimum and uses active voice whenever possible .

Active Voice

Active voice occurs when the subject of the sentence performs  the action of the sentence . The person or object performing an action is called the  agent . In technical writing, it is almost always preferable to put the subject at the front of the sentence, followed by an active verb. Subject-verb constructed sentences are the clearest and most effective way to communicate information.

• Active:          The dog  bit the man.
• Active:          Jackie’s mother gave her a gift.

Passive Voice

Passive voice occurs when the subject is the recipient of the action .

• Passive:        The man was bitten by the dog.
• Passive:        Jackie was given a gift by her mother.

Passive voice also occurs when the agent is missing or left off . For example, consider the following sentence: “Mistakes were made.” This sentence is problematical (and potentially unethical—see previous chapter on ethics ) because it leaves out who made the mistakes, thereby deflecting blame and accountability. It essentially shifts the reader’s focus to what happened rather than who or what did it, which in certain situations may work to your advantage.

• Passive:  The office was ransacked . and files were stolen (doesn’t specify who or what ransacked it—either because it is unknown or because the writer has chosen to put the focus of the sentence on the office being ransacked rather than who ransacked it).

Changing Passive Voice to Active Voice

• Identify the passive verb : find the “to be” verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been). Also, you can look for any ‘ by the ’ phrases (something was done by someone).
• Fred  was  [to be verb]  selected  by his peers to serve on the student council.
• Linda  was  [to be verb]  fired  [past participle] by Mr. Richardson.
• Locate the agent who/that performs the action.
• Fred was selected by his peers to serve on the student council.
• Linda was fired by  Mr. Richardson .
• Put the agent or doer in at the beginning of the sentence followed by the verb (rearrange the sentence, in other words) . 
• Fred’s peers selected him to serve on the student council.
• Mr. Richardson fired  Linda.

When to Use Passive Voice

Not every passive verb can or should be made active. Sometimes you simply don’t know who or what performed an action (news stories often use passive voice sentences), or you deliberately want to leave out who or what performed an action because it’s obvious or unimportant. Other times you might want to emphasize the recipient, so you would put it at the front in the sentence where it gets the most attention.

• Tracy was featured on the TV nightly news. (the focus is on Tracy, not the TV nightly news).
• Ten people were killed in the plane crash (the focus is on the ten people killed, even though the plane crash is the subject).

The passive is also used in many expressions where the writer chooses to be vague about assigning responsibility or when the agent is obvious.

• Flight 107 has been cancelled. (agent is obvious or unimportant)
• The check was lost in the mail. (agent who lost the letter is unknown)
• An experimental liver transplant surgery was completed yesterday. (agent is obvious—liver transplant surgeries are typically performed by surgeons. )

When you need to use the passive voice, use it. Most of the time, however, you can improve a sentence by changing it from passive to active voice.

For more information, watch the following video “ Active vs Passive Voice in Your Writing ,” from GCFLearnFree.com :

Exercise: Changing Passive Voice to Active

In Table 8.6 , convert the following passive voice construction to active voice (for example, “James was chosen by Kathy to be her assistant” would become “Kathy chose James to be her assistant”):

Additional Resources

• “ Passive Voice ,” from the UNC Writing Center
• “ Active Versus Passive Voice ,” an article from Grammarly.com

8.6 Active vs. Passive Voice Copyright © 2020 by Will Fleming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• Active and Passive Voice

As you are already aware, there are many rules that are followed in the English Language, especially grammar. Right from the sentence structure, tenses , voice, usage of prepositions , nouns etc. there are many rules that have to be followed. These rules are quite simple, even though at first they may appear complicated. When you follow these rules properly, you can master the English Grammar tricks with ease. In IBPS exams and many competitive exams, you will come across many questions from English Grammar. Among these, there are questions related to active and passive voice. Let us look at this topic in detail.

Suggested Videos

Grammar Rules for Active and Passive Voice

A transitive verb has two forms or two voices. These are the Active and passive.

