The Difference Between the Active and Passive Voice and Which Is Better
All authors must find their voices, and in grammatical terms, voice refers to the relationship between a verb and the subject of a sentence. Voice is one of the five properties of English verbs, along with tense, mood, number, and person. Active and passive are the two types of grammatical voices.
(10 Handy Digital Tools for Freelance Writers.)
The grammatical voice you use can have a notable impact on the clarity, engagement, and tone of your content. It’s important to recognize the distinction between the two voices for your articles or books because the active is generally considered better than the passive, albeit with exceptions occasionally made.
What’s the Difference Between the Active and Passive Voice?
The distinction between the active and passive voices is that of the subject of a sentence performing the action or being acted upon. A sentence in the active voice has a subject performing an action. This means the subject is the doer, rather than the receiver, of an action.
These are examples of sentences in the active voice:
- “Ned cleaned the table.”
- “Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.”
- “The dog chewed my rug.”
- “Liverpool won the 2022 FA Cup.”
Those examples are sentences in the active voice with the doer (person or thing doing the action) as their subject. The object or thing being acted on is the subject of a sentence in the passive voice.
Here are some examples of sentences in the passive voice:
- “The table was cleaned by Ned.”
- “Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japanese planes in 1941.”
- “My rug was chewed by the dog.”
- “The 2022 FA Cup was won by Liverpool.”
We can now see the difference between sentences that say the same things in the active and passive voices. Ned, Japanese planes, a dog, and Liverpool are subjects performing actions in the active voice examples above. Table, Pearl Harbor, rug, and FA Cup are subjects (objects and a location) receiving actions in the passive voice.
Thus, the active voice places emphasis on the person or thing performing the action. The passive voice emphasizes the object or thing receiving the action. This difference in emphasis is the crucial distinction between the two voices to remember.
You can manually detect passive voice in your content by identifying the action doers in sentences. Those doers are usually at or near the end of sentences in the passive voice with the verbs preceding them. For the active voice, the doers are at or near the beginning of sentences. To change passive voice to active, you must place a doer near the start of a sentence with the verb immediately after it.
Why the Active Voice Is More Preferable
You might now wonder why the active voice is generally preferred over the passive alternative. One important reason the active voice is better than than the passive is conciseness. Notice that all the active voice examples above are two words shorter than their passive alternatives. Thus, using active voice will make your articles more concise and less wordy.
The active voice makes it clearer who or what is performing the action. This makes sentences in the active voice more direct than passive alternatives. Clearly stating who or what is performing an action with the active voice enhances clarity and engagement.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you must always avoid the passive voice. The passive voice can be preferable when you want to place emphasis on the object or thing receiving the action. It can also be more useful when it’s not known what person or thing performed the action. For example, you could write “Ned’s wallet was stolen yesterday” rather than “Somebody stole Ned’s wallet yesterday.”
Online Tools for Checking the Passive Voice
There are numerous online tools (web apps) with which you can check your articles (or text passages) for the passive voice. These tools detect and highlight passive voice sentences within passages entered into them. Some of those utilities also convert passive voice lines into active alternatives.
- Passive Voice Detector is one online tool that shows instances of the passive voice within analyzed passages. There, you can manually input passages for that tool to analyze. Alternatively, click the up arrow button to upload a saved document. That tool will list all passive voice sentences detected when you click the Re-Analyze button.
- Free Passive Voice Checker is a tool that enables you to convert passive voice sentences to active alternatives. To do so, copy and paste a passage of text into that tool’s text box with the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V hotkeys. That tool will automatically highlight all instances of the passive voice detected. Click on the active voice suggestions that the utility provides to apply changes.
- You can also utilize the Passive to Active Voice Converter tool on the AHelp site, which seemingly has no usage restrictions. Input content of any length to analyze into that utility’s left text box, and select the Active radio button. The tool will convert passive voice content to active voice in the text box on the right when you click Generate.
How to Set Microsoft Word to Check for Passive Voice
Microsoft Word 365 is one of the foremost word processors that incorporates an advanced SPAG checker called Editor. If you’re a Word user, you can set that word processor to identify the passive voice in content for correcting. You can then change passive voice sentences to active alternatives with Word’s SPAG checker.
To enable passive voice checking in Word, click the File tab and Options within that software. Select Proofing on the left side of the Word Options window. If not selected already, select the Check grammar and refinements in the Editor Pane and Show readability statistics checkboxes.
There’s a Writing Style drop-down menu below those checkboxes. Select Grammar on the Writing Style drop-down menu and press Settings. Scroll down to the Clarity subheading in the Grammar Settings window that opens. Select the Passive Voice and Passive Voice with Unknown Actor checkboxes there and click OK twice.
Open a document to check in the Word software. Word will now highlight passive-voice sentences in that document with blue underlines. To convert to active voice, click Spelling & Grammar on Word’s Review tab. This option activates a sidebar from which you can select Change for suggested editing.
It’s quick and easy to check for and eliminate passive voice from your articles with the aforementioned online tools and MS Word. Sticking to the active voice will generally make your content more concise, direct, and engaging. However, there can sometimes be good reasons to use the passive voice. It’s up to you to decide when the passive voice will be more appropriate in your articles or books.
