Passive voice is not grammatically wrong — it is often strategically weak. It obscures who did what, adds unnecessary words, and drains energy from sentences. Here is how to spot it, when to use it, and when to convert it to active voice.
What Is Passive Voice?
A sentence is in active voice when the subject performs the action: “The team completed the project.”
A sentence is in passive voice when the subject receives the action: “The project was completed by the team.”
The giveaway structure of passive voice: form of “to be” + past participle. Words like “was,” “were,” “is,” “are,” “been,” and “being” followed by a past participle (-ed, -en, -t endings) almost always signal passive voice.
How to Identify Passive Voice
Apply the “by zombies” test: if you can add “by zombies” after the verb and it makes grammatical sense, the sentence is passive.
- “The report was written [by zombies]” — passive ✓
- “The error was noticed [by zombies]” — passive ✓
- “The team submitted the report [by zombies]” — active (does not work)
Before and After: Converting Passive to Active
| Passive | Active |
|---|---|
| Mistakes were made. | We made mistakes. |
| The decision was taken by the board. | The board decided. |
| The email was sent by Sarah. | Sarah sent the email. |
| The budget has been reduced. | Management reduced the budget. |
| The study was conducted by researchers. | Researchers conducted the study. |
| It was recommended that the policy be changed. | We recommend changing the policy. |
Why Passive Voice Weakens Writing
- Hides responsibility: “Mistakes were made” deliberately obscures who made them. This is useful in politics; it is a problem in clear communication.
- Adds words: Passive constructions are almost always longer. “The decision was made by the committee” uses 8 words; “The committee decided” uses 3.
- Reduces energy: Active sentences move forward; passive sentences feel static and bureaucratic.
- Lowers readability: Passive voice reduces your readability score. Check your readability before and after converting passive sentences.
When Passive Voice Is Correct to Use
Passive voice is not always wrong — there are specific situations where it is the right choice:
- The actor is unknown: “The window was broken.” (You do not know who broke it)
- The actor is obvious or irrelevant: “The data was collected over six months.”
- Scientific writing: “Participants were assigned randomly to groups.” (Convention in many disciplines)
- When the recipient is more important: “The award was accepted by the entire team.”
- For variety: Deliberate use of passive to break a rhythm of active sentences