To create an authoritative or factual tone.For example, ‘I had the feeling that I was being watched.’ - I don’t know who was watching me Because we don't know or do not want to say who performed the action.For example, the castle was built in 1066 - we are interested in the castle, not in who built it. To show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action.See the structure of Active voice and Passive voice in more detail here. Reasons to use the passive voiceĪlthough the active voice is usually the preferred choice, there are sometimes good reasons to use the passive voice: Look at the following examples: I am drinking tea. Rewrite the sentence so that the subject in the 'by' phrase is closer to the beginning of the sentence.įor example:‘The exam was passed by the pupil’ would change to ‘The pupil passed the exam’. One way to avoid using the passive voice is to look for a ‘by’ phrase. Who scored the goal? Doesn’t the writer know? Converting sentences to active voice Passive sentences can cause confusion because they can be vague about who is responsible for the action. Reading Mark Twains witty quotes is loved. (active voice) If we wrote the sentence in passive voice, it would sound awkward. Consider the below sentence, for example: I love reading Mark Twains witty quotes. Active: The teacher collected the books. Since a sentence in active voice has a clear subject, it is easier for the reader to understand the sentence.Here are two examples: Martese plants flowers in the spring.

Passive: The books were collected by the teacher. Active voice is when the subject is doing the action or existing as the status.Using the active voice in a sentence often means less words are used than in the passive voice.

Passive and active voice examples