Active and Passive Voice

In sentences without objects, passive voice verbs are formed by adding the conjugated form of the verb to be and the past tense form of the verb. Examples:

Active Voice                                         Passive Voice

The dog chases.                                      The cat is chased.

Jeremy passed.                                       The test was passed.

We will bake.                                         Pies will be baked.

If the sentence contains an object, the passive voice is formed by adding the conjugated form of the verb to be, the past tense form of the verb, and the word by. Examples:

Active Voice                                         Passive Voice

The dog chases the cat.                            The cat is chased by the dog.

Jeremy passed the test.                            The test was passed by Jeremy.

We will bake pies.                                   Pies will be baked by us.

In general, it is better to use the active voice of verbs because it is more concise and clear to the audience. Putting verbs in the passive voice often adds unnecessary length to a sentence. Example:

Active voice: Jeremy and Amanda redecorated the apartment. (6 words)

Passive voice: The apartment was redecorated by Jeremy and Amanda. (8 words)

The passive voice may also obscure the subject of a sentence, impeding clarity. Example:

Active voice: The resident assistants recommended new dormitory policies.

Passive voice: New dormitory policies were recommended. (who recommended them?)

Use the passive voice when you want to deemphasize a subject and emphasize the object. For example, in the sciences, it is common for writers to use the passive voice to place themselves in the background and emphasize the procedures and results. Example:

Active voice: The researcher heated the compound and observed the color change.

Passive voice: The compound was heated, and the color change was observed. (what matters most is the process and the observation, not who did the steps)

You may also want to use the passive voice to deliberately obscure the subject, though in some circumstances, the audience may see this as dishonest. Example:

Active voice: The president’s advisors made some critical mistakes.

Passive voice: Some critical mistakes were made. (the speaker may want to avoid implicating the president’s advisors)