#WHICH SENTENCE USES THE ACTIVE VOICE HOW TO#

(Here, 'the dog' is the subject of the sentence. When do you use passive voice? Have any effective examples? Let me know in the comments.Note that, in each of these examples of active sentences, the subject (the shaded text) is performing the action of the verb (the bold text). Remember to use the passive voice in moderation, as too much of it is exhausting to read. You'll find some instances where passive voice is actually the best choice. Determining which to use comes down to your own style choices.Īs you edit, consider what you want your readers to focus on and how you want them to engage with your writing. Ultimately, both active voice and passive voice are grammatically correct. (Although if you were standing in that pantry, your focus would probably be on the mold.) It's a Style Choice The focus in this sentence is on the fruit, not the mold. If the main point of the sentence is the noun that receives the action, use the passive voice to foreground it.Īll the fruit in the pantry is covered in mold.

When you want your readers to focus on the object of the action The experiment with the eggs is the important bit mentioning the person who did it would be distracting. In this experiment, the eggs were placed in vinegar overnight. If it's not helpful for your readers to know who performed the action, use the passive voice and don't mention them.

When the person who did the action isn't important The plate didn't fall on its own-it was dropped on the floor.īut who dropped the plate? No one knows. If you don't know who did the action, it's difficult to use the active voice. Here are three times you should use passive voice: 1. That said, you'll encounter occasions in your writing when the passive voice is actually a better choice than the active voice. Cut the fluff and tighten your prose with active voice. Sentences in active voice are often shorter than their passive-voice counterparts. (Also, we could get more precise by sharing specifics about “people,” but that's another lesson.)

“Country music is sometimes hated” conveys less information than “People sometimes hate country music.” You could expand it to say “Country music is sometimes hated by people,” but that makes the sentence more clunky. “Beth stubbed her toe” is more clear, direct, and interesting than “The toe was stubbed by Beth.” Get straight to the point and engage your readers with active voice. Active voice has quite a few advantages over passive voice. That's a dead giveaway that the sentence is in passive voice.Īs a general rule, you should use active voice whenever possible. Note that in each sentence, there is a form of to be + a past participle. Instead of considering the opinions of some people, we're focusing on country music. Instead of thinking about John, we're focusing on the pie. Instead of thinking about Beth, now we're focusing on her toe. Now, the nouns receiving the actions are the subjects of these sentences. Let's use the passive voice in our examples from above: It will feel like the subject is either delayed or missing. (If this explanation is confusing, brush up on subjects and objects here.) What Is Passive Voice?Ī sentence is in the passive voice when the subject receives the action. Her toe receives the stubbing (and hurts a lot). In each of these sentences, the subject does or performs the action of the verb, and the object of the sentence receives that action. Ready? What Is Active Voice?Ī sentence in the active voice has a traditional sentence structure: subject + verb + object.

#WHICH SENTENCE USES THE ACTIVE VOICE HOW TO#

If you're still confused, let's look at some examples that will help you see the difference, and then look at how to use each type of sentence to its best effect. (This should not be confused with author voice which is more about the personality and style of a writer throughout their work. In this case, grammatical voice refers to the verb form used in relationship with the subject and receiver of the action. passive voice and when to use each.įirst off, let's understand what we mean when we're talking about “voice” in a passive sentence versus an active voice sentence. You've probably heard people decry the use of the passive voice.

Which sentence uses the active voice