Active and Passive voice

The Passive Voice

An active sentence like I drank two cups of coffee has the subject first (the person or thing
that does the verb), followed by the verb, and finally the object (the person or thing that the
action happens to).
So, in this example, the subject is 'I', the verb is 'drank' and the object is 'two cups of coffee'.
But, we don't always need to make sentences this way. We might want to put the object first,
or perhaps we don't want to say who did something. This can happen for lots of reasons (see
the explanation further down the page). In this case, we can use a passive, which puts the
object first:
 Two cups of coffee were drunk (we can add 'by me' if we want, but it isn't necessary).
How to make the Passive in English
We make the passive by putting the verb 'to be' into whatever tense we need and then adding
the past participle. For regular verbs, we make the past participle by adding '-ed' to the
infinitive. So play becomes played.
Tense Active Passive
present simple I make a cake. A cake is made (by me).
present continuous I am making a cake. A cake is being made (by me).
past simple I made a cake. A cake was made (by me).
past continuous I was making a cake. A cake was being made (by me).
present perfect I have made a cake. A cake has been made (by me).
A cake has been being made (by
pres. perf. continuous I have been making a cake.
me).
past perfect I had made a cake. A cake had been made (by me).
future simple I will make a cake. A cake will be made (by me).
future perfect I will have made a cake. A cake will have been made (by me).

Practise with these exercises

Verbs with two objects
Some verbs that have two objects can make two different active sentences, and so two
different passive sentences too:

Give
 Active: He gave me the book / He gave the book to me.
You can choose either of the two objects to be the subject of the passive sentence.
 Passive: I was given the book (by him)/ The book was given to me (by him).
Other verbs like this are: ask, offer, teach, tell, lend, promise, sell, throw.

The passive in subordinate clauses

You can make the passive in a subordinate clause that has a subject and a normal conjugated
verb. This is really the same as a normal passive.
 Active: I thought that Mary had kissed John.
 Passive: I thought that John had been kissed by Mary.
 Active: He knew that people had built the church in 1915.
 Passive: He knew that the church had been built in 1915.
You can also make the passive using a passive gerund or a passive infinitive in the same
place as a normal gerund or infinitive.
 The child loves being cuddled.
 She would like to be promoted.
Try an exercise about this here
When should we use the Passive?
1. When we want to change the focus of the sentence:
o The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. (We are more interested in
the painting than the artist in this sentence)
2. When who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant or obvious or
'people in general':
o He was arrested (obvious agent, the police).
o My bike has been stolen (unknown agent).
o The road is being repaired (unimportant agent).
o The form can be obtained from the post office (people in general).
3. In factual or scientific writing:
o The chemical is placed in a test tube and the data entered into the computer.
4. In formal writing instead of using someone/ people/ they (these can be used in
speaking or informal writing):
o The brochure will be finished next month.
5. In order to put the new information at the end of the sentence to improve style:
o Three books are used regularly in the class. The books were written by Dr.
Bell. ('Dr. Bell wrote the books' sound clumsy)
6. When the subject is very long:
o I was surprised by how well the students did in the test. (More natural than:
'how well the students did in the test surprised me')
1. John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill (start with 'Jill').
______________________________________________________________________
2) John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill (start with 'a bar of chocolate').
______________________________________________________________________
3) I lent a pencil to Graham (start with 'Graham'
______________________________________________________________________
4) I lent a pencil to Graham (start with 'a pencil').
______________________________________________________________________
 6) Fiona told the truth to Julian (start with 'the truth').
______________________________________________________________________
7) They offered the job to Simon (start with 'Simon').
______________________________________________________________________
8) They offered the job to Simon (start with 'the job').
______________________________________________________________________
9) The boss showed the new computer to Anna (start with 'Anna').
______________________________________________________________________
10) The boss showed the new computer to Anna (start with 'the new
computer').
______________________________________________________________________
11) Julie taught the grammar to the students (start with 'the students').
______________________________________________________________________
12) Julie taught the grammar to the students (start with 'the grammar').
______________________________________________________________________
13) I sent the email to John (start with 'John').
______________________________________________________________________
14) I sent the email to John (start with 'the email').
15) Lucy threw the ball to the child (start with 'the child').
6) Lucy threw the ball to the child (start with 'the ball').
______________________________________________________________________
17) Sophia sold the car to a doctor (start with 'a doctor').
______________________________________________________________________
18) Sophia sold the car to a doctor (start with 'the car').
______________________________________________________________________
19) I asked the question to David (start with 'David').
______________________________________________________________________
20) I asked the question to David (start with 'the question').
______________________________________________________________________
Passive Voice
Everyone drinks water.
Water is drunk by everyone.
"Voice" is a grammatical category that applies to verbs. Voice in English
expresses the relationship of the subject to the action. Voice has two values:
Active: the subject does the action
Passive: the subject receives the action

