The passive voice is the most argued-about construction in English writing advice. Half of every style guide tells you to avoid it. The other half tells you the first half is oversimplifying. Software grammar checkers flag it by default, which has turned an entire generation of writers against a perfectly legitimate grammatical structure. The truth, as usual, is more nuanced than either camp admits. The passive voice is a tool. It is sometimes the wrong tool, and it is sometimes exactly the right tool. Knowing which is which is the hallmark of a careful writer.
This guide explains what the passive voice actually is, dispels the myths around it, shows the contexts where it is superior to the active voice, and gives you the editing discipline to catch passives that weaken your prose. By the end, you will stop reflexively avoiding the passive and start choosing it deliberately.
What the Passive Voice Is
A sentence is in the active voice when the subject performs the action of the verb. A sentence is in the passive voice when the subject receives the action.
Active: The committee approved the budget.
(Committee = subject, performs the action "approved.")
Passive: The budget was approved by the committee.
(Budget = subject, receives the action "was approved.")
Active: A careless driver caused the accident.
Passive: The accident was caused by a careless driver.
Active: Scientists conducted the experiment.
Passive: The experiment was conducted by scientists.
The grammatical structure of the passive voice is: form of "to be" + past participle. Optionally, the agent (the one doing the action) can appear in a "by" phrase, or it can be omitted entirely.
Be + past participle:
is approved, was built, has been sent, will be completed, is being reviewed.
With agent:
The report was written by the consultant.
Without agent:
The report was written. (Who wrote it is unspecified.)
The ability to omit the agent is the core power of the passive voice, and it is also the source of its bad reputation.
The Myth: "Passive Voice Is Always Weak"
Software like Microsoft Word, Grammarly, and many style checkers highlight passive constructions and suggest rewriting them as active. Writing manuals repeat the advice: "prefer the active voice." Students are taught that passive voice is wordy, evasive, and lazy.
This advice captures a real problem (overuse of passive makes writing weak) but overshoots the mark. The passive voice is not weak by default. It is weak when used in contexts where active would be stronger, and strong when used in contexts where active would be wrong.
"Telling writers to avoid the passive voice is like telling painters to avoid blue. There is no rule. There is only what works for each sentence. The good writer chooses. The mediocre writer follows a rule." Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style
The passive voice has existed in English for over a thousand years, and it appears in every great writer's work. Shakespeare used it. Jane Austen used it. Scientific papers depend on it. Legal documents require it. Journalists use it every day. The passive is not going anywhere, and your writing should not pretend it does not exist.
When to Use the Passive Voice
Five situations call for the passive voice. In each, the active version would be worse or wrong.
1. When the Agent Is Unknown or Unimportant
If you do not know who performed the action, or the reader does not care, the passive voice is natural.
Passive (better): The building was constructed in 1890.
Active (awkward): Workers constructed the building in 1890.
(Who cares which specific workers? The date matters more than the agents.)
Passive (better): The vaccine was administered to 50,000 participants.
Active (awkward): Nurses administered the vaccine to 50,000 participants.
(The identity of the administering medical staff is not the point.)
Passive (better): Mistakes were made. (In political contexts, often evasive.)
Active: I made mistakes. (Accepts responsibility.)
2. When the Receiver of the Action Is More Important Than the Agent
If the object of the action is the main topic of the sentence or paragraph, keep it as the grammatical subject. The passive voice lets you do this.
Active: Someone stole my car.
Passive: My car was stolen.
(The car is the topic. The thief is unknown and beside the point.)
Active: A committee is reviewing the manuscript.
Passive: The manuscript is being reviewed.
(The manuscript is the topic. The committee is background.)
Active: Researchers have conducted three studies on the effect.
Passive: Three studies have been conducted on the effect.
(The topic is the studies and what they found, not who conducted them.)
3. When Maintaining Consistent Focus Requires the Passive
Strong writing keeps the same grammatical subject across linked sentences when possible. If switching to passive maintains that focus, use passive.
Choppy (mixing voices):
The CEO announced the new strategy. Analysts received it warmly. The stock closed up.
Smoother (consistent focus on the strategy):
The new strategy was announced by the CEO. It was received warmly by analysts. The stock closed up.