In fact no matter if someone doesn’t be aware of afterward its
up to other visitors that they will assist, so here
it takes place.
Highly energetic article, I enjoyed that a lot.
Will there be a part 2?
Hi there, I discovered your site via Google whilst looking
for a related matter, your web site got here up, it seems good.
I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hi there, just became alert to your blog via Google, and found that it’s really informative.
I’m going to be careful for brussels. I will appreciate for those who continue this in future.
A lot of folks will probably be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you
knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically
tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a
plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe
you would have some experience with something like this.
Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Thanks for finally writing about > The Difference Between the Active and Passive
Voice and Which Is Better – Editio Books < Loved it!
Fascinating blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from
somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make
my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your design. Kudos
I was suggested this web site by my cousin.
I’m not certain whether this post is written by him as no one else know such specified approximately my
problem. You are incredible! Thanks!
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all folks
you really recognize what you are speaking about!
Bookmarked. Please additionally talk over with my website =).
We can have a hyperlink exchange arrangement between us
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon everyday.
It’s always helpful to read through articles from other writers and practice something from their web sites.
My partner and I stumbled over here different web page and
thought I might check things out. I like what I see
so now i’m following you. Look forward to looking at your web page yet again.
Loved this post! Woofi Finance is a great option for seamless crypto swaps.
payday loan
Right now it sounds like WordPress is the preferred blogging platform available
right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I
have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post.
Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks!
Truly no matter if someone doesn’t understand afterward its up to other users that they will help, so here it occurs.
“https://classifieds.ocala-news.com/author/stewartbury”
For newest information you have to pay a visit web and on world-wide-web
I found this web page as a best web page for newest updates.
Hello, this weekend is nice in favor of me, for the reason that this time i am reading this impressive educational post here at my home.
When I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the
-Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox
and from now on each time a comment is added
I get four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service?
Cheers!
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied
on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking
about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could
be giving us something informative to read?
Hey There. I discovered your blog the use of msn. This is a very well
written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to learn extra of your useful info.
Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly return.
Useful info. Fortunate me I found your site accidentally,
and I am surprised why this coincidence didn’t came about in advance!
I bookmarked it.
Howdy, I believe your blog may be having internet browser compatibility problems.
Whenever I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however,
if opening in IE, it’s got some overlapping issues.
I just wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Besides that, fantastic blog!
Hi there, I enjoy reading through your post. I wanted to write a little comment to support you.
I believe everything posted made a great deal of sense.
But, what about this? what if you added a little content?
I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your blog, however what
if you added a title to possibly get folk’s attention? I mean The Difference Between the Active and Passive Voice and Which Is Better –
Editio Books is kinda plain. You might look at Yahoo’s
front page and note how they write post titles to grab people
interested. You might add a related video or a related picture or two to grab readers
excited about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it would bring your website
a little livelier.
Hey there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my
new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog
and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the
outstanding work!
Good day! I just want to give you a big thumbs up for your great info you have got here on this post.
I’ll be returning to your web site for more soon.
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it.
Look advanced to more added agreeable from you!
However, how can we communicate?
I was wondering if you ever considered changing the page layout of your website?
Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe
you could a little more in the way of content so people could
connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one
or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?
With havin so much content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has a lot
of unique content I’ve either authored myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of
it is popping it up all over the web without my permission. Do you know any techniques to help protect
against content from being stolen? I’d genuinely appreciate it.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day.
It will always be interesting to read content from other writers and use
a little something from their web sites.
You have made some really good points there. I checked on the web to learn more about the issue and
found most people will go along with your views on this site.
It’s wonderful that you are getting thoughts from this
post as well as from our argument made at this time.
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for no kyc casinos
What i do not understood is in fact how you’re not actually much more smartly-preferred
than you might be right now. You are very intelligent.
You recognize therefore significantly relating to this topic,
made me in my view consider it from a lot of numerous angles.
Its like women and men don’t seem to be interested unless it’s something to do with Lady gaga!
Your personal stuffs outstanding. All the time maintain it up!
Greetings! I’ve been following your site for a
while now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Huffman Tx!
Just wanted to say keep up the good job!
Thanks on your marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I will make certain to bookmark your blog and may come
back sometime soon. I want to encourage you to continue your great posts, have a nice weekend!
It’s truly very complex in this busy life to listen news on TV, so I
just use the web for that reason, and get the latest information.
My brother recommended I would possibly like this web site.
He was entirely right. This post truly made my day.
You can not imagine simply how so much time I had spent
for this information! Thank you!
Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon it 😉
I’m going to return yet again since i have book-marked it.
Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be
rich and continue to guide other people.
I was excited to uncover this page. I need to to thank you for
ones time for this particularly fantastic read!!
I definitely appreciated every bit of it and I have you saved as a favorite to look at new information on your web site.
Thanks for the auspicious writeup. It in truth used to be a leisure account it.
Look complex to more delivered agreeable from you!
By the way, how could we be in contact?
Excellent goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to
and you’re just extremely wonderful. I actually like what you’ve
acquired here, certainly like what you are stating and the way in which
you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to
keep it sensible. I can’t wait to read far more from you.
This is really a wonderful web site.