Active vs. Passive Voice: When and How to Use Each Effectively

"Mistakes were made." This phrase has become notorious in politics and corporate communications as the ultimate example of responsibility-dodging through passive voice. Nobody made the mistakes—they just somehow happened. It's linguistic sleight of hand at its finest.

But here's the thing: passive voice isn't inherently evil. Like any tool, it has its place. The problem arises when writers use it unconsciously, creating weak, wordy prose that obscures meaning and bores readers.

Today, we're settling the active versus passive debate once and for all. You'll learn to identify each voice instantly, understand when to use them strategically, and transform your writing from vague and verbose to clear and compelling.

Understanding the Fundamentals

What Is Active Voice?

In active voice, the subject performs the action. The structure follows a clear pattern: subject → verb → object. The actor takes center stage.

Examples:

• The manager approved the budget.
• Sarah wrote the report.
• The storm destroyed the building.

Active voice creates direct, energetic sentences. Readers immediately understand who's doing what.

What Is Passive Voice?

In passive voice, the subject receives the action. The structure reverses: object → verb → (by subject). The actor often disappears entirely.

Examples:

• The budget was approved (by the manager).
• The report was written (by Sarah).
• The building was destroyed (by the storm).

Notice how passive voice often allows you to omit the actor? That's both its strength and weakness.

The Anatomy of Passive Construction

Passive voice always contains two elements:

1. A form of "to be" (is, are, was, were, been, being)
2. A past participle (usually ending in -ed, -en, or irregular forms)

Formula: [form of "to be"] + [past participle]

Examples: was written, is being reviewed, have been approved, will be completed

Why Active Voice Usually Wins

Clarity and Directness

Active voice eliminates ambiguity about who's responsible for actions.

Passive (unclear): The data was analyzed incorrectly.

Active (clear): The intern analyzed the data incorrectly.

The active version immediately identifies the responsible party, making accountability clear.

Conciseness

Active voice typically uses fewer words than passive voice.

Passive (14 words): The new policy will be implemented by the HR department next Monday.

Active (11 words): The HR department will implement the new policy next Monday.

Those saved words add up across an entire document.

Energy and Engagement

Active voice creates dynamic, engaging prose that moves readers forward.

Compare these paragraphs:

Passive: "The project was completed by our team. Several challenges were overcome during development. Innovation was demonstrated throughout the process."

Active: "Our team completed the project. We overcame several challenges during development. We demonstrated innovation throughout the process."

The active version feels more immediate and personal.

Reader Comprehension

Studies show readers process active voice sentences up to 25% faster than passive ones. Our brains naturally think in terms of actors performing actions, making active voice more intuitive.

When Passive Voice Actually Works Better

Despite active voice's advantages, passive voice serves important purposes in specific contexts:

1. When the Actor Is Unknown or Irrelevant

Sometimes we don't know who performed an action, or it doesn't matter.

Good passive: "The pyramids were built around 2500 BCE."

(We don't know exactly who built them)

Good passive: "Penicillin was discovered in 1928."

(The discovery matters more than Alexander Fleming's role)

2. When You Want to Emphasize the Object

Sometimes the receiver of an action deserves focus.

Context: Discussing a famous painting

Active: "Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa."

Passive: "The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci."

If your paragraph focuses on the painting rather than the artist, passive voice maintains that focus.

3. To Maintain Diplomatic Tone

Passive voice can soften criticism or avoid direct blame.

Direct (active): "You made three errors in this report."

Diplomatic (passive): "Three errors were found in this report."

The passive version focuses on the problem, not the person.

4. In Scientific and Academic Writing

Scientific writing traditionally uses passive voice to maintain objectivity.

Traditional scientific: "The solution was heated to 100°C."

Rather than: "We heated the solution to 100°C."

However, many journals now encourage active voice for clarity.

5. To Create Variety and Flow

Occasional passive voice prevents monotonous sentence patterns.

All active: "The team developed the software. They tested every feature. They fixed all bugs. They launched on schedule."

Mixed: "The team developed the software. Every feature was thoroughly tested. After all bugs were fixed, they launched on schedule."

Common Passive Voice Traps

The "By Zombies" Test

Here's a fun trick: If you can add "by zombies" after the verb and the sentence still makes grammatical sense, it's passive voice.

• "The report was written (by zombies)" ✓ Passive
• "The manager approved (by zombies)" ✗ Active
• "Mistakes were made (by zombies)" ✓ Passive

False Passives

Not every sentence with "was" or "were" is passive. These forms can also create past continuous tense.

Past continuous (active): "She was writing the report when the power failed."

Passive: "The report was written last week."

The first sentence is active—she's actively writing. Only the second is passive.

Hidden Passives

Some passive constructions hide behind nominalizations.

Hidden passive: "The implementation of the policy occurred yesterday."

