Active and Passive Voice

I am sure that many of you have heard before that a writer never wants to use the passive
voice. Well, thats not exactly true. But, if you use to passive voice at all, you certainly
want to limit its use to a couple of specific areas in which you made a conscious choice to
do so (there are exceptions ~ look below). Judging from most of your writing, though, I
would say that many of you either (1) have not been fully introduced to the active voice /
passive voice dilemma, (2) have forgotten, or (3) never really fully understood what you
were told. Lets take a look at them
In the active voice, the subject performs the action that the verb expresses. Typically,
using the active voice gives your writing a more forceful feel.
Examples
Joe slapped the clown.
The President lied to the press.
Vincenzo will eat 5 oysters later tonight.
Alfred laughs at circus seals.
Conversely, in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. Also, a form of the verb
to be (am, is, are, was, were, or been) is added to the verb. NOTE: not all uses of the
verb to be are in the passive voice.
Examples
The clown was slapped by Joe.
The press was lied to by the President.
5 oysters will be eaten by Vincenzo tonight.
Circus seals are laughed at by Alfred.
Typically, the active voice is preferred. But, there are exceptions. In scientific writing, the
passive voice is used more regularly to help give the appearance that the author is not
present in the work (for instance, the test was conducted randomly works better in that
case than we conducted the test randomly). Even then, you want to make sure that the
passive voice is not overused. Passive voice sentences are typically wordy, and can get
confusing. Conversely, sentences employing the active voice are concise and easy to
follow.
So, outside of scientific writing, are there any good times to use passive voice? Yes, but
only sparingly, and it should always be a conscious decision to do so, and not simply
because thats what came out. Heres an example of when the passive voice made more
sense:
Active: The establishment makes the rules to be broken

Passive: Rules are made to be broken.

Identifying if the sentence is active or passive voice:
1. The police broke up the party.
2. Drugs are sold every day on the street
3. Stockings were hung by the little children before bed.
4. In Newport, reports were being made about a possible storm
5. Try as he might, Jim could not walk a straight line.
6. The bait was eaten by the crocodiles.
7. Pirates ruined our day at the beach.
8. Midgets will be tossed across the field at 7.
9. Joanie ran the marathon in 3 hours.
10. Jimmy was reading when Jenny woke up.
Take the subject, verb, and object, and create one sentence in the active voice and
one in the passive (total of two sentences):
1. Surgeons to perform arm transplant
2. Rock band to play my favorite song
3. Gargamel to eat Smurfs
4. Donna Riddell to make great wine
5. Ronald to do time for breaking and entering

Active Voice
Generally, writers who wish to write vigorous sentences prefer active voice to passive
voice verbs. Passive verbs usually make sentences seem feeble.
Passive voice: The city was hit by a booming thunderstorm.
Active voice: A booming thunderstorm hit the city.
Passive voice: The jungle undergrowth has hacked through by the explorers
Active voice: The explorers hacked through the jungle undergrowth.
Rewrite each of the following sentences on your own paper, changing all passive
voice verbs to active verbs.
1. The cocoanut cream pie was gobbled down by the starving Scouts.
2. The little village was drenched by a blinding downpour.
3. The budget was slashed by the angry city council.
4. The football goal posts were toppled by the swarming fans.
5. The pale rose petals were caressed by the silver moonbeams
6. A stern warning to striking workers was issued by the governor.
7. The field was pranced upon by the playful ponies
8. The air was filled by the steady beat of drums.

9. Through the fog and mist a beacon of assurance was sent out by the old
lighthouse.
10. Stories of hardship and suffering were told by old Mrs. Hawkins.
11. Somehow mud, mosquitoes, and win were survived by the campers.
12. A score of 78 was posted by the winning team.
13. Sub-zero temperatures were braved by fans lined up for tickets.
14. The inky darkness was penetrated by the brilliant searchlights.
15. A fabulous 21 days of sightseeing and thrills were enjoyed by me.
16. The deep snowfall was melted quickly by the warm spring sunshine.
17. The customer was convinced by the beautiful upholstery to buy the car.
18. The long, sunny days and the cool, clear nights were loved by us.
19. That you have a happy birthday is hoped by us.
20. Dancing figures from the past swirling before my eyes could be seen by me.
21. A good product at a reasonable price is liked by people.
22. The way we stayed after class and helped clean up the room was appreciated by
the teacher.
23. Ice cream is just loved by me.
24. The plates and silverware were washed by Sara.
25. The land was blanketed by a heavy snowfall.

Action Verbs
Although linking or state of being verbs are often necessary in writing, they weaken the
impact of sentences when they are used in place of action verbs.
Examples:
A large hawk was in the top of the tree. (linking)
A large hawk perched in the top of the tree. (action)
A large hawk roosted in the top of the tree. (action)

Write one, maybe two, action verbs in the blank space indicating how the linking
verb could be eliminated.
1. The sophomores (were) ______________ in the cafeteria.
2. When I opened the door, a strange man (was) ______________ on the porch.
3. On Christmas Eve a warm fire (was) ______________ in the fireplace.
4. The fireworks (are) ______________ in the midnight sky.
5. Six girls (were) ______________ on a stalled school bus.
6. An old bicycle (was) ______________ on the back of the truck.
7. A large white bird (is) ______________ at the edge of the water.
8. Big motorboats with loud motors (were) ______________on the blue lake.
9. Two small babies (are) ______________ in the back of the church.
10. An elderly man with a chainsaw (was) ______________ among the trees.

11. The harpist (was) ______________ in the spotlight onstage that night.
12. The happy fans (were) ______________ in the aisles, screaming for joy.
13. Big, ugly clouds (are) ______________ in the sky overhead.
14. Three red and yellow kites (were) ______________ in the March wind.
15. The little kittens (were) ______________ in my bedroom all afternoon.
16. Tiny footsteps (were) ______________ in the dark hallway that night.
17. Grandpa (was) ______________ by the pool all morning.
18. Several voice (were) ______________ in the darkness.
19. The big diamond ring (was) ______________ on her finger.
20. The little foreign car (was) ______________ along the roadside.
21. The police officer (was) ______________ beside my car.
22. The young colt (was) ______________ in the fields besides its mother.
23. The four happy boys (were) ______________ with the girls all afternoon.
24. The angry teacher (was) ______________ in the front of the classroom.
25. The busy waitress (was) ______________ among the tables.

Get Active
Directions: Without your partner, rewrite the ENTIRE paragraph below on a separate
sheet of paper to correct its passive voice. Underline verb replacements.
Help: In the passive voice, the subject is acted upon, and the person or thing doing the
acting often appears as the object of the preposition by. Sometimes the subject must be
added to the sentence since it does not appear in the passive voice sentence. A be verb
followed by a past participle (respected, known) is also an indication of passive voice. Be
verbs: be, was, were, been, is, being, am, and are.
It is well known that advertising is designed to sell merchandise. But it is usually
not realized how much planning and work is being put into it. No effort is being spared
by manufacturers to get our minds used to their products. Once it was considered enough
to be better known than the closest competitor. Now advertising slogans are being built
into our everyday life.
Many complaints are heard about this. Advertising is being attacked because our
press is too dependent on advertising income. It is also said that our radio entertainment
is being cheapened since practically all of it is sponsored by advertisers. Even the beauty
of our country is considered spoiled because our highways are lined by billboards.
These complaints have been answered by a strong counter- argument: Thanks to
advertising, our standard of living has been made the highest in the world