Active vs passive voice: examples and when to use each
The difference between active and passive voice, with clear examples, how to spot passive sentences, and when the passive is actually the better choice.
“Use active voice” is one of the most common pieces of writing advice. It’s good advice most of the time, but not all of the time. This guide explains the difference between active and passive voice, how to recognise each, how to rewrite passive sentences, and when the passive is genuinely the better choice.
What is active voice?
In an active sentence, the subject performs the action:
The committee approved the budget.
The order is simple: who did it, what they did, and what it was done to. Readers process this pattern easily, which is why active sentences usually feel clear and direct.
What is passive voice?
In a passive sentence, the thing being acted on becomes the subject:
The budget was approved by the committee.
The person or thing doing the action moves to the end (“by the committee”) or disappears entirely:
The budget was approved.
Passive voice is not a grammar mistake. Both sentences above are correct. The question is which one serves the reader better in context.
How to spot passive voice
A passive verb has two parts: a form of to be (is, are, was, were, be, been, being) plus a past participle (approved, written, taken, made).
- The report was written by the new analyst.
- Mistakes have been made.
- The results will be announced tomorrow.
A popular trick: if you can add “by zombies” after the verb and the sentence still makes grammatical sense, it’s passive. “The report was written by zombies” works, so it’s passive. “The analyst wrote the report by zombies” doesn’t, so it’s active.
Be careful: not every sentence with “was” is passive. “She was tired” and “They were running late” are active.
Why active voice is often clearer
- It shows responsibility. “The IT team will reset your password” tells readers who to expect help from. “Your password will be reset” doesn’t.
- It’s usually shorter. Passive sentences need extra words (“was”, “by”).
- It keeps the actor and action close together, so readers don’t have to wait until the end of the sentence to understand it.
A decision was made by management that remote working requests will be reviewed by team leads.
Management decided that team leads will review remote working requests.
When passive voice is the better choice
The actor is unknown
“The office window was broken overnight.” If no one knows who broke it, the passive is natural.
The actor is obvious or unimportant
“The suspect was arrested on Monday.” Readers know the police made the arrest. “Your parcel has been dispatched” focuses on what the customer cares about.
You want to focus on the receiver of the action
“Penicillin was discovered in 1928” keeps the attention on penicillin, which may be the subject of your paragraph.
Your field expects it
Some scientific and technical writing traditionally uses the passive in methods sections (“The samples were heated to 60°C”). Many journals now accept or even prefer active voice, so check the style guide you’re writing for.
A word of caution about tact
The passive can soften a message (“Your application was not successful this time”). It can also be used to avoid responsibility (“Mistakes were made”). If readers need to know who is accountable, use active voice.
How to rewrite a passive sentence
- Find the action: “was approved”.
- Find who did it: “by the committee”. If it’s missing, decide whether readers need to know.
- Move the actor to the front and make it the subject: “The committee approved…”.
| Passive | Active |
|---|---|
| The survey was completed by 300 customers. | 300 customers completed the survey. |
| It has been decided that the launch will be delayed. | We’ve decided to delay the launch. |
| The error was caused by a missing file. | A missing file caused the error. |
| Feedback should be submitted by Friday. | Please submit your feedback by Friday. |
Passive voice and AI-generated writing
AI drafts often combine passive verbs with nouns made from verbs, such as “the implementation of the solution was carried out”. The result sounds formal but hides who did what. Rewriting with active verbs (“the team implemented the solution”) is one of the quickest ways to make AI-assisted text feel more natural. Our guide to common AI writing patterns covers more habits like this.
Practice: active or passive?
Decide which sentences are passive, then check your answers below.
- The new policy was announced at the meeting.
- Our team finished the project early.
- She was excited about the results.
- The invoices are checked every Friday.
Show answers
1 is passive (“was announced”). 2 is active. 3 is active: “was” describes her state, and there is no past participle action. 4 is passive (“are checked”); an active version could be “The finance team checks the invoices every Friday.”
The takeaway
Default to active voice because it’s usually clearer and shorter. Choose the passive deliberately when the actor is unknown or unimportant, when you want to focus on what was affected, or when your field expects it. For more ways to make sentences easy to read, see how to improve readability.