A marketing coordinator gets her report back with one comment from a manager: too much passive voice. She runs a grammar checker, sees a long list of flags, and starts rewriting every flagged sentence. Some of the rewrites improve the report and some make it worse. The difference between active vs passive voice is a matter of choice, not correctness, and this guide shows how to tell when each one earns its place.
Active vs passive voice: the basic difference
In an active sentence, the subject performs the action. Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab, in its page on active and passive voice, puts it this way: the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. In a passive sentence the subject receives the action, and the doer either comes after by or is left out entirely.
The University of North Carolina’s Writing Center, in its handout on passive voice, gives a formula for spotting it: a form of to be plus a past participle. It also says that using the passive isn’t a grammatical error, which settles the first question. It’s a style decision.
Example:
- Active: The committee approved the plan.
- Passive, doer named: The plan was approved by the committee.
- Passive, doer missing: The plan was approved.
The UNC handout adds a warning for anyone hunting by keyword: the word by on its own isn’t conclusive proof of a passive sentence. Check for the to be plus participle pattern.
Why active is the usual default
Government plain-language guidance leans strongly toward active sentences. The US guide Writing for understanding says active voice makes it clear who should do what, and that passive voice obscures who handles what and is one of the biggest problems with government writing. The UK’s GOV.UK A to Z style guide is shorter still: use the active voice rather than the passive voice.
Both are guidance for public information, where readers need to know who must do what. The same logic applies to emails, instructions and reports. Active sentences tend to be shorter, and they put a person or a team in the sentence.
| Passive sentence (invented) | Words | Active rewrite | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| A decision was made to postpone the launch. | 8 | We decided to postpone the launch. | 6 |
| Mistakes were made. | 3 | We made mistakes in the invoice run. | 7 |
| Your application will be reviewed by our team within ten days. | 11 | Our team will review your application within ten days. | 9 |
The second row is longer after the rewrite, and that’s the point. The passive version was shorter only because it left out who made the mistakes and where. Active voice often adds information, not only subtracts it.
When the passive is the better choice
The UNC handout lists the situations where the passive is appropriate, and each has an everyday parallel:
- The doer is unknown. The office was broken into overnight is natural when nobody knows who did it.
- The doer doesn’t matter to the reader. The patient was admitted on Tuesday tells the reader what they need.
- The receiver should be the emphasis. One hundred signatures are required to open the petition puts the requirement first.
- Some scientific writing. UNC notes that some instructors want lab reports to leave the writer out, so check the preference for your own course or journal.
A further reason comes from English sentence flow. Readers tend to take familiar information first and new information last, and a passive can help arrange that. This is a general editing principle, not a rule from the sources above. If a paragraph is about a report, The report was reviewed by the director keeps report as the subject throughout.
The question isn’t whether a sentence is passive. It’s whether the reader needs to know who did it, and whether the sentence tells them.
When the passive causes trouble
The most common problem is hidden responsibility. Mistakes were made admits an error while avoiding the question of who made it, and readers notice. The same pattern appears in business writing: It was decided that the budget would be cut. Decided by whom? The reader has to guess.
The second problem is pile-up. A string of passives reads as evasive and heavy even when each one is correct.
Example (invented, 41 words, six passive verbs):
The budget was reviewed last week. Several errors were found in the travel lines. It was decided that the figures would be corrected, and a new version was sent to the board. The board was asked to approve it by Friday.
Rewrite (34 words, no passive):
The finance team reviewed the budget last week and found several errors in the travel lines. They corrected the figures and sent a new version to the board, which must approve it by Friday.
The rewrite is shorter, and it answers the question the original dodged: the finance team did the work. If you don’t know who did it in your own draft, find out before you publish.
A caution about grammar checkers
UNC’s handout says that grammar checkers typically catch only a fraction of passive voice usage, so a clean report from a tool doesn’t mean a clean draft. The reverse mistake is also common. Tools flag forms that behave more like descriptions than actions, such as She was tired or The shop is closed. In those, the participle works as an adjective. This is an editing observation rather than a point from the sources, but it means a flag is a prompt to look, not an order to rewrite.
A two-question test for any passive sentence
- Do you know who did it? If you don’t, and the reader doesn’t need to, leave it alone.
- Would naming them make the sentence clearer or more useful? If yes, switch to the active voice by making the doer the subject.
To revise, follow the UNC advice: switch the sentence around so the subject and the actor are the same. An old editing trick for recognising the passive is to see whether you can add by someone after the verb and still have a sentence that makes sense. Treat it as a quick hint, since irregular and adjective forms can fool it.
Step by step: editing a draft for voice
- Highlight every to be plus participle pattern. Use find for was, were, been, being, is and are, then read around each hit.
- For each one, apply the two-question test.
- Rewrite the ones where the doer is known and matters. Put the doer first.
- Check the instructions and warnings. These are where unclear responsibility causes real problems.
- Count passives per paragraph. If four of six sentences are passive, rewrite the paragraph rather than patching it.
- Read it aloud. A stiff, formal sound usually means a passive that isn’t pulling its weight.
Checklist: voice decisions
- Instructions tell the reader what to do, in the active voice
- Every sentence about responsibility names who is responsible
- Passives are kept only where the doer is unknown, unimportant or better left until later
- No paragraph with more than two passives in a row without a reason
- Methods or lab reports follow the style your course, journal or employer asks for
- Grammar-checker flags treated as prompts, not errors
- Descriptions like she was tired left alone
- Apologies and bad news given with a named subject, not a vague mistakes were made
Common mistakes
The first is banning the passive outright. Rewriting every flagged sentence produces strained prose, such as The burglars broke into the office overnight when nobody knows who did it.
The second is rewriting for the checker rather than the reader. If the active version makes the sentence longer and adds nothing, the original was fine.
The third is using the passive to avoid blame. Readers often notice it, and it can cost more trust than the admission would have.
The takeaway
Treat active vs passive voice as a decision you make sentence by sentence. Default to the active voice, especially for instructions and anything about responsibility. Keep the passive when the doer is unknown, unimportant or better held back, and use the two-question test for the rest.