Active Voice – Here, the subject performs the action. He/she is the doer of the action. It is a pretty straightforward relationship between the subject and the verb . So, we can say that a verb is in the active voice when the subject is the doer of the action that is expressed by the verb.

The sentences in Active Voice are simple and easy to understand.

Look at the following examples:

• I am drinking tea.
• He played cricket.
• They will help you.

See the structure of Active voice and Passive voice in more detail here .

Passive Voice – Here, the subject receives the action that is expressed by the verb. Therefore, we can say that the verb is in passive when the subject of the verb is acted upon.

It is generally used to show the action, which means that the focus is on the action and not the subject who does the action. Sentences in Passive Voice are not simple, as more importance is given to the action rather than the subject.

Take a look at the following examples:

• Tea is being drunk by me.
• Cricket was played by him.
• You will be helped by them.

Source – Pinterest

Changing the voice from Active to Passive

When a verb changes from Active Voice to Passive, the subject and object change places with each other. The past participle form of the verb is used as the main verb in passive voice.

Read the rules for changing from Active voice to Passive voice in more detail here .

Look at the following table:

Tense                                    Active                                               Passive 

Simple present                        keep                                                     is kept

Present continuous                is keeping                                           is being kept

Simple past                              kept                                                     was kept

Past continuous                      was keeping                                       was being kept

Present perfect                       have kept                                            have been kept

Past perfect                             had kept                                              had been kept

Simple Future                         will keep                                              will be kept

Conditional Present               would keep                                         would be kept

Conditional Past                    would have kept                                 would have been kept

Present Infinitive                    to keep                                                 to be kept

Perfect Infinitive                     to have kept                                        to have been kept

Present Participle                   keeping                                                being kept

Perfect Participle                     having kept                                         having been kept

You Might Also Like This Article:

• Figure of Speech
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Solved Questions

Change the sentences from active voice to passive voice.

• Active Voice – She does not cook food.

Passive Voice – The food is not cooked by her.

• Active Voice – Peter gave me flowers on my birthday .

Passive Voice – I was given flowers by Peter on my birthday.

• Active Voice – You are waiting for your friend.

Passive Voice – Your friend is being waited for by you.

• Active Voice – The children have broken the window pane.

Passive Voice – The window pane has been broken by the children.

• Active Voice – I shall have my car sold.

Passive Voice – My car will have been sold by me.

More Practice Questions

In the following questions, change the Voice into Passive Voice. Choose the right option.

• The boy laughed at the beggar.
• The beggar laughs at the boy.
• The beggar was being laughed by the boy.
• The beggar was being laughed at by the boy.
• The beggar was laughed at by the boy.

Ans. Option C

2. Stella will invite Rita.

• Rita will be invited by Stella.
• Rita will have been invited by Stella.
• Rita will want to be invited by Stella.
• Rita will be wanting to be invited by Stella.

Ans. Option A

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Free English Lessons

How to use the passive voice – video.

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In this lesson, you can learn about the passive voice in English. You can see what it is, how to form it, and how to use the passive voice to build passive sentences in English.

Quiz: how to use the passive voice.

Now, test your knowledge of what you learned in the lesson by trying this quiz. You can get help with some questions if you press ‘Hint’. You will get your score at the end, when you can click on ‘View Questions’ to see all the correct answers.

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Excellent! You have understood this topic perfectly!

1 . Question

True or false: The passive voice can be used to describe any situation, with any verb.

Think about your daily routine. Would you use the passive instead of ‘I woke up’?

2 . Question

True or false: it is not possible to talk about the future in the passive.

3 . Question

True or false: all passive sentences contain a past participle.

4 . Question

True or false: The word ‘be’ must always be written in a passive sentence.

5 . Question

What is the correct form of the highlighted word in this passive sentence?

St Paul’s Cathedral in London was design by Sir Christopher Wren.

What is the past participle of ‘design’?