Shakespe wro Haml

are te et.

Haml was b Shakespea

 et written y re.

The active voice is the "normal" voice - the one that we use
most of the time. In the active voice, the object receives
the action of the verb:

Activ subje ver obje

e ct b ct

Cats eat mice

.

The passive voice is less common. In the passive voice,

the subject receives the action of the verb:

Passiv subje verb object

e ct

Mice are by
eaten cats.

See how the object of the active verb becomes

the subject of the passive verb:

subject verb object

Active Everybo drinks water.

 dy

Passiv Water is by
e drunk everybody.

Active Voice
Cats eat mice.

The active voice is the "normal" voice of an English

sentence. Intransitive verbs (verbs with no direct object) are
always in the active voice. Transitive verbs are usually in
the active voice:

Subje verb
ct

Johnn laughe
y d.

Anton got up late.

Peopl drink wate

e r.

In the active voice, the subject is the person or thing responsible for the action
of the verb.
All tenses are possible in the active voice, as well as all sentence types,
positive, negative or question.
Use of active
The active voice is the "default" voice in English. All intransitive verbs can
only be in the active voice, and all transitive verbs usually are active voice -
unless we deliberately make them passive.
In spoken English, we almost always use active voice. It is the natural choice,
more precise and generally shorter.
In written English, active voice is usually easier and more interesting for the
reader. Passive voice can sound dull and bureaucratic, and is typical of official
 writing. In the interests of "plain English" that the average person can
understand, many governments now encourage civil servants to write in the
active voice.

The active voice is:

 direct and specific
 uses fewer words - always a good thing
 dynamic
Except on occasions when the passive voice is actually useful, the active voice is the voice of
choice.
Passive Voice
Mice are eaten by cats.
Although the passive voice is less common than the active voice, there are
several good reasons to sometimes use the passive. On this page we look at
how to construct the passive voice and when and why to use it.
How do we make the passive?
The basic structure of a passive clause is very simple:

subjec + auxiliary verb + main verb + by + agent

t be past participle

optional

The auxiliary be is conjugated in all tenses. The main verb

is always the past participle. The agent is the original "doer"
of the action.

Look at some examples:

subje auxiliary main verb b

ct verb be past y
participle

I Am employed b Apple.
y

You will be woken at 6.

subje auxiliary main verb b
ct verb be past y
participle

It will have been finished by then.

We have been notified b Head

y Office.

You are being transferred next

week.

They will be paid.

Notice above↑:
 auxiliary be can be conjugated for all persons and
tenses
 main verb is invariable: past participle
 if there is an agent (Apple, Head Office), it is
introduced by by

Agentless passive

The subject of an active sentence "does" the action. In a

passive sentence, we express the doer (or agent) through
a by phrase (the long passive) or, very often, we remove it
completely (the short passive). In the following example, the
agent is "the Allies":

Active The Allies firebombed

Dresden.

passiv long Dresden was firebombed by

e the Allies.

shor Dresden was firebombed.

t

The short passive is also known as the "agentless passive".

Soon you will see how useful it can be.

Negatives and questions

The table below shows examples of the passive with

negative sentences, question sentences and negative-
question sentences:

subject auxiliary main verb

verb past
be participle

You are not paid to watch

- YouTube.

They will never be employed by us.

Are they cleaned regularly?

?
Has your been stolen?
wallet

Is he not notified immediately?

