English
What is active and passive voice, and how do you change one into the other?
Quick answer
In the active voice the subject does the action (The dog chased the ball). In the passive voice the subject receives it (The ball was chased by the dog), using be + past participle.
In one sentence
In the active voice the subject does the action; in the passive voice the subject has the action done to it.
Explained
Every sentence with an action has a doer (the person or thing doing it) and often a receiver (the person or thing it happens to). Voice is about which one you put first, as the subject of the sentence.
- Active: The dog (doer) chased the ball (receiver).
- Passive: The ball (receiver) was chased by the dog (doer).
dog
ball
cake
Both sentences describe the same event. The passive simply turns the spotlight round: the receiver becomes the subject, the verb changes to a form of be + the past participle (was chased), and the doer either moves to the end after by or disappears completely.
That last point is the big reason the passive exists. Sometimes we do not know who did something (My bike was stolen), it does not matter (The bins are emptied on Mondays), or it is obvious (The thief was arrested: by the police, of course). Science reports use the passive a lot because the method matters more than the person: The water was heated to 80 °C. News reports use it to put the most important person or thing first: Two climbers were rescued last night.
The active voice is usually shorter, clearer and more lively, which is why many writing guides tell you to prefer it. But the passive is not wrong. Good writers choose the voice that puts the right idea at the front of the sentence.
One important rule: only verbs that have an object (transitive verbs) can go into the passive. Sam kicked the ball can become The ball was kicked by Sam, but The baby slept cannot be made passive, because nothing was "slept". To understand this fully it helps to know your verbs and how sentences are built.
Examples
The tense is shown by be. The past participle never changes.
| Tense | Active | Passive (be + past participle) |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | Ana writes the emails. | The emails are written by Ana. |
| Past simple | The cat broke the vase. | The vase was broken by the cat. |
| Present continuous | They are building a bridge. | A bridge is being built. |
| Past continuous | Workers were painting the hall. | The hall was being painted. |
| Present perfect | The council has closed the park. | The park has been closed. |
| Future (will) | People will plant 500 trees. | 500 trees will be planted. |
| With a modal | You must wear a helmet. | A helmet must be worn. |
More real-life passives: English is spoken in many countries. The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Mistakes were made. Your parcel has been delivered.
Common mistakes
- Thinking every past-tense sentence is passive. She was running is active (past continuous): the subject is doing the running. Passive needs be + a past participle, not an -ing form.
- Using the wrong past participle. The window was broke should be The window was broken. Check irregular verbs: eaten, written, stolen, given, taken, seen. Revise your past tense forms if you are unsure.
- Forgetting to change pronouns. She saw him becomes He was seen by her, not Him was seen by she. The new subject uses the subject form (I, he, she, we, they); after by use the object form (me, him, her, us, them).
- Getting the tense wrong. Keep the tense of the original: The council has closed the park (present perfect) becomes has been closed, not was closed.
Step by step
Step by step
- Find the objectIn the active sentence, find who or what receives the action. The chef cooked the pasta.
- Make it the subjectMove it to the front: The pasta...
- Add be in the same tenseThe original verb cooked is past simple, so use was (or were for a plural subject): The pasta was...
- Add the past participlecook becomes cooked: The pasta was cooked...
- Decide about the doerAdd by + the doer if it matters (by the chef); leave it out if it is unknown or obvious.
To spot the passive in a text, look for a form of be followed by a past participle. A popular classroom trick: if you can add "by zombies" after the verb and the sentence still makes sense, it is passive. The door was locked (by zombies) works, so it is passive. The girl locked the door (by zombies) makes no sense, because the girl is already the doer: it is active.
Practice questions
Active or passive? Change the voice
Try each one, then check your answer.
- Active or passive? The chef cooked the pasta.
Show answer
The subject does the action: active. - Active or passive? The pasta was cooked by the chef.
Show answer
was + cooked, doer after by: passive. - Active or passive? The children are singing a song.
Show answer
are singing is present continuous, the children do the singing: active. - Active or passive? The letters are delivered every morning.
Show answer
are + delivered (past participle): passive. - Make it passive: The cat broke the vase.
Show answer
The vase was broken by the cat. - Make it passive: Ana writes the emails.
Show answer
The emails are written by Ana. - Make it passive and leave out the doer: Someone stole my bike.
Show answer
Someone is unknown, so drop it: My bike was stolen. - Make it active: The match was won by our team.
Show answer
Our team won the match. - Make it active: The cake was eaten by the twins.
Show answer
The twins ate the cake. - Make it passive: They are building a new bridge.
Show answer
Present continuous: A new bridge is being built. - Make it passive: The council has closed the park.
Show answer
Present perfect: The park has been closed by the council. - Make it passive: People will plant 500 trees.
Show answer
Future: 500 trees will be planted. - Make it passive: She saw him.
Show answer
Pronouns change form: He was seen by her. - Can this be made passive? The baby slept all night.
Show answer
Sleep has no object, so no. - Make it passive: You must wear a helmet.
Show answer
Modal + be + past participle: A helmet must be worn.
Questions people ask
What is active and passive voice in simple words?
In the active voice, the person or thing doing the action comes first: Tom threw the ball. In the passive voice, the thing the action happens to comes first: The ball was thrown by Tom.
How do you identify the passive voice?
Look for a form of be (is, are, was, were, been, being) followed by a past participle (thrown, eaten, painted). Then ask whether the subject is doing the action or receiving it. If it receives it, the sentence is passive.
What is the formula for the passive voice?
Object of the active sentence + a form of be in the same tense + past participle (+ by + doer). For example, The dog bit the man becomes The man was bitten by the dog.
What are the passive voice rules for all tenses?
Only be changes: is/are done (present), was/were done (past), is/are being done (present continuous), has/have been done (present perfect), had been done (past perfect), will be done (future). The past participle stays the same in every tense.
Is it wrong to use the passive voice?
No. It is a normal part of English. Use it when the doer is unknown or less important, as in science and news writing. Prefer the active voice when you want writing to be direct and lively.
How can you teach active and passive voice in a fun way?
Act sentences out: one child is the doer, one the receiver, and a card shows the action. Swap who stands at the front to show the passive. The "by zombies" test also makes spotting the passive into a game.
Quick quiz
Active and passive voice
Check what you know with 5 quick questions.
Question 1 of 5
Which sentence is in the passive voice?
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Related topics
Verbs
A verb is a word for an action (run, eat, write) or a state of being (is, seem, know). Almost every sentence has one, and verbs change to show tense.
Sentences
A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense on its own. It starts with a capital letter, ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, and usually has a verb.
Past tense
The past tense is the verb form we use for things that have already happened, like walked, ate or was playing. Regular verbs add -ed; irregular verbs change in other ways.
Parallel structure (parallelism)
Parallel structure means putting matching ideas in the same grammatical form, as in I like hiking, swimming and reading, not hiking, swimming and to read.
PEEL paragraphs
A PEEL paragraph builds one argument in four steps: Point, Evidence, Explain, Link. It keeps each paragraph focused on one idea and backs that idea up.
Persuasive techniques
Persuasive techniques are tools writers, speakers and advertisers use to convince an audience, such as rhetorical questions, emotive language, facts, the rule of three and ethos, pathos and logos.