6 . Question

The sentence below contains a mistake. What is the correct form of the highlighted word in this passive sentence?

He was took immediately to prison.

This is an irregular verb!

7 . Question

I’m not very interesting in sculpture.

8 . Question

He was hitted by a bus.

Do you need to change anything?

9 . Question

Which is a correct sentence in the passive voice? Choose one answer.

• I was impressed by your daughter's singing.
• Your daughter's singing is impressive.
• Your daughter impressed me when she was singing.
• I was impressing by your daughter's singing.

10 . Question

Which two sentences are in the passive voice?

• The Museum of Modern Art was opened by a group of ladies.
• The Museum of Modern Art opened in 1929.
• The Museum of Modern Art is open late on Thursdays.
• The Museum of Modern Art will be opened specially for us.

You can eliminate one sentence which is active because the museum is doing the action ‘open’, and another in which ‘open’ is an adjective, not a passive form.

11 . Question

• Please wait to be seated.
• Try not to be too noisy.
• Could we be met at the airport?
• Make sure to be listening tomorrow.

These are ways of giving instructions. Imagine the person receiving the instruction: will they do the action after the verb ‘be’ (if so, it’s active) or will someone else do something (so, it’s passive)?

12 . Question

• It's not easy being small.
• I don’t like being lied to.
• Are you being served?
• I hate being late for things.

13 . Question

Compare two sentences – one passive and one active:

1. His father is looked like by him. 2. He looks like his father.

Which sentence is correct?

• Sentence 2 (the active sentence)
• Sentence 1 (the passive sentences)
• Both sentences are correct.

Remember that the passive places emphasis on the action, not the person doing it. Is anybody doing an action here?

14 . Question

What is the main reason for using the passive voice in this sentence?

Finnish is rarely spoken outside Finland.

• To state the information formally.
• To emphasise that the sentence is about the language itself, not who speaks it.
• Because it's not known how many people speak Finnish.

15 . Question

What is the main reason to use the passive voice in this sentence?

Our kitchen was installed in just two days.

• The speaker doesn't know who did it.
• The speaker wants to sound more formal.
• The speaker is talking about the action, not who did it.

Think about the person speaking: it’s their kitchen, in their house. Would they know who did it?

16 . Question

What two reasons are there to use the passive voice in this sentence, which an interviewer may say to a candidate at the end of a job interview:

You’ll be informed of our decision within three days.

• It is a more indirect and formal way to say it, which is appropriate in a job interview.
• The speaker wants to make "you" the subject of the sentence (i.e. the most important person).
• The identity of the person who will inform the candidate is not known.

Who is speaking? What do they know and what message do they want to communicate in this situation?

17 . Question

Look at these sentences and match them with the main reasons for using the passive below:

1. Why am I not invited to the party? 2. Improvements need to be made before we start our next project. 3. The museum is closed because it is being refurbished.

Move the sentence numbers into the right-hand column below.

Sort elements

Imagine what sort of person is speaking or reading the sentences and where they are doing it.

18 . Question

Why is this use of the passive unnecessary in this sentence?

We were called by your mother while you were out.

Choose one answer.

• The identity of the person doing the action is the most important information.
• The identity of the person doing the action is not very important.
• The identity of the person doing the action is not known.

19 . Question

Look at two sentences in the passive voice. Which one is an in appropriate use of the passive?

• Many independent shops are had by the city.
• A great time was had by all.

20 . Question

For what reason is the passive incorrect in this sentence?

The plane was taken off two hours late.

• The subject (the plane) is the thing that does the action – it should be an active sentence.
• We do not know or care who was controlling the plane during the action.
• We want to complain about the delay, so the style needs to be more formal.

Compare a person taking off their jacket with a plane taking off. The phrasal verb ‘take off’ means two different things, but what’s the grammatical difference?

Let’s start with the basics. What is the passive voice? Look at these sentences:

• This dish is made with eggs and cheese.
• The car was badly damaged in the accident.
• Their house looks like it hasn’t been cleaned for months.

