Every grammar checker flags passive voice like it's a crime. Most writers know they're "supposed to" use active voice without really understanding why — or when passive is actually the right choice. Here's the full picture.
# The Core Difference
In an active sentence, the subject does the action. In a passive sentence, the subject receives it — or the actor disappears entirely.
The report was written by Sarah.
Sarah wrote the report.
Mistakes were made.
The team made mistakes.
Notice the second example. Passive voice is the natural home of vague accountability. "Mistakes were made" is the political non-apology in sentence form — the actor has been erased entirely. Active voice forces you to say who did what.
# How to Spot Passive Voice
Two reliable signals:
1. A form of "to be" + past participle. Look for: is/was/were/has been/had been followed by a verb ending in -ed or -en. "The decision was made." "The file has been deleted." "The policy was implemented."
2. "By" introducing the actor after the verb. "The project was completed by the team." If you can move the "by" phrase to the front and restructure, it's passive.
Try adding "by zombies" after the verb. "The form must be submitted... by zombies." If it works grammatically, it's passive. Active voice sentences reject the zombie test — "She submitted the form by zombies" makes no sense.
# Why Active Voice Is Usually Better
## It's shorter
Passive constructions almost always use more words. "The report was reviewed by the manager" (8 words) vs "The manager reviewed the report" (5 words). Across a whole document that adds up to significant length — and every extra word is friction.
## It's clearer
Active voice keeps the actor visible. Readers know immediately who is doing what. Passive voice can create ambiguity — especially in instructions. "The button should be pressed" leaves it unclear who presses it. "Press the button" does not.
## It's more direct
Passive voice creates distance between the writer and the statement. Active voice closes that distance. In persuasive writing, marketing copy, and anything where confidence matters, that directness reads as authority.
# When Passive Voice Is Actually Correct
Passive voice isn't wrong — it's a tool with specific legitimate uses.
| Use Case | Example | Why Passive Works |
|---|---|---|
| Actor is unknown | "The window was broken." | You genuinely don't know who did it |
| Actor is irrelevant | "The data is updated nightly." | Who updates it doesn't matter to the reader |
| Actor is obvious | "He was arrested." | Police arrested him — stating it adds nothing |
| Scientific writing | "The samples were heated to 200°C." | Convention; focuses on method not researcher |
| Emphasising the object | "Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize." | Einstein is the topic, not the committee |
| Avoiding blame | "The deadline was missed." | Sometimes tactically appropriate (use sparingly) |
# Common Passive Voice Patterns to Watch For
It has been decided that further action will be taken with respect to the matter that was raised.
We've decided to act on the issue you raised.
The form should be completed and returned to the office by Friday.
Complete the form and return it to the office by Friday.
The budget was overspent and errors were introduced into the forecast.
The finance team overspent the budget and introduced errors into the forecast.
# The Real Rule
The advice to "avoid passive voice" is shorthand for "don't use passive voice by default." Most passive sentences in everyday writing are passive out of habit, not intention. When you choose passive deliberately — because the actor is unknown, irrelevant, or because you're following a convention — it's perfectly valid.
The test is always: is there a good reason this sentence is passive? If you can't name one, make it active. If you can, leave it.
Check your grade level and readability score as you edit — a shift to active voice typically drops your Flesch-Kincaid score by 1–2 grades.
$ open readcalc.com →