Active Voice and Passive

 

Passive voice should be avoided when you want more clarity in writing. However, in some cases, you need to use passive voice to stress the action, not the actor. Also, passive voice can be considered more polite, as it sounds less aggressive or dramatic.

• That building was built in 1990.
• The car was invented about a hundred years ago.
• I was told that Mary moved to a different country.
• Your business is appreciated.
• She was elected to city council.
• It was rumored that the company would lay off a few people soon.
• It is recommended that the billing process be shortened.

You can easily rewrite an active sentence to a passive sentence. The object in the active sentence becomes a subject in the passive sentence. The verb is changed to a “be” verb + past participle. The subject of the active sentence follows by or is omitted.

• Sam wrote a letter to Jamie.
• A letter was written to Jamie by Sam.



• The government built a new bridge.
• A new bridge was built by the government.



• I recommend that you apply for this position.
• It is recommended that you apply for this position.