All of these examples use the passive voice. Can you see how and why? Let’s look.

1. How You Can Form the Passive Voice

In a regular, active sentence, you start with a subject, then you add a verb, which often has an object. For example:

• A dog bit me when I was five.

Can you find the subject, verb and object in this sentence? For a review of these, watch this Oxford Online English English Sentence Structure lesson!

• A dog [subj.] bit [vb.] me [obj.] when I was five.

To make the sentence passive, the subject and object change places:

• I was bitten by a dog when I was five.

When you make a sentence passive, you only change the subject, verb and object. Everything else stays the same. In this example, ‘when I was five’ isn’t part of the subject-verb-object structure, so it’s the same whether the sentence is active or passive. Next, let’s see how to form the passive voice. Look at three sentences from the start of the lesson again.

They look different, but they all contain the passive. What do the sentences have in common? All three sentences contain the verb ‘be’ and a past participle —also called the 3rd form. This is what you need to form passive sentences. Let’s do some practice! Can you add the missing verbs to these three sentences?

• Football is (play) all over the world.
• This project will be (finish) by Friday.
• The letters were (send) to all customers last week.

If you’re not sure, remember the rule from before: you need ‘be’ plus a past participle. Here, you need to put the verbs into the past participle form. Pause the video and think about your answers. Ready? Here are the full sentences.

• Football is played all over the world.
• This project will be finished by Friday.
• The letters were sent to all customers last week.

Here’s a question: these sentences contain the verb ‘be’, but it’s different in each sentence. Do you know why? Let’s look together!

2. How to Use the Passive Voice in Different Tenses

What do you do if you want to make a passive sentence past, or future, or present perfect? What changes? Look at our last three examples again.

Remember that the passive is made of two parts: ‘be’ plus a past participle. What changes, and what stays the same? The answer: you can change the verb ‘be’ to use different tenses and times. The past participle never changes. Whether you’re talking about the past, the present, or the future, the past participle stays the same. Let’s see how this works:

• Past: The letters were sent to all our customers last week.
• Present: The letters are sent to all our customers every week.
• Present perfect: The letters have been sent to all our customers this week.
• Future with ‘will’: The letters will be sent to all our customers next week.

Of course, there are other possible forms, but the idea is the same. There are also passive infinitives with ‘to’:

• The letters need to be sent to all our customers.

And, there are passive –ing forms:

• Many customers like being sent regular newsletters.

You can see the same pattern every time: ‘be’ plus a past participle, and the verb ‘be’ can change to show different times or forms. The past participle never changes, in any form of the passive! Let’s do a quick test. Look at a sentence:

• This problem (be) solved by our IT team.

Your job is to write five different versions of this sentence.

• Write the sentence in the present simple.
• Make it present continuous.
• Make it past simple.
• Make it present perfect.
• Make it future with ‘going to’.

Pause the video, and write your sentences. You’ll see the answers in a few seconds.

Ready? Here are the answers.

• This problem is solved by our IT team.
• This problem is being solved by our IT team.
• This problem was solved by our IT team.
• This problem has been solved by our IT team.
• This problem is going to be solved by our IT team.

How did you do? Could you write the five sentences correctly? If you could, then well done! If not, then you can review this section and try to work out why you made mistakes.

OK, now you know the most important points about how the passive is formed, but why do you use the passive?

3. When to Use the Passive Voice

There are three common reasons to use the passive voice.

One: you want to change the emphasis of your sentence.

Two: the subject of your sentence is unknown or unimportant.

Three: you want to sound more impersonal or indirect.

Let’s look at these one by one. First, use the passive to change the emphasis of your sentence. Look at two sentences:

• Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
• The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.

