A common grammatical issue writers encounter is whether to write in active or passive voice. In general, the active voice is more direct and emphasizes the subject of the verb in a sentence.
But sometimes the passive voice can be useful for varying sentence structure and creating emphasis on the object of the action. In this article, we’ll explore how Grammarly Active Vs Passive can help you identify and correct instances of the passive voice.
Subject-Object Relationships
Using active voice improves clarity and directness in writing. It can also increase reader engagement and make your story more dynamic. However, there are certain situations where passive voice can be used. It’s important to understand when and how to use this grammatical voice.
Passive sentences are usually formed with the verb be and a past participle, as in “The man was bitten by the dog” or “Jackie’s mother gave her a gift.” Often the agent is not known (news stories often use passive voice) or it is appropriate to deflect responsibility to someone else.
In these cases, you can switch the subject and object around to keep the action going the way it should. You’ll need to rephrase the sentence to get there, though: “The dog was bitten by a cat.” In this case, the action stays with the animal that was bitten and doesn’t shift to the bitten animal as in the example above.
The Doer of the Action
In the active voice, the sentence subject performs the action denoted by the verb. Sentences in the passive voice, on the other hand, often change the word order to make the sentence subject act upon the object of the verb. This makes the sentence a bit more indirect and wordy.
Passive sentences are still grammatical, but they are less direct and more inefficient than their active counterparts. They may also require more words to express the same idea.
Using the active voice will return power to your sentences. It will help you keep your writing clear for your readers and prevent it from becoming too complicated or wordy. However, the passive form can have its place, especially when it is a useful tool for conveying an image or in cases of brevity. For instance, “The dog was bit by the cat” is more concise than “The cat bitten the dog.” Passive voice is most frequently used when it is needed to emphasize the recipient or the action itself.
The Object of the Action
The object of a verb in a sentence is what is acted upon by that verb. It often follows the subject and acts as a complement to that subject. The object can be a noun, an adjective, or another verb.
The active voice is clearer and more direct than the passive voice. Sentences in the active voice are also typically shorter and more concise. In addition, the active voice is a more powerful style choice for sentences that deal with action or otherwise require direct involvement.
However, the passive voice does have its place in writing. In fact, it’s important to know how to identify instances of the passive voice so that you can use it sparingly and effectively. A good grammar checker, like ProWritingAid, will flag sentences in the passive voice and suggest a stylistic change. However, you should always trust your own judgement on whether or not a sentence needs to be changed.
Identifying Passive Sentences
Despite the myth that passive voice is always bad, it has its place in some writing. For example, academic writing often uses the passive form to emphasize objectivity and maintain distance from the subject matter.
Passive sentences are also useful when the subject of the action isn’t known, like in reports of crimes that don’t identify the perpetrators. And in some cases, such as scientific writing, the active voice may actually make your sentence less clear and harder to understand.
To identify whether a sentence is in the passive form, look for words such as was or have been, as well as auxiliary verbs and past participles. Then, try to reorder the sentence so that the doer of the action is performing it directly on the object of the action. This process can be difficult, but it can help you improve the clarity of your writing.