Active vs Passive Voice: Understanding the

Difference
Though fun, writing can also get pretty darn confusing, especially when you’re
trying to figure out whether to use the active or passive voice. What is the
difference between active and passive voice? When and how should you
use them?

In this complete active voice vs passive voice guide, we'll go over how each voice
works in English grammar, when to use the two voices, and how to change a
sentence from passive to active (and vice versa). We’ll also give you an active vs
passive voice quiz to test your skills. Let's get started!

What Is Active Voice?

The active voice is when the subject of a sentence performs  an action on an
object. In other words, the subject does the action, and the object receives
the action .

The active voice is easy to identify in writing because it follows a simple form,
which is the basis of English grammar:

Subject ( doer  ) → Verb → Object ( recipient  )

Here’s an example of a sentence using the active voice:

The dog ate my homework.

In this example, "the dog" is the subject, "ate" is the verb, and "my homework" is
the object. Here’s a diagram to better show this connection:

Subject Verb Object

The dog ate my homework

Here, "the dog" is doing  (or, in this case, has already done) the action: it is
the one that "ate." Meanwhile, "homework" is the object that is receiving this
action of eating.

Here’s another example of the active voice at play:

 She is writing an essay.

In this example, "she" is the subject, "is writing" is the verb (in the present
progressive tense), and "an essay" is the object.

Once again, the subject ("she") is the one performing the action: "she" is
"writing." And what is she writing? An "essay," i.e., the noun that’s receiving the
action.

Finally, here's an example of the active voice being used without  an object:

He sings.

In this sentence, we have a subject ("he") and a verb ("sings") but no object.
Regardless, because the subject is performing the act of singing, we can
identify this as the active voice .

 What Is Passive Voice?

The passive voice is basically the opposite of the active voice: it’s when the
subject is acted upon by the object. In other words, the subject receives the
action, and the object does the action .

The passive voice is a little trickier to identify, as it uses more words than the
active voice. The basic structure is as follows:

Subject ( recipient  ) → Verb ( past participle of "to be" form  ) → Object

( doer  )

Note that the object here is always preceded by the word "by."

Additionally, the verb takes its "to be" form (meaning it’s preceded by "is/are" for
the present tense and "was/were" for the past tense) and is put in the past
participle (e.g., "eaten" for the verb "eat" or "given" for the verb "give").

Here’s an example of a sentence using the passive voice:

The ice cream was bought by the little girl.

In this example, "the ice cream" is the subject, "bought" is the verb, and "the little
girl" is the object. Here’s a diagram to help you understand this grammar pattern
better:
Subject Verb Object

The ice cream was bought by the little girl

As you can see, "the ice cream" (as the subject) is the one receiving the action,
while "the little girl" (as the object) is the one performing the action.

Here's another passive voice example:

Our tests were graded by the teacher.

Here, the subject is "our tests," the verb is "were graded," and the object is "the
teacher." Again, the subject ("our tests") is receiving the action from the
object ("the teacher") , which is, in turn, performing it (i.e., the one who is
grading).

Sometimes you’ll see the passive voice being used without  an object (i.e., without
identifying the doer of the action—only the recipient). Here’s an example:

The tea was poured.

In this sentence, "the tea" is the subject and "was poured" is the verb;
however, there’s no object performing the action of pouring . Simply put, we
don’t know who poured the tea! Nevertheless, we can identify this sentence as
passive based on its setup: a subject followed by a verb in its past participle "to
be" form.

If we wanted to insert an object here, we'd simply add the word "by" followed by
a noun:

The tea was poured by my grandmother.

Now, we have an object, or doer, of this act of pouring tea: "my grandmother."

Active vs Passive Voice: When Do You Use Them?

The active and passive voice express the same ideas, just in different ways. In
terms of when we actually use them, though, what is the difference between
active and passive voice?
In general, you should always  aim to use the active voice whenever you
write. This is because the active voice is clearer and more direct, while the
passive voice is wordier and more confusing.

That being said, this doesn’t mean that the passive voice is inherently wrong.
There are many cases in which you might opt for the passive voice over the
active voice.

Here are some scenarios in which you might want (or need) to use the
passive voice:

 When you want to emphasize the recipient of the action

 When you want to emphasize the action itself
 When you don’t know who or what is performing the action
 When the doer of the action is irrelevant or unimportant

For example, say you’re writing an essay about the Declaration of Independence
and you come up with the following sentence:

Most people believe that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July
4, but this is not actually the case.

Let’s parse this out a bit. 

While part of the sentence is clearly in the active voice (the "most people believe"
section), the crux of it ("the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4") is
in the passive voice. Doing this lets you keep the emphasis on the document,
i.e., the topic of your essay .

In addition, there were many people who signed the Declaration of

Independence, but listing them all here would only make the sentence longer
and more convoluted; this is why the passive voice is a better fit.

Changing From Passive to Active Voice (and Vice

Versa)
There are many times you might want to change a sentence from passive to
active, or even from active to passive. To do this, you’ll need to understand
exactly how the two types of voices work.

First, recall that the primary difference between active and passive voice lies
in the roles of the subject and object : whereas in active voice the subject is
the doer and the object is the recipient of the action, in passive voice the subject
is the recipient of the action and the object is the doer.

Here’s an example of a sentence in the active voice vs passive voice:

Active: She created a travel blog.

Passive: A travel blog was created by her.
Below is another way of looking at the difference between active and passive
voice:

Subject Verb Object

 

Active Voice She created a travel blog

Passive Voice A travel blog was created by her

As you can see here, in the active voice, "she" is the subject and doer, whereas "a
travel blog" is the object and recipient of the verb "created."