The first sentence is active, and the second is passive. What’s the difference? If you’re not sure, think about this: which is the most important idea in each sentence? In the first sentence, you’re more interested in Leonardo da Vinci. In the second sentence, you’re more interested in the Mona Lisa. In English, putting an idea at the beginning of a sentence shows that it’s more important. You can use the passive to change the emphasis of a sentence, and show what you think is the most important idea. Secondly, use the passive when the subject is unknown or unimportant. What does that mean? Let’s look:

• My bike was stolen.
• The kitchen has been cleaned today.
• She was arrested for shoplifting.

Why do you think you use the passive in these three cases? In these examples, you either don’t know or don’t care who did the action. My bike was stolen—by whom? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. What matters is the fact that it was stolen. I don’t have my bicycle any more.

The kitchen has been cleaned today—by whom? Here, it doesn’t matter. You only care about the fact that the kitchen is now clean.

She was arrested— by whom ? By the police, of course! You don’t care exactly who arrested her. You know that the police arrested her, because it’s obvious from the context. No one else can arrest people. In these sentences, you only care about the action itself. You don’t know or care who did it. There’s one more common reason to use the passive: to sound impersonal.

Here’s a question: what’s the difference between these two examples?

• You need to do this by the end of the week.
• This needs to be done by the end of the week.

If someone says this to you, the basic meaning is the same. So what’s different? The second sentence, with the passive, is more indirect and impersonal. This is because it avoids the words ‘You need to…’ which appear in the first sentence. Using the passive in this way can help you to sound more formal and polite. Saying: ‘You need to do this by the end of the week’ is very direct. It sounds like an order, which could be rude in some situations. Now you know how to form the passive, and the most common ways to use it, but there’s one more important point.

4. When NOT to Use the Passive

Many problems English learners have with the passive happen because they overuse it. Here’s the important point: don’t use the passive if you don’t have a good reason to. If you use the passive, especially when you’re writing, think about why you’re using it. Do you need to use it to change the emphasis of your sentence? Do you need to sound more formal and impersonal? Do you want to focus on the action, instead of whoever did the action? If not, don’t use the passive. Using the passive makes your sentences longer and more complicated. This isn’t good unless it’s necessary. First, it’s inefficient, because you’ll need more words to express the same ideas. Second, it makes your writing harder to read.

Let’s do some quick practice. You’re going to see five sentences. For each one, you should decide if it’s necessary to use the passive or not. Here are the five sentences:

• We were asked by our friends to bring a dessert for the party.
• The proposed policy is strongly supported by conservative voters.
• It was decided not to follow the recommendations outlined in the report.
• A variety of measures could be taken to diminish the detrimental effects of global warming.
• The website will be finished and ready to launch by the end of the month.

What do you think? Are these good examples of using the passive, or not? Remember that to use the passive, you need a good reason. If there’s no reason, don’t use it. Pause the video if you want more time to look at these. Otherwise, let’s look at the sentences together. In the first sentence, there’s no good reason to use the passive. Using the passive here only makes the sentence longer and more inefficient. The sentence should be active and direct:

• Our friends asked us to bring a dessert for the party.

In the second sentence, you probably shouldn’t use the passive. You could argue that you use the passive here to emphasise the idea of ‘proposed policy’, but the words ‘proposed policy’ are vague, and if you haven’t defined the idea, then why emphasise it? Again, this sentence should almost certainly be active:

• Conservative voters strongly support the proposed policy.

In the third sentence, there’s one possible reason to use the passive: to make the sentence more impersonal. Perhaps you don’t want to say exactly who decided to do this. In this case, using the passive is appropriate. The fourth sentence is a good example of passive misuse. The problem is that it’s easy to use the passive voice to make unclear, empty sentences. In this sentence, what exactly is the writer saying? ‘A variety of measures’ is so vague that it could mean anything. Making this sentence active won’t solve the problem; instead, you would need to be more specific and explain your ideas more precisely. By the way, this is common in IELTS Writing Task 2 essays . Again, it’s not a language problem; it’s an ideas problem. It’s possible to construct long, complicated sentences using the passive which don’t say anything, but this is bad writing and it certainly won’t help you in an exam like IELTS . The fifth sentence is a good example of using the passive. In this case, it’s not important who will finish the website; it’s important that this work will be finished by the end of the month.

