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:
Subject | Verb | Object |
The dog | ate | my homework |
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:
He sings.
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:
Subject | Verb | Object |
The ice cream | was bought | by the little girl |
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:
Subject | Verb | Object | |
Active Voice | She | created | a travel blog |
Passive Voice | A travel blog | was created | by her |
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."
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