-?
Will they not be dismissed?

Haven' they been forgotten?

t
Notice above↑:
 position of auxiliary be or first auxiliary for questions
 possible positions of not, n't, never to create negation
Use of the passive
When and why do we use passive voice?
There are several times when the passive voice is useful, and usually the
decision has to do with the "doer" (agent) or the "receiver" of the action. For
example, we use the passive when:
1. we want to emphasize the receiver of the action:
President Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.
cf: Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy.
2. we don't know who did the action (the agent):
My wallet has been stolen.
cf: Somebody has stolen my wallet.
3. we think the agent is not important or interesting:
Our house is being painted.
cf: XYZ Company is painting our house.
4. the agent is obvious:
I am paid weekly.
cf: My company pays me weekly.
5. we are making general statements or announcements:
Passengers are reminded to fasten their seatbelts.
cf: The Captain reminds passengers to fasten their seatbelts.
6. the agent is everyone:
The emergency services can be called by dialling 999.
cf: The public can call the emergency services by dialling 999.
7. we are writing formal or scientific texts:
Potassium was added and mixed in. The solution was heated to 80°C and then
allowed to cool.
cf: The technician added potassium and mixed it in. The technician heated the
solution to 80°C and then allowed it to cool.
8. we want to avoid responsibility for our own actions (typically
found in government reports):
Mistakes were made and unfortunately never rectified.
cf: The Prime Minister made mistakes and unfortunately never rectified them.
Look at this sentence:
He was killed with a gun.
Normally we use by to introduce the agent. But the gun is not the original doer
of the action. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun.
In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. Somebody
is the agent. The gun is the instrument.
The get-passive
 Although we normally construct the passive with be + past participle, it is also
possible (in informal language) to use get + past participle. So if France beat
England at football, we could turn this to passive and say "England were
beaten by France" (be-passive) or "England got beaten by France" (get-
passive). And we might also add: "But France will get thrashed by Russia."
For formal English and exams you should use the be-passive, but in informal
language people sometimes use the get-passive.
Forms of passive
The passive voice is not a tense itself. But for transitive verbs each tense, as
well as other verb forms such as infinitives and participles, can be produced in
the passive voice. Some of the more complicated tenses (mostly perfect
continuous) are rarely used in the passive, but they are possible.
Here are some examples of the passive voice with many of the possible forms
using the verb sing:

infinitive to be sung

perfect to have been

infinitive sung

participle sung

perfect having been sung

participle

gerund being sung

Simple Continuous Perfect

Prese am, are, is am, are, is being have, has been

nt sung sung sung

Past was, were was, were being had been sung

sung sung
Futur will be sung will be being sung will have been
e sung

Active and Passive Examples

The table below shows example sentences in active and
passive voice for the basic tenses as well as various other
verb forms, including infinitives and participles.

Active passive

Present How does How is his

Simple one pronounce his name pronounced?
name?

Present Ati's helping Tara. Tara's being helped by

Continuous Ati.

Present Kid has Dinner has been

Perfect served dinner. served.

Present The police have That house has been

Perfect been watching that being watched for
Continuous house for weeks. weeks.

Past Simple They didn't fix my My

phone yesterday. phone wasn't fixed ye
sterday.

Past They were He was being

Continuous interrogating him interrogated when I
when I called. called.
Past I wondered why I wondered why
Perfect they hadn't invited I hadn't been invited.
me.

Past She wasn't sure how She wasn't sure how

Perfect long they'd been long she'd been being
Continuous following her. followed.*

Future They will hang him He will be hanged at

Simple at dawn. dawn.

Future They won't be He won't be being

Continuous questioning him questioned when you
when you get there. get there.

Future They will have Your car will have

Perfect repaired your car by been repaired by 7pm.
7pm.

Future They'll have been She'll have been being

Perfect treating her for treated for exactly
Continuous exactly three three months
months tomorrow. tomorrow.*

Infinitive I don't want I don't want to be

anyone to disturbed.
disturb me.

perfect infi They seem to have It seems to have been

tive taken it. taken.

Participle I saw the I saw it being

 cat eating it. eaten by the cat.

perfect Having finished my My work having been

participle work, I went home. finished, I went home.