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• A simple grammar

Understanding the passive voice in English

This short lesson will help you do three things:

• Make the form of a passive clause accurately.
• Know when to use passive clauses.
• Understand passive clauses and why they are used.

We will start with the grammar and form.

In English there are two voices: active and passive. They look like this:

Let's take the first sentence, John stole the book , and see what the grammar is.  We have:

• Mary opened the letter
• My sister and I have bought tickets to the concert
• The old man in the corner with the dog has been telling really good stories
• She went to London

You can see that subjects, verbs and objects can be more than one word.  In these examples, we have subject, verb and object phrases not just single words. The other important thing to notice is that some verbs cannot have an object at all.  They are called intransitive verbs and other examples are appear, arrive, come, fall, go, happen, lie, listen, live, rise, snow, wait and walk.  There are lots more. With these verbs it is not possible to make a passive sentence .

When we have a passive sentence, the grammar is different and we do it like this:

Most of the time, we do not say what the agent is because we are more interested in the patient.

We have changed     opened to     was opened and we have changed     have bought to     have been bought by putting in the verb be in the correct tense form.

• John wrote a letter
• A letter was written

We have put in the verb be as we did before, but we have also changed the main verb from wrote to written .  Because many verbs in English are the same in the past and the past participle, it is not always easy to see this. All the regular verbs in English have the same form in the past and for the past participle. However, these verbs all change:

We are interested in the past participle forms here because we always use them in passive sentences.

If we want to make an active clause passive, we do this.  There are 8 easy steps and for our example, we will use this sentence:     My Aunt Mary has broken the wine glass

If you want to see this in action, watch this little video:

Look at the first and last sentences in the test above.

The first sentence is:     John and Peter sold their old car and that was changed to:     Their old car was sold but we put a question mark by the phrase by John and Peter because we know that it was their car and we believe that only they could sell the car. It is not necessary to say by John and Peter.

The last sentence is:     People admire John and that was changed to:     John is admired It is not necessary to include by people because we know that only people can admire things or other people. It is not necessary to add the phrase.

The reason for this is that we use a passive when:

• We do not know who did something so we get, for example:     My car was stolen and it is not necessary to add by someone I don't know because we are only interested in the car.
• It is impossible to know who did something so we get, for example:     Factories have been built here and we cannot add a by- phrase because it is not possible to know who built the factories.
• It is obvious who did or does something so we get, for example:     The theatre was filled and it is not necessary to add by the audience of people because we know that.
• We do not want to say who does or did something so we get, for example:     The question was asked and we do not want to say who asked the question (perhaps it's embarrassing).

In English 80% of passive sentences do not include the agent with a by- phrase.

If you want a simple rule for using the passive, here it is:

If the object of an active sentence is more important and more interesting than the subject, make a passive clause.

We know now that we can change:     I broke the window to     The window was broken because we want to hide the fact that we broke it.  That's reason 4. above.

Sometimes, however, we include the by- phrase because we want to say that who did something is important.  Then we can say:     The window wasn't broken BY ME .  My sister broke it!

At other times, we include the by- phrase because we want to say that who or what did something is surprising or unusual. Then, for example, we might get:     The house was built by the family and the hearer knows that we are saying that this is quite surprising.  Families do not usually build houses; builders do that.

We often use the passive voice in written texts because it is a more formal way of expressing our thoughts.  However, in written texts, there is another reason for using the passive. For example:

The sentence beginning:     John's house had just been painted in a bright pink colour ...

• ... so it was really easy for me to find it
• ... and he was waiting at home for me

It's easy to see that clause A. follows the beginning of the sentence because it is about the colour of the house, not about John.  The second clause is about John and we are not interested in John, we are interested in his house.  That's one reason the passive voice is used. So, what we do is to make a passive clause so we can focus on what is important to us and then we can make the next clause about the important part of the first clause. Try another one:

The sentence beginning:     The presentation was given by Mary at the meeting and ...

