Active and passive Voices

Active voice
In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action denoted by the verb.
These examples show that the subject is doing the verb’s action.

Because the subject does or “acts upon” the verb in such sentences, the sentences are said to be in the active voice.

Passive voice
One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb – or passive.
Note in these examples how the subject-verb relationship has changed.

Because the subject is being “acted upon” (or is passive), such sentences are said to be in the passive voice.
NOTE: Colorful parrots live in the rainforests cannot be changed to passive voice because the sentence does not have a direct object.
To change a sentence from active to passive voice, do the following:
1. Move the active sentence’s direct object into the sentence’s subject slot

2. Place the active sentence’s subject into a phrase beginning with the preposition by

3. Add a form of the auxiliary verb be to the main verb and change the main verb’s form

Because passive voice sentences necessarily add words and change the normal doer-action-receiver of action direction, they may make the reader work harder to understand the intended meaning.
As the examples below illustrate, a sentence in active voice flows more smoothly and is easier to understand than the same sentence in passive voice.

It is generally preferable to use the ACTIVE voice.

To change a passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence, simply reverse the steps shown above.
1. Move the passive sentence’s subject into the active sentence’s direct object slot

2. Remove the auxiliary verb be from the main verb and change main verb’s form if needed

3. Place the passive sentence’s object of the preposition by into the subject slot.

Because it is more direct, most writers prefer to use the active voice whenever possible.
The passive voice may be a better choice, however, when
• the doer of the action is unknown, unwanted, or unneeded in the sentence
Examples

• the writer wishes to emphasize the action of the sentence rather than the doer of the action
Examples

• the writer wishes to use passive voice for sentence variety.

Here are examples of sentences written in both the active voice and the passive voice, with the active voice sentence appearing first:
1. Harry ate six shrimp at dinner. (active)
At dinner, six shrimp were eaten by Harry. (passive)
2. Beautiful giraffes roam the savannah. (active)
The savannah is roamed by beautiful giraffes. (passive)
3. Sue changed the flat tire. (active)
The flat tire was changed by Sue. (passive)
4. We are going to watch a movie tonight. (active)
A movie is going to be watched by us tonight. (passive)
5. I ran the obstacle course in record time. (active)
The obstacle course was run by me in record time. (passive)
6. The crew paved the entire stretch of highway. (active)
The entire stretch of highway was paved by the crew. (passive)
7. Mom read the novel in one day. (active)
The novel was read by Mom in one day. (passive)
8. The critic wrote a scathing review. (active)
A scathing review was written by the critic. (passive)
9. I will clean the house every Saturday. (active)
The house will be cleaned by me every Saturday. (passive)
10. The staff is required to watch a safety video every year. (active)
A safety video will be watched by the staff every year. (passive)
11. She faxed her application for a new job. (active)
The application for a new job was faxed by her. (passive)
12. Tom painted the entire house. (active)
The entire house was painted by Tom. (passive)
13. The teacher always answers the students’ questions. (active)
The students’ questions are always answered by the teacher. (passive)
14. The choir really enjoys that piece. (active)
That piece is really enjoyed by the choir. (passive)
15. Who taught you to ski? (active)
By whom were you taught to ski? (passive)
16. The forest fire destroyed the whole suburb. (active)
The whole suburb was destroyed by the forest fire. (passive)
17. The two kings are signing the treaty. (active)
The treaty is being signed by the two kings. (passive)
18. The cleaning crew vacuums and dusts the office every night. (active)
Every night the office is vacuumed and dusted by the cleaning crew. (passive)
19. Larry generously donated money to the homeless shelter. (active)
Money was generously donated to the homeless shelter by Larry. (passive)
20. No one responded to my sales ad. (active)
My sales ad was not responded to by anyone. (passive)