Clear active: "We implemented the policy yesterday."

Watch for words ending in -tion, -ment, or -ance that turn actions into things.

Industry-Specific Guidelines

Business Writing

Default to active voice for:

• Executive summaries
• Action items
• Performance reviews
• Marketing copy

Consider passive voice for:

• Negative feedback
• Policy announcements affecting everyone
• Situations requiring tact

Legal Writing

Legal documents traditionally overuse passive voice, but the trend is changing.

Old style: "It is hereby agreed by the parties that payment shall be made..."

Modern style: "The parties agree to pay..."

Plain language movements encourage active voice even in contracts.

Technical Documentation

Instructions should always use active voice (specifically, imperative mood):

Poor: "The button should be pressed to start the process."

Better: "Press the button to start the process."

For system descriptions, passive voice sometimes works:

"Data is encrypted before transmission" (when the system does it automatically)

Journalism

News writing strongly favors active voice for immediacy and clarity.

Headline (active): "CEO Announces Merger"

Not: "Merger Announced by CEO"

Exception: When the news itself is more important than the actor:

"President Kennedy was shot in Dallas" (focuses on the victim, not the shooter)

Transforming Passive to Active: A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Identify the Real Actor

Ask: Who or what is performing the action? This becomes your subject.

Passive: "The presentation was delivered excellently."

Question: Who delivered it?

Answer: Let's say Maria.

Step 2: Make the Actor the Subject

Move the actor to the beginning of the sentence.

Starting point: "Maria..."

Step 3: Change the Verb Form

Convert the passive verb to active. Remove "was/were" and change the past participle to simple past or present.

Passive verb: "was delivered"

Active verb: "delivered"

Step 4: Add the Object

Place the receiver of the action after the verb.

Complete: "Maria delivered the presentation excellently."

Practice Examples

Let's transform these sentences:

Passive: "The new software will be installed by IT tomorrow."

Active: "IT will install the new software tomorrow."

Passive: "Several concerns have been raised about the proposal."

Active: "Several employees have raised concerns about the proposal."

Passive: "The decision was made to postpone the launch."

Active: "Management decided to postpone the launch."

Advanced Techniques: Strategic Voice Shifting

The Responsibility Gradient

Use voice to control how much responsibility you assign:

• Full responsibility: "I made an error" (active)
• Shared responsibility: "We encountered an error" (active)
• Deflected responsibility: "An error occurred" (middle voice)
• No responsibility: "An error was encountered" (passive)

The Information Flow Principle

English readers expect new information at the end of sentences. Use voice to control information flow:

Setting up new information:

"The board reviewed three proposals. The third proposal was selected because of its innovative approach."

The passive voice in the second sentence maintains focus on the proposals rather than jumping to the board.

Creating Cohesion

Sometimes passive voice maintains paragraph cohesion better than active:

Choppy (all active):

"We developed the app in six months. Beta testers loved it. The marketing team launched it successfully."

Cohesive (mixed):

"We developed the app in six months. It was loved by beta testers and successfully launched by the marketing team."

The mixed version keeps "the app" as the consistent focus.

Quick Reference: When to Use Which Voice

Use Active Voice When:

• Writing instructions or procedures
• Assigning responsibility or credit
• Creating engaging narratives
• Writing marketing copy
• Composing executive summaries
• Drafting emails and memos
• You want clear, direct communication

Use Passive Voice When:

• The actor is unknown or unimportant
• You want to emphasize the receiver of action
• Being diplomatic about mistakes or problems
• Maintaining scientific objectivity
• Creating variety in sentence structure
• The action itself is more important than the actor
• Following established style guides that require it

Exercises to Master Voice Control

The Voice Flip Challenge

Take any paragraph from your writing. Rewrite it entirely in passive voice. Then rewrite it entirely in active voice. Finally, create a balanced version. This exercise builds awareness of voice choices.

The Actor Hunt

In your next document, highlight every passive construction. For each one, identify the hidden actor. Ask yourself: Does hiding this actor serve a purpose? If not, revise to active.

The One-Page Audit

Print a page of your writing. Circle all forms of "to be" + past participles. Calculate your passive voice percentage. Aim for less than 10% in business writing, though some contexts warrant more.

Your Voice Mastery Action Plan

Voice isn't just a grammar rule—it's a powerful tool for controlling meaning, emphasis, and tone. Master it, and you master one of writing's most fundamental skills.

Start with awareness. Notice voice in everything you read. Ask why writers made their choices. Then apply that awareness to your own writing.

Remember: neither active nor passive voice is inherently good or bad. They're different tools for different jobs. The key is choosing consciously rather than defaulting unconsciously.

Most importantly, don't let voice rules paralyze you. Write your first draft naturally, then revise strategically. With practice, making smart voice choices becomes instinctive.

Now go forth and write actively—except when you shouldn't.