Key Points

✓In passive voice, the subject receives the action.
✓Passive voice uses a form of 'to be' + past participle.
✓Active voice is usually stronger and clearer.
✓Passive voice can be useful when the actor is unknown or unimportant.
✓Be careful not to overuse passive voice.

The passive voice is a way of writing sentences where the subject receives the action, instead of performing it. In active voice, the subject does the action (e.g., 'The dog chased the ball'). In passive voice, the ball is acted upon (e.g., 'The ball was chased by the dog'). Passive voice is formed using a form of the verb 'to be' (is, are, was, were, been, being) plus the past participle of the main verb. While not always wrong, overuse of passive voice can make your writing sound weak or unclear. It's often better to use active voice for stronger, more direct writing.

Worked Example

Change the following sentence from active to passive voice: 'The cat ate the mouse.'

Step 1: Identify the subject (cat), verb (ate), and object (mouse).
Step 2: Make the object (mouse) the new subject.
Step 3: Use the correct form of 'to be' (was) and the past participle of the verb (eaten).
Step 4: Add 'by' + the original subject (cat) to show who performed the action.

Answer: The mouse was eaten by the cat.

Try It Yourself

1. Change the following sentence to passive voice: 'The chef cooked the dinner.'

2. Rewrite the following sentence in active voice: 'The window was broken by the wind.'

3. Rewrite the following paragraph, changing all passive voice sentences to active voice: 'Mistakes were made by the team. The project was delayed by the errors. A solution was found by the manager after a long meeting.'

Watch Out For These Mistakes

Using passive voice when active voice would be clearer and more direct.
Forgetting to include 'by' + the actor when it's important to know who performed the action.
Using the wrong form of 'to be' with the past participle.