Test Yourself

Active and Passive Voice

[Harbrace 7 & 11d] 

Review

See Introduction to Active and Passive Voice below 

Practice Exercises

• Identifying Active and Passive Voice, Part I
• Identifying Active and Passive Voice, Part II

Introduction

When a verb is in the active voice, its subject acts or does something. 

The boy landed the trout. 

When a verb is in the passive voice, its subject is acted upon by something. 

The trout was landed by the boy. 

The active voice is more emphatic and less wordy than the passive voice. The active voice is also more straightforward because it immediately tells who or what is acting. Use the active voice as often as possible in your writing. 

PASSIVE:
The final exam was passed by all the students. 

ACTIVE:
All the students passed the final exam. (fewer words, immediate emphasis on the actors) 

Sometimes the passive voice is useful when: you do not know or do not want to emphasize who is acting; when you want to emphasize
the receiver of the action; or when you want to add modifiers to the actor at the end of the sentence. 

ACTIVE:
The doctor ordered blood tests to measure her sugar level. 

PASSIVE:
The blood tests were ordered to measure her sugar level.
(omitting the actor) 

PASSIVE:
The blood tests were ordered by the doctor to measure her sugar level. (emphasizing the tests) 

PASSIVE:
The blood tests were ordered by Dr. Hayes, an eminent authority on sugar problems whose research was recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. (adding modifiers at the end)