Ever felt your writing was polite but flat? You’re one sentence away from fixing that. Ready to make every sentence punchier? Keep reading and you’ll learn the exact steps to swap out passive phrasing for active power.
What Is Passive Voice?
Passive voice occurs when the sentence’s subject isn’t performing the action; instead, it is receiving it. Keep in mind that the verb is still there and the action is still happening. But the sentence takes the long way around.
Here’s a basic breakdown:
- Active voice: The subject acts.
- Example: The dog chased the cat.
- Passive voice: The subject is acted upon.
- Example: The cat was chased by the dog.
So, is it wrong to use passive voice? Technically, it’s not grammatically incorrect. It’s just not the most effective way to say something unless you have a specific reason to be vague or diplomatic.
For example, “Mistakes were made” is technically correct, but we’re not naming who made them. And that’s usually the problem.
How can you tell that you have a sentence written in passive voice? Look out for these signs:
- A form of “to be” (was, is, are, were, etc.)
- A past participle verb (eaten, seen, built, etc.)
- A “by” phrase (though not always)
When you spot these signs together, your sentence might be passive.
What’s Wrong With Passive Voice?
Here are the main reasons passive sentences drag your writing:
- Weak emphasis on the doer
- Extra words that slow reading
- Indirect tone that feels distant
- Clarity issues about who acts
- Reduced energy in storytelling
What Is Active Voice and Why Is It Better?
Active voice places the subject before the verb, making your writing clear and dynamic. Example:
- Passive: The report was submitted by the team.
- Active: The team submitted the report.
Active voice benefits:
- Emphasizes the actor in the sentence
- Removes unnecessary filler words