Active vs. Passive Voice

Active vs. Passive Voice

A sentence is written in the active voice when: The subject of the sentence performs the action. The person/thing performing the action is named

before the verb.

EXAMPLE:My grandfather took me to my first horse show.NOT: I was taken to my first horse show by my

grandfather.

Another example

Active voice:

My dad taught me to fish.

Passive voice:

I was taught to fish by my dad.

The Passive Voice

The passive voice occurs when the action is happening upon the subject.

Examples:

My grades were severely affected by my missing assignments.

I am seriously hurt financially by the government shut-down.

Key words to search for to identify passive voice:

Is am are

was were

be being been

Have has had

Active voice sentences

When you write in the active voice, sentences are typically shorter and clearer.

They sound more conversational.

Passive voice is acceptable …

When you choose to write in the passive voice, you are emphasizing the object of the sentence rather than the subject.

Scientific writing is a good example of passive voice writing.

Passive voice

The three-inch incision is made right above the pubic bone. Plastic clips are used to clamp off blood vessels and minimize bleeding. The skin is folded back and secured with clamps. Next, the stomach muscle is cut at a fifteen-degree angle, right top to bottom left.

Active voice

The doctor makes a three-inch incision right above the pubic bone. He uses plastic clips to clamp off the blood vessels and minimize bleeding. He folds back the skin and secures it with clamps. Next, he cuts the stomach muscle at a fifteen-degree angle, right top to bottom left.

Passive voice acceptable …

If that agent of action (the individual doing the action) is unknown or needs to remain a secret: It was reported that … Unizan Bank was robbed …

News writers protect sources this way. They also may not know who committed the action.

Active vs. Passive Voice

Which of these are active and which are passive?

The dog was hit by the car.

Passive The firefighters taught CPR to the students.

Active The principal was overwhelmed by the

students and their disrespect.

Passive

Active vs. Passive Voice

Which of these are active and which are passive?

Lots of houses were destroyed by the tornado.

Passive

The students stormed the building.

Active

How would you change the following sentences?

The dog was hit by the car. The car hit the dog. Lots of houses were destroyed by the tornado. The tornado destroyed the houses. The principal was overwhelmed by the

student’s disrespect. The students’ disrespect overwhelmed the

principal.

How would you fix these sentences.

The building was stormed by the students. The students stormed the building. The basketball team was defeated by their

arch rivals. Their arch rivals defeated the basketball

team. The club was founded by Ron and Peggy. Peggy and Ron founded the club.

In the following paragraph, you will:

Rewrite it in the active voice.Highlight the topic sentence

in yellow, and the commentary in green or blue.

Last year a hurricane was experienced by my family and me for the first time. It was Hurricane Ellen, and much damage to our property and neighborhood was caused by its fierce winds of 200 miles per hour and its heavy rains. The old oak tree in our backyard was uprooted and hurled across the roof of our house, creating a large hole through which the rain poured in. Our living room was flooded by the water, which rose to a height of three feet. When we began to think that the worst of the storm was over, we heard a loud crash and looked out the window to see that our car had been hit by our neighbor’s fallen tree, caving in the roof and breaking all the windows. Having recently moved to the East Coast from North Dakota, we thought that a hurricane was little more than a thunderstorm. Next time, when people in our area are advised to evacuate before a hurricane comes, I’m sure our family will be the first to leave.

My family and I experienced our first hurricane last year. The 200 MPH winds and fierce rains of Hurricane Ellen caused damage to our property and the neighborhood. The storm uprooted the old Oak Tree in our back yard and hurled it across the roof. This caused a large hole that allowed three feet of flood waters into our living room. We thought the worst part had finished, but we heard a crash. Looking out the window, we saw the neighbor’s tree had fallen on our car, caved in the roof, and smashed all windows. We recently moved from North Dakota to the East Coast and assumed hurricanes and tornadoes as the same thing. Our family leaves first the next time authorities issue an evacuation order.