The Two Voices
Active voice — the subject does the action:
The cat chased the mouse.
Passive voice — the subject receives the action:
The mouse was chased by the cat.
How to Change Active → Passive
- 1
Identify the object of the active sentence
The chef cooked the meal.
Object = the meal - 2
The object becomes the new subject
The meal was cooked…
- 3
Change the verb to be + past participle
cooked → was cooked
- 4
Add 'by + original subject' (optional)
The meal was cooked by the chef.
Passive in Different Tenses
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | People speak English. | English is spoken. |
| Past simple | They built the bridge. | The bridge was built. |
| Present perfect | She has cleaned the room. | The room has been cleaned. |
| Future | They will announce the results. | The results will be announced. |
When Writers Choose the Passive
- Unknown doer: The bank was robbed last night.
- Unimportant doer: The package was delivered this morning.
- Formal writing: It has been decided that…
- Focus on action/result: The virus was identified by scientists in 2019.
In everyday speech and writing, active voice is usually clearer and more direct. Use passive only when there is a good reason.
Real world: journalism and news articles
A news headline reads: "Three people were injured in a road accident" (passive). The writer uses passive because the focus is on the victims, not who caused the accident (which may be unknown). In journalism, passive voice directs the reader's attention to the event or the affected person, not necessarily the agent.
Real world: science writing
A lab report states: "The solution was heated to 80°C and then filtered." Scientists use passive to focus on the experiment, not the experimenter. Saying "I heated the solution" is too personal for formal scientific writing. The passive creates the impersonal, objective tone expected in academic and scientific documents worldwide.
Real world: product labels
A shampoo bottle reads: "For best results, hair should be washed daily. Product is suitable for all hair types." Product labels use passive because the manufacturer (doer) is irrelevant — what matters is the instruction or property. Passive makes the instruction feel universally applicable rather than directed at one specific person.
Practice Problems
Change to passive: 'The students wrote the answers on the board.'
Show answer
Change to active: 'Three goals were scored by our team in the second half.'
Show answer
Why is passive used in this sentence? 'The ancient temple was built around 300 BC.'