Gerund I insisted on I insisted on being

them paying me. paid.

going to Is he going to Is Thriller going to be

sing Thriller at the sung at the party?
party?

used to Ram used to take Everything used to be

care of everything. taken care of by Ram.

Can They He can be

can question him questioned for six
for six hours. hours.

Could It You could have

could have badly h been badly hurt.
urt you.

May The papers say they The papers say he

may release him. may be released.

Might Somebody It might be bought.

might buy it.

Must Passengers Seat belts must be

must wear seat worn.
belts.
 Should You should have I should have been
told me. told.

ought to They ought to He ought to be

forgive him. forgiven.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Active Voice:
When the subject of a verb performs an action the verb is said to be in the active voice.
The effect of the action may or may not fall on an object, that is, the verb may or may not
have an object.
Examples: The boy kicked the ball.
The girl cries.
In the first sentence, ‘kicked’ is the verb or the action; the ‘boy’ is the subject or the ‘doer’
who performs that action; and the ‘ball’ is the object on whom the effect of that action is
directed.
In the second sentence, ‘cries’ is the verb or the action; and the ‘girl’ is the subject or the doer
of that action. There is no object because the effect of the girl’s crying cannot be directed at
another object.
Passive Voice:
When the object of a verb appears to perform an action so that the effect of that
action appears to fall on the subject the verb is said to be in the passive voice.
Examples: The work was completed on time.
The song was sung beautifully by the singer.
[ A sentence in the active voice can be converted to form a sentence in the passive voice.
Examples: A film was watched by us.
A kite was flown by me.
Rules for changing voice:
• Only sentences containing transitive verbs can be changed from the active voice to the
passive voice. A subject—that is, a ‘doer’ of the action—is required to change a sentence
from the passive to the active voice.
Examples: My mother cut the fruit.
The fruit was cut by my mother.
Here, the object ‘fruit’ is acted upon by the doer ‘mother’.
2
• For the simple present tense use am, is or are with a past participle to form the passive
voice.
Active voice Passive voice
The caretaker locks the door. The doors are locked by the caretaker.
The waiter carries the trays. The trays are carried by the waiter.
• For the simple past tense, use was or was with a past participle to form the passive voice.
Active voice Passive voice
Dad drove us home. We were driven home by Dad.
He caught the ball. The ball was caught by him.
• For the present continuous tense, use am, is or are with being followed by a past participle,
to form the passive voice.
Active voice Passive voice
The waves are washing away the sandcastle is being washed the sandcastle. away by the
waves.
She is working on the computer. The computer is being worked upon by her.
• For the past continuous tense, a use was or ere with being, followed by a past participle, to
form the passive voice.
Active voice Passive voice
Jimmy was making our costumes. Our costumes were being made by Jimmy.
She was reading a book. The book was being read by her.
• For the future tense, use shall or will with be, followed by a past participle, to
form the passive voice.
Active voice Passive voice
The choir will sing the next hymn. The next hymn will be sung by the choir.
We will celebrate her birthday. Her birthday will be celebrated by us.
• For the present perfect tense, use have or has with been, followed by a past
participle, to form the passive voice.
Active voice Passive voice
Ali has scored two goals. Two goals have been scored by Ali.
I have seen that movie. That movie has been seen by me.
3
• For the past tense, use had with been, followed by a part participle, to form the
passive voice.
Active voice Passive voice
The hunter had caught a fox. A fox had been caught by the hunter.
Sheila had given a gift to Rina. A gift had been given to Rina by Sheila

Active and Passive Voice

Active voice and passive voice are grammatical constructions that communicate certain
information about an action. Specifically, APA explains that voice shows relationships
between the verb and the subject and/or object (see APA 7, Section 4.13). Writers need to be
intentional about voice in order to ensure clarity. Using active voice often improves clarity,
while passive voice can help avoid unnecessary repetition.
Active voice can help ensure clarity by making it clear to the reader who is taking action in
the sentence. In addition, the active voice stresses that the actor (or grammatical subject)
precedes the verb, again, putting emphasis on the subject. Passive voice construction leaves
out the actor (subject) and focuses on the relationship between the verb and object.
The order of words in a sentence with active voice is subject, verb, object.
  Active voice example: I conducted a study of elementary school teachers.

o This sentence structure puts the emphasis of the sentence on the subject, clarifying who
conducted the study.