But in the passive voice, these designations swap : as the original subject,
"she" becomes the object (but is still the doer of the action), whereas "a travel
blog," which was originally the object, becomes the subject (but is still the
recipient of the action).

In addition, the verb, which began in the simple past, has been converted into
its past participle "to be" form .

To sum up, to convert from active to passive voice, here’s what you must do:

1. Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original object is
now the subject and the original subject is now the object
2. Add the word "by" before the new object
3. Convert the verb into its "to be" past participle form  based on the
original tense used

Most likely, though, you'll need to convert from passive to active. The process for
this is essentially the same —just backwards:

1. Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original subject is
now the object and the original object is now the subject
 2. Delete the word "by" used before the original object (now subject)
3. Convert the "to be" past participle form of the verb into the appropriate
tense as indicated by the verb and overall sentence

The verb is arguably the trickiest part of converting from passive to

active. You want to make sure you’re keeping the same tense as indicated by
the original verb and sentence.

As an example, here's how you'd change various tenses of the word "do" from
passive to active:

 is done → do/does
 is/are being done → is/are doing
 was/were done → did
 was/were being done → was/were doing
 will be done → will do

Finally, know that you cannot  convert from active to passive or passive to

active if you do not have an object . You can see why this doesn’t work in
these active vs passive voice examples:

Active (Without Object): I drank.

Passive: ??? was drunk by me.
Without an object, we have no idea what  "I" actually "drank."

Passive (Without Object): The project will be completed by tomorrow.

Active: ??? will complete the project by tomorrow.

Without an object, we cannot explain who  "will complete the project."

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz

It’s time to test out what you learned in an active vs passive voice quiz. 

Before you start, make sure you know what the three types of questions expect
you to do:

 Questions 1-3: Identify whether the sentence is active or passive

 Questions 4-5: Fill in the blanks to create a grammatically correct sentence
 Questions 6-8: Convert the sentence from active to passive, or vice versa

Answers and explanations will be provided at the end of the quiz. Good luck!
 

#1: Active or Passive?

This novel was not written by Charlotte Brontë but rather her sister Emily.
 

#2: Active or Passive?

The mail arrived on time yesterday.

 

#3: Active or Passive?

A study on the gender wage gap was conducted in 2018.

 

#4: Fill in the Blank

This gift was given to me _____ my sister.

 

#5: Fill in the Blank

The toy will soon be _____ by him. (past participle of "fix")

 

#6: Convert to Passive

Jessica is teaching me how to speak Italian.

 

#7: Convert to Active

He was advised by his dentist to floss more.

 

#8: Convert to Active

The valuable painting is finally going to be sold this year.

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz: Answers +
Explanations
#1: Active or Passive?

This novel was not written by Charlotte Brontë but rather her sister Emily.

In this sample sentence, the subject is "the novel," the action is "was not
written," and the object is "Charlotte Brontë" — we can leave out that last part
since it’s not really important to understanding the voice here.

Because the object ("Charlotte Brontë") is the doer of the action — that is, she’s
the one who did not write "the novel" —you should be able to tell right away
that  this sentence is in the passive voice . (You might also be able to tell it’s
passive due to the use of the word "by" before the object.)

#2: Active or Passive?

The mail arrived on time yesterday.

Here, "the mail" is the subject and "arrived" is the verb — there is no

object. Because "the mail" is the one doing the action of "arriving," this
sentence uses the active voice .

#3: Active or Passive?

A study on the gender wage gap was conducted in 2018.

In this example, "a study" is the subject and "was conducted" is the verb; there’s
no object. Since "a study" is receiving  the action instead of performing it, this
sentence is in the passive voice .

(Just in case you’re wondering, the reason we don’t see "by" is that the object, or
doer, of the action is either unknown or irrelevant.)

 
#4: Fill in the Blank

This gift was given to me _____ my sister.

Right away you should recognize this as the passive voice. "This gift" is the
subject, "was given" is the verb, and "my sister" is the object who is performing
the action of giving.

As you know, the word "by" must come before the object in a passive
sentence , so this is the missing word. The sentence should therefore read,
"This gift was given to me by my sister."

#5: Fill in the Blank

The toy will soon be _____ by him. (past participle of "fix")

Again, you should recognize this example as a passive sentence since it calls for
the past participle of the verb and has the word "by" before the object. The past
participle of the verb "fix" is the same as its simple past: "fixed" ; t herefore,
the sentence should read, "The toy will soon be fixed by him."

#6: Convert to Passive

Jessica is teaching me how to speak Italian.

To convert this sentence from active to passive, you must switch the positions of
the subject and object and then convert the verb (in present progressive) to its
past participle "to be" form. Don't forget that "me" must transform into its
subject form ("I") when going from an object to a subject. ("Jessica" is a name
and proper noun and therefore does not change form.)

Finally, place the word "by" before the new object ("Jessica"). This should give
you the following passive sentence: "I am being taught how to speak Italian
by Jessica."

#7: Convert to Active

He was advised by his dentist to floss more.

To convert this example from passive to active, you’ll need to switch the subject
and object, change the verb form from "to be" past participle to simple past, and
eliminate the "by." Note that "he" will turn into "him" when converted from a
subject into an object.

Doing all this correctly should give you this: "His dentist advised him to floss
more."

#8: Convert to Active

The valuable painting is finally going to be sold this year.

If you didn’t know it already, this question is actually a trick! But how? Because
there is no object  in this passive sentence, there’s no way to convert it into the
active voice. In other words, we have no idea who  is going to sell the painting.

If we tried to convert it, we’d get this nonsensical statement: " ??? is finally going
to sell the valuable painting this year." As such,   we cannot create a sentence
in the active voice without a subject .