• ... she was very persuasive
• ... it was very short

Here, we have used the agent in the phrase by Mary so it is logical to follow the first clause with something about Mary, not about the presentation.  So, the correct answer is A. again because that clause is about Mary.

What happens is that the second clause in a sentence is often the subject of the next sentence in English (and not only in English).  This is just one way to make any text you write flow logically and help the reader to understand.

In English, we can have, for example:

• The window was broken during the storm and we know that this was an action that happened (and it is obvious what did it). But we can also have:
• The window was broken so the room was cold and we know that this was a state, not an action.

In some languages, a different verb is used to make a difference between something that happened and something that existed. We can do this in English but we do not have to do it . For these sentences in English we can have:

• The window got broken during the storm or The window was broken during the storm and we can say:
• The window was broken so the room was cold but we cannot say *The window got broken so the room was cold

In other words, we can always use the verb be for any passive clause but we can only use get for actions.

The verb get used for the passive is sometimes too informal so you are always safe using be for both types of clause.

That's the end of this short lesson. If you would like to try some short exercises on making passive clauses, there are two in the exercise index for this level. Click here to go there.

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• Passive to Active Voice — Exercise 2
• 1. The race was won by William. William won the race.
• 2. New schools are being built by the government. The government is building new schools.
• 3. Two hamburgers have been eaten by Steven. Steven has eaten two hamburgers.
• 4. The soup is cooked every week by my mother. My mother cooks soup every week.
• 5. A new product will be launched by my company. My company will launch a new product.
• 6. The kitchen walls are being painted by the workers. The workers are painting the kitchen walls.
• 7. A flat tire was changed by Liam. Liam changed a flat tire.
• 8. The instructions will be given by Claire. Claire will give the instructions.
• 9. My questions are always answered by the teacher. The teacher always answers my questions.
• 10. Fifteen sketches have been created by Andrew. Andrew has created fifteen sketches.
• Finish the sentence in Passive — Mixed Exercise
• Rewrite the sentences using Passive voice — Mixed tenses — Exercise 1
• Rewrite the sentences using Passive voice — Mixed tenses — Exercise 2
• Rewrite the sentences using Passive voice — Mixed tenses — Exercise 3
• Rewrite the sentences using Passive voice — Mixed tenses — Exercise 4

• B1-B2 grammar

Do you know how to use the passive voice to change the focus of a sentence? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how the passive voice is used.

A lot of olive oil is produced in Italy. This book was written by Angela Davis. The suspect will be released tomorrow. This product has not been tested on animals.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar B1-B2: Passives: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We use the passive voice to change the focus of the sentence.

My bike was stolen. (passive – focus on my bike ) Someone stole my bike. (active – focus on someone )

We often use the passive:

• when we prefer not to mention who or what does the action (for example, it's not known, it's obvious or we don't want to say)
• so that we can start a sentence with the most important or most logical information
• in more formal or scientific writing.

How we make the passive

We make the passive using the verb be + past participle. We start the sentence with the object.

It is not always necessary to add who or what did the action.

Only the form of be changes to make the tense. The past participle stays the same. Here are examples of the passive in its most common tenses.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar B1-B2: Passives: 2

Language level

Firstly, it is my understanding that when we use the past participle in this way, it is no longer the past participle but the 'passive verb'. The past participle always follows a form of the verb 'to have', but the passive verb always follows a form of the verb 'to be'.

Secondly, question 7 (on the second grammar test) is not an example of the passive voice.

"Someone saw my talk at the conference and recommended me as a speaker."

This sentence uses the the verb 'to do' in it's past form (did). It's hidden in the conjugation. If we un-conjugate the verbs in the sentence, it reads:

"Someone did see my talk at the conference and did recommend me as a speaker."