 Passive voice example: A study was conducted of elementary school teachers.

o In this sentence, it is not clear who conducted this study.

Generally, in scholarly writing, with its emphasis on precision and clarity, the active voice is
preferred. However, the passive voice is acceptable in some instances, for example:

1. if the reader is aware of who the actor is;

2. in expository writing, where the goal of the discussion is to provide background,
context, or an in-depth explanation;
3. if the writer wants to focus on the object or the implications of the actor’s action; or
4. to vary sentence structure.

Also, much like for anthropomorphism, different writing styles have different preferences.
So, though you may see the passive voice used heavily in articles that you read for your
courses and study, it does not mean that APA style advocates the same usage.
Examples of Writing in the Active Voice
Here are some examples of scholarly writing in the active voice:
Example: I will present the results of this study at the Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development conference.

o This is active voice because the subject in the sentence precedes the verb, clearly
indicating who (I) will take the action (present).

Example: Teachers conducted a pilot study addressing the validity of the TAKS exam.

o Similarly, teachers (subject) clearly took the action (conducted) in this sentence.

Recognizing the Passive Voice

According to APA, writers should select verb tenses and voice carefully. Consider these
examples to help determine which form of the verb is most appropriate:
Example: A study was conducted of job satisfaction and turnover.

o Here, it is not clear who did the conducting. In this case, if the context of the
paragraph does not clarify who did the action, the writer should revise this sentence to
clarify who conducted the study.

Example: I conducted a study of job satisfaction and turnover.

o This revised sentence clearly indicates the action taker. Using “I” to identify the
writer’s role in the research process is often a solution to the passive voice and is
encouraged by APA style (see APA 7, Section 4.16).
Using the past tense of the verb “to be” and the past participle of a verb together is often an
indication of the passive voice. Here are some signs to look for in your paper:

 Example: This study was conducted.

 Example: Findings were distributed.

Another indication of passive voice is when the verb precedes the actor in the sentence. Even
if the action taker is clearly identified in a passive voice construction, the sentence is usually
wordier. Making the actor the grammatical subject that comes before the verb helps to
streamline the sentence.

o Wordier passive voice example: The study on nursing and turnover was conducted by
Rogers (2016).
o Issue: Though the verb and the actor (action taker) are clearly identified here,
to improve clarity and word economy, the writer could place that actor,
Rogers, before the verb.
o More concise active voice revision: Rogers (2016) conducted a study on nursing and
turnover.

o Passive voice example: The survey instrument will be administered by the school
administrators.
o Issue: Here, the actor follows the verb, which reduces emphasis and clarity.
o Active voice revision: The school administrators will administer the survey
instrument.
o This revised sentence is in the active voice and makes the actor the subject of
the sentence.

Intentional Use of the Passive Voice

Sometimes, even in scholarly writing, the passive voice may be used intentionally and
strategically. A writer may intentionally include the subject later in the sentence so as to
reduce the emphasis and/or importance of the subject in the sentence. See the following
examples of intentional passive voice to indicate emphasis:
Example: Schools not meeting AYP for 2 consecutive years will be placed on a “needs
improvement” list by the State’s Department of Education.

o Here, all actors taking actions are identified, but this is in the passive voice as the
State’s Department of Education is the actor doing the placing, but this verb precedes
the actor. This may be an intentional use of the passive voice, to highlight schools not
meeting AYP.
o To write this in the active voice, it would be phrased: “The State’s Department of
Education will place schools not meeting AYP for 2 consecutive years on a “needs
improvement” list. This sentence places the focus on the State’s Department of
Education, not the schools.

Example: Participants in the study were incentivized with a $5 coffee gift card, which I gave
them upon completion of their interview.
o As the writer and researcher, I may want to vary my sentence structure in order to
avoid beginning several sentences with “I provided…” This example is written in the
passive voice, but the meaning is clear.