ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Active Voice


  The subject performs the action. Structure: Subject -> Verb -> Object
• Passive Voice


  The subject is acted upon. Structure: Subject -> Auxiliary verb 'to be' -> Past participle verb -> Prepositional phrase
• Active Voice


  • The man kicked the ball.
  • She drank water.
  • The rickshaw hit the kid.
• Passive Voice


  • He was chased by the dog.
  • The cake will be baked by me.
• Active voice is used more commonly than passive voice
• Passive voice is used when the actor of a sentence is unknown or irrelevant
• Active voice is direct, clear, and easy to read
• Passive voice can create an authoritative tone
• Any clause can be passive
• Active sentences are generally clearer and more concise than passive sentences
• Passive voice is not grammatically or morally incorrect
• Reasons to use Passive Voice

  • When the doer of the action is unknown or less important than what's acted upon
  • To emphasize the receiver of the action instead of the doer
  • To keep the focus on the same subject through several sentences or paragraphs and avoid redundancy
  • When the doer of the action is unknown
  • To sound objective or avoid using the subject "I"