Therefore, this sentence is in past simple tense. In order for it to be in the passive voice, it needs to use a form of the verb 'to be' and a 'passive verb'.

• Log in or register to post comments

Hello Kieronimo,

That's an interesting point about the term 'past participle'. Since the resources on our website are for learners, we've used the most common terminology.

Thanks also for your observation about question 7. We included a non-passive form as a kind of challenge, but can see how this could be confusing. We'll consider changing this.

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hi, i have a question about a sentence that i came across. "8 year old me was convinced that she was Indian". is the word "convinced"here used in the passive form or is it an adjective. how can i distinguish this easily. with sentences like the door was painted or the cookies were made by him, the passives here looks very obvious to me but in the sentence above i had a little confusion. i hope you can help me out

Hi nino23,

The passive will normally have an agent phrase (e.g. I wasn't sure whether to apply for the promotion but I was convinced by my colleagues to go for it ). Since there is no strong idea of any agent causing the convincing in your example, it's probably an adjective. 

LearnEnglish team

A quick question, there was an example given at my daughter's English lesson : This seems to be a successful makeover. Susan/remodel/her cheekbones. With the correct sentence given as: Susan has had her cheekbones remodeled. Why "has had" is to be used? Is that because of the Present Simple used in the first sentence.. "seems"?

Hi PiotrM,

This structure is called the causative "have". To "have (something) (done)" means to receive that action from somebody else, normally as a professional service. For example:

• Yesterday I had my hair cut .
• The trousers were too long so I took them to the tailor and had the legs shortened .
• The car was making a strange noise so I took it to the garage and had it checked .

As you can see, the structure shows an action. Turning to your example sentence, the action of remodelling must logically have happened before the present moment, so the present perfect "has had ..." is used. A past simple form ( Susan had her cheekbones remodelled ) is also possible, but the present perfect is preferable because the remodelling is clearly relevant to the present topic of conversation.

Incorrect answers would include  Susan (has) remodelled her cheekbones , since Susan received rather than performed this action. Instead, the causative "have" is needed.

I hope that helps to understand it.

Hello, Sir! 1. We seem to miss one book. (Active Infinitive) 2. One book seems to be missed. (Passive infinitive) 3. We seem to be one missed. (one = one book) Is the sentence 3 passive? Are the sentences 1 and 3 the same? Thank you in advance for your time.

Hello Sokhomkim,

I'm afraid that none of these sentences are correct. Could you explain in other words what you mean to say with them? For example, if we normally have 10 books but now there are only 9, we could say 'One book is missing' or 'One book seems to be missing' (similar to sentence 2). It's also possible to say 'We seem to be missing one book' (sentence 1). But I don't understand sentence 3.

In the sentences I wrote, ' missing ' is an adjective.

Thank you very much, Sir. Your example is what I mean. - We seem to be missing one book. ( "to be missing" is continuous infinitive with the object "one book, isn't it?) I wanted to know if I can use "the simple infinitive (to miss one book) or it has to be "continuous infinitive (to be missing one book). And can I change your sentence using the passive infinitive?) - One book seem to be being missed (by us). Thank you so much for your time.

I think the root of the confusion here is two different meanings of the word 'missing'.

1) The first meaning refers to something that we can't find; in this case, 'missing' is an adjective. So if this sentence means that we can't find one book, then 'to be missing' is not a continuous infinitive. Instead, it is the simple infinitive 'to be' and the adjective 'missing'.

2) The second meaning refers to a person or thing that is not with us and whose absence makes us sad; in this case, it is a form of the verb 'to miss'. Note that normally we use the verb 'miss' in this way to speak of people or situations or animals -- things we have an emotional connection to. It is possible to have this feeling about a book, but more unusual.

So if 'missing' refers to an emotional state in which we find our life incomplete because the book is gone (as if the book were a person you are close to), then 'to be missing' could indeed be a continuous infinitive. That is not how I understood the sentence, but it is a possible meaning.

Hope this helps.

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