A lot of you have asked me to explain passive voice and how to avoid it.
(1) Active voice sentences are often more concise than passive voice. Expressing the same idea in passive voice frequently takes 30% to 40% more words: Expressing the same idea in passive voice frequently takes 30% to 40% more words. Change Passive Voice to Active Voice By YourDictionary When a sentence is written, it can either be written in active voice or passive voice.Active voice is used when the subject performs the action stated by the verb.
Today's topic is active voice versus passive voice.
Here's a question from Brian in Iowa. He writes, “It drives me crazy when people write in passive voice. How can I teach people how to tell the difference between passive and active voice and to stay away from passive voice?”
Well, Brian is right, the first step is to help people understand the difference between active and passive voice, because many people believe they should avoid the passive voice, but fewer people can define it or recognize it.
I'll start with active voice because it's simpler. In an active sentence, the subject is doing the action. A straightforward example is the sentence 'Steve loves Amy.' Steve is the subject, and he is doing the action: he loves Amy, the object of the sentence.
Another example is the title of the Marvin Gaye song “I Heard It through the Grapevine.” 'I' is the subject, the one who is doing the action. 'I' is hearing 'it,' the object of the sentence.
In passive voice, the target of the action gets promoted to the subject position. Instead of saying, 'Steve loves Amy,' I would say, 'Amy is loved by Steve.' The subject of the sentence becomes Amy, but she isn't doing anything. Rather, she is just the recipient of Steve's love. The focus of the sentence has changed from Steve to Amy.
If you wanted to make the title of the Marvin Gaye song passive, you would say “It was heard by me through the grapevine,” not such a catchy title anymore.
Next: Is 'To Be' a Sign of Passive Voice?