Also smoother (consistent focus on the CEO):
The CEO announced the new strategy, received warm coverage from analysts, and watched the stock close up.
The passive version is smoother when you want to keep the strategy as the topic. Active works when you want to keep the CEO as the topic.
4. When Scientific, Legal, or Bureaucratic Convention Requires It
Scientific papers use the passive voice to focus on the method and result rather than the researcher. Legal documents use it to describe what happened without assigning agents prematurely. Bureaucratic documents use it to describe processes rather than individuals.
Scientific paper style:
Samples were collected at three sites. The data were analyzed using standard methods. Significant differences were observed.
Active alternative (less common in scientific writing):
We collected samples at three sites. We analyzed the data using standard methods. We observed significant differences.
Some scientific journals (notably many in biomedical fields) have shifted toward active voice, encouraging "we" constructions. Others still prefer passive. Follow the conventions of your field and the style guide of your target publication.
5. When the Agent Is Obvious
Sometimes the agent is so obvious that stating it is redundant. The passive lets you skip over the obvious.
Passive (better): The thief was arrested last night.
Active (redundant): Police arrested the thief last night.
(Of course the police; no need to say so unless a specific officer or department matters.)
Passive (better): The winner will be announced on Friday.
Active (awkward): The committee will announce the winner on Friday.
(The "committee" is beside the point.)
When to Avoid the Passive Voice
The passive voice becomes a problem when writers default to it regardless of context. Four habits make passive overuse genuinely weak.
1. When the Agent Is Important and Is Hidden
If the reader would benefit from knowing who did something, and you use passive to obscure that, your writing loses precision.
Weak: The decision was made to cut the budget by 20 percent.
(Who made the decision?)
Better: The CFO decided to cut the budget by 20 percent.
Weak: It was felt that the proposal should be rejected.
(Who felt this? This is classic bureaucratic evasion.)
Better: The committee rejected the proposal.
Weak: Errors were made.
(This phrasing has become a joke in political discourse precisely because it hides the agent.)
Better: Our team made errors.
2. When Passive Adds Unnecessary Words
Passive voice typically adds two to four words per sentence. In writing where concision matters, that adds up.
Wordy (passive): A report on the project was written by the consultant.
Tight (active): The consultant wrote a report on the project.
Wordy (passive): The book was read by everyone in the class.
Tight (active): Everyone in the class read the book.
Wordy (passive): A decision was reached by the committee.
Tight (active): The committee decided.
3. When Passive Obscures Action and Responsibility
This is the famous problem with passive voice in political and corporate communication. Passive allows the writer to describe events without naming the actors, which can be deliberately evasive.
Evasive: The customer's account was compromised.
Direct: We failed to protect the customer's account.
Evasive: Job losses will be experienced.
Direct: We are laying off 500 employees.
Evasive: The regrettable comments were made.
Direct: The senator said the regrettable things.
In journalism and business writing, preferring active forces clarity about who did what. Passive can be a hiding place.
"The passive voice is often the friend of the writer who has something to hide. If your draft is full of passives in sentences where the agent matters, ask whether you are dodging a claim you should be making." Bryan Garner, Garner's Modern English Usage
4. When Passive Creates Confusing Sentence Structure
Chains of passives create sentences where the reader cannot tell who is doing what.
Confusing (passive chain):
The report was reviewed by the committee before being submitted to the board, after which it was revised and resubmitted.
Clearer (active):
The committee reviewed the report, submitted it to the board, then revised and resubmitted it.
Multiple passives in one sentence usually means the writer is relying on the construction as a default. Break the chain.
How to Identify the Passive Voice
A reliable test: look for a form of "to be" (is, was, were, been, being, are, am) followed by a past participle (typically ending in -ed, -en, -n, -t). If you can add "by zombies" and the sentence still makes sense, it is probably passive.
The report was finalized. (By zombies? Yes. Passive.)
The committee finalized the report. (By zombies? No. Active.)
The cake was eaten. (By zombies? Yes. Passive.)
The children ate the cake. (By zombies? No. Active.)
This "zombies test" is widely taught and works in most cases. It fails only with a few state-of-being constructions that look passive but are not (I was tired, she was happy, the door was open), which describe states rather than actions.
| Construction | Voice | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject performs action | Active | The dog bit the mailman. |
| Subject receives action | Passive | The mailman was bitten. |
| Subject describes state | Neither (copular) | The dog was happy. |
| Progressive passive | Passive | The dog was being walked. |
| Perfect passive | Passive | The dog has been walked. |
Passive vs Active: A Side-by-Side Editing Exercise
Read each passive sentence. Decide whether to leave it or convert it to active.
- The report was written by the consultant last month.
- Mistakes were made in the accounting department.
- The bridge was built in 1952.
- It was decided that the meeting should be postponed.
- The manuscript has been reviewed by three external experts.
- Our data were collected at two field sites.
- A raise was given to every employee.
- The prize will be awarded on Friday.
Suggested answers:
- Convert to active: "The consultant wrote the report last month." The agent matters and is named.
- Convert to active: "The accounting department made mistakes" or "We made mistakes in accounting." Passive is evasive here.
- Leave as passive: The agent (builders) is obvious and unimportant. The focus is on the bridge and date.
- Convert to active: "The leadership decided to postpone the meeting." Passive hides the decision-maker.
- Leave as passive or convert to active. Both work. "Three external experts have reviewed the manuscript" emphasizes the experts. The passive emphasizes the manuscript. Choose based on context.
- Leave as passive: Scientific convention and focus on the data, not the researchers.
- Convert to active: "The company gave every employee a raise." The agent is important.
- Leave as passive: The agent (the committee) is obvious from context and not central.
Scientific and Academic Writing: The Passive Case
Scientific writing has historically favored the passive voice because the focus is on methods and results, not on the researcher. The construction "we observed X" shifts attention to the researcher; "X was observed" keeps it on the phenomenon.
However, the convention is changing. Major journals including Nature and Science now accept active voice and often prefer it. The argument: active voice produces shorter, clearer sentences and forces the author to acknowledge their role.
Traditional scientific passive:
Samples were collected from three sites. Data were analyzed using regression. A significant relationship was observed.
Modern scientific active:
We collected samples from three sites, analyzed the data using regression, and observed a significant relationship.
Both are acceptable. In the humanities and social sciences, the shift toward active voice is more advanced. In physical sciences, passive is still common. Match the convention of your field and your target publication.
"The old advice that scientific writing must be impersonal is not a grammar rule. It is a convention that is fading. Active voice is clearer, shorter, and more honest about who did what. Most scientific writing is better in active voice." Helen Sword, Stylish Academic Writing
Legal and Regulatory Writing
Legal writing uses passive voice more than most other genres because it often describes actions and requirements without specifying the actor.
Legal passive: The form must be signed and submitted by the deadline.
(The agent is general; anyone filing the form.)
Legal passive: Bids will be evaluated on the basis of the criteria listed.
(The agent is the procurement committee, but naming them in every sentence is unnecessary.)
Legal active: The purchaser shall pay the deposit within 30 days.
(The agent is central and must be named.)
Good legal writing alternates between active and passive based on whether the agent is specified or general. Blanket avoidance of passive is as wrong as overuse.
The Stylistic Test: Does It Flow?
After you have written a draft, read it aloud. Mark every passive construction. For each one, ask three questions:
- Does the passive preserve the topic of the surrounding sentences? Keep it.
- Does the passive omit an agent that the reader needs to know? Change it.
- Does the active version sound forced or wordier? Keep the passive.
This is the editing discipline that separates thoughtful writers from those who follow a rule book blindly. Passive is a choice, not a default.
Passive in Creative Writing
Novelists use passive voice strategically. A sentence like "The letter was delivered to the house at midnight" creates mystery because the agent is unnamed. Active ("The postman delivered the letter at midnight") flattens the scene.
Passive can evoke a sense of fate, anonymity, or inevitability. Active conveys agency and force. Great writers use both, modulating between them to shape the mood of a scene.
Active (urgent, present): He pulled the trigger.
Passive (distant, reflective): The trigger was pulled.
Active (immediate): She opened the letter.
Passive (ominous): The letter was opened.
Summary Table: Passive Yes or Passive No
| Situation | Preferred Voice |
|---|---|
| Agent unknown | Passive |
| Agent unimportant | Passive |
| Agent obvious | Passive |
| Agent important | Active |
| Maintaining topic consistency | Passive or active (whichever preserves subject) |
| Concision required | Active |
| Hiding responsibility | Avoid passive |
| Scientific method description | Passive or active (field convention) |
| Legal general action | Passive |
| Legal specific duty | Active |
| Political accountability | Active |
| Creating mystery or distance | Passive |
Practical Edit: Passive-to-Active in Three Steps
When you decide to convert a passive to active, follow three steps:
- Identify the agent (the "by" phrase, or figure out who is doing the action).
- Move the agent to the subject position.
- Adjust the verb form (drop "to be," use the active verb form).
Step 1: "The novel was finished by the author last spring."
Agent: the author.
Step 2: "The author... [did what?] the novel last spring."
Step 3: "The author finished the novel last spring."
This works almost mechanically. The only cases where it fails are when the agent is genuinely unknown or the passive serves a rhetorical purpose.
Where Passive Mastery Fits in Professional Writing
The passive voice is one of the quiet tests of writing craft. Overuse signals a writer who is hiding or padding. Avoidance on principle signals a writer following rules without understanding. Deliberate use signals a writer making real choices sentence by sentence.
For related writing-level guides, see our articles on transition words, complex vs compound sentences, and subject-verb agreement. Professionals working on writing-heavy certifications can find structured practice at Pass4Sure, and the cognitive research on how voice affects reading comprehension and memory is summarized on What's Your IQ. For businesses producing large volumes of reports, the document handling tools at File Converter Free simplify the move from draft to final format once the voice decisions are settled.
A final practice: pick a draft of your own writing and circle every passive construction. For each one, ask whether the choice is deliberate. If it is, leave it. If it is not, rewrite. You will probably find that 30 to 50 percent of your passives were unintentional and that fixing them sharpens your prose considerably. The remaining passives will be stronger for having survived the scrutiny.
References
Pinker, S. (2014). The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century. Viking. https://stevenpinker.com/publications/sense-style
Garner, B. A. (2022). Garner's Modern English Usage (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. https://www.oup.com/academic
Sword, H. (2012). Stylish Academic Writing. Harvard University Press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674064485
Strunk, W., and White, E. B. (2000). The Elements of Style (4th ed.). Allyn and Bacon. https://www.pearson.com/
Williams, J. M., and Bizup, J. (2016). Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (12th ed.). Pearson. https://www.pearson.com/
Orwell, G. (1946). "Politics and the English Language." Horizon. https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/
Huddleston, R., and Pullum, G. K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316423530
Purdue Online Writing Lab. Active and Passive Voice. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/active_and_passive_voice/
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the passive voice in simple terms?
In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action rather than performs it. 'The cake was eaten' is passive; 'The child ate the cake' is active. The structure is a form of 'to be' plus a past participle.
Is the passive voice always bad?
No. The passive voice is a legitimate grammatical construction that is sometimes the best choice, especially when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious. The rule against passive voice is an oversimplification of the real principle: choose the voice that serves the sentence.
When should I use the passive voice?
Use it when the agent is unknown or unimportant, when the receiver of the action is the topic, when scientific or legal convention requires it, when the agent is obvious from context, or when you want to maintain a consistent topic across linked sentences.
When should I avoid the passive voice?
Avoid it when the agent is important and should be named, when it adds unnecessary words, when it hides responsibility, or when it creates confusing sentence chains. These are the contexts where active voice is clearer and more direct.
How do I test whether a sentence is passive?
Look for a form of 'to be' (is, was, been, being) followed by a past participle. A simpler test: if you can add 'by zombies' after the verb and the sentence still makes sense, it is probably passive.
Why do scientific papers use so much passive voice?
Scientific writing has traditionally used passive voice to focus on methods and results rather than the researcher. The convention is changing. Many modern journals accept or prefer active voice ('we measured') for clarity and brevity.
Is it 'The decision was made' or 'We made the decision' in business writing?
Active is usually stronger in business writing: 'We made the decision.' Passive constructions like 'the decision was made' can seem evasive because they hide the decision-maker. Reserve passive for cases where the agent genuinely does not matter.