![]() Can be perceived as weak or vague, especially when overused, reducing the impact of the message.Often results in longer and more convoluted sentences, which can make the writing less concise and engaging.This can lead to ambiguity by not clearly identifying the doer of the action, potentially causing confusion for the reader.Helps to avoid blaming or pointing fingers, making it useful when discussing sensitive or controversial topics.Creates a more formal tone, which can be useful in academic or professional writing.Emphasizes the action or the receiver of the action, making it suitable for specific contexts where the doer of the action is less important or unknown.For example: ‘The blog was written.’ Blog becomes the subject, and no reference to the actor is made – a nifty writing trick only possible with Passive voice. And it has one distinctive use: It allows you to say things without referring to the actor at all. If used wisely can convey precisely the mood the writer wishes. In that sense, I will admit that Passive sentences is less efficient.īut the passive form gets the job done just as well. This can often be more appealing to a reader because it requires less thought and less parsing – Active voice tends to be more direct.Īn additional advantage that a person with translation skills like myself appreciates is the fact that Active voice, on average, requires fewer words to tell the same thing. In a sense this is correct – the Active voice puts the subject in the focal part of the sentence and celebrates the subject – the actor – whereas the Passive focuses on the object of the sentence – the thing being acted on. The theory goes that the passive voice is inferior in writing because it’s less direct and less forceful. By regularly applying this technique, writers can create clearer and more engaging sentences for their readers. Practice makes perfect when transforming passive to active voice. Add any necessary objects or complements.Place the verb immediately after the subject.Move the subject to the beginning of the sentence.Identify the subject (doer) of the action.To convert passive sentences to active, follow these steps: Passive Voice: The cake was baked by Mary.Īctive Voice: Mary baked the cake. Here’s an example to demonstrate the conversion: In the active voice, the subject comes before the verb, while in the passive voice, the subject receives the action and comes after the verb. How do you change passive voice to active?Ĭhanging a passive sentence to an active voice involves identifying the subject performing the action and rephrasing the sentence accordingly. For example: ‘The blog was being written by a tedious know-it-all.’ Active voice, on the other hand, puts the subject first, followed by the verb: ‘The tedious know it wrote the blog.’Īs you can see, the distinction is a bit vague until it’s pointed out to you, and we all see examples every day of passive voice without noticing it at all. ![]() While it might seem obvious to people who work in the language in any capacity, some folks don’t.Ī passive voice sentence can be defined as a sentence where the object of the verb comes first, and usually involves the use of the verb form was or were. Active and Passive Voiceįirst, let’s make sure we all know what I mean. And I don’t buy it: Passive form is no worse or better than an active voice sentence, and vice versa. But since I do work in language translation I think I do have some insight into the question, and I’ve put some thought into it. Now, I work in translation and not as a professional writer – despite the obvious greatness of this blog. Everyone simply agrees that passive voice is bad form and active sentences is better – but I’ve never been sure that’s true. Chances are you’ve heard this in other writing scenarios as well – it’s become one of those widely accepted truisms. If you’ve ever taken a creative writing course – even a low-level, basic one – chances are you have been told in no uncertain terms to avoid passive voice when writing. While most writing advice says to avoid using the passive voice, that isn’t a universally agreed-upon rule.
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