Active Versus Passive Voice Purdue OWL® (2024)

FAQs

What is active vs passive voice answers? ›

Active voice occurs when a clear subject performs a clear action. Passive voice occurs when one uses a “to-be” verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) with a past tense verb. Sentences with “to-be” verbs are passive because they describe an object rather than show action.

APA recommends the active voice for clarity. However, the passive voice may be used, with intention, to remove the emphasis on the subject and also as a method for varying sentence structure.

When the actor (and the actor can be a person or object) comes before the action in a sentence, you have active voice. When the actor comes after the action or when the actor is completely absent from the sentence, you have passive voice. What are some examples of active and passive voice?

Passive sentences can get you into trouble in academic writing because they can be vague about who is responsible for the action: Both Othello and Iago desire Desdemona. She is courted.

You can combine the active and passive voice within a document and occasionally within sentences. It is recommended (passive) that the Board vote (active) for the proposal.

In scientific writing, we use both voices to write clear and coherent research articles. Although many scientists overuse the passive voice, most scientific journals (e.g. Science and Nature) actually encourage active voice.

Answer : The sentence, “Has anybody answered your questions?”, is in active voice. However, the passive voiced form of this sentence shall be, “Have your questions been answered by anybody?”.

What is a trick to identify passive voice? ›

One way to spot passive verbs in your writing is to look for “be” verbs. “Be” verbs include be, am, are, is, been, being, was, and were. Often, but not always, a “be” verb signals a passive verb. Look for a “by” phrase.

In the active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb, while in passive voice, the subject receives the action. Look at the difference in the following two sentences: The cat scratched Joanna. Joanna was scratched by the cat.

What is active voice, what is passive voice, and what's the difference? In the active voice, the sentence's subject performs the action on the action's target. In the passive voice, the target of the action is the main focus, and the verb acts upon the subject.

In the simplest terms, an active voice sentence is written in the form of “A does B.” (For example, “Carmen sings the song.”) A passive voice sentence is written in the form of “B is done by A.” (For example, “The song is sung by Carmen.”) Both constructions are grammatically sound and correct.

In writing, always consider whether you should use the passive or active voice. It will depend on what you, the writer, want to convey: if you want to draw attention to the doer, use the passive voice; if your intent is to put the focus on the action, then you should go for the active voice.

When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject performs the action; in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. In academic writing, it is generally preferred to choose an active verb and pair it with a subject that names the person or thing doing or performing the action.

An active approach response was defined as reaching for, touching, or manipulating the stimulus. A passive approach response included turning one's head or body toward the stimulus, looking at the stimulus, or happiness indicators such as smiling and laughing (Green & Reid, 1996).

What is the Active Voice? – Meaning and Definition. The active voice, in a sentence, denotes that the noun or pronoun that acts as the subject in the sentence is the doer of the action. In other words, the subject performs the action or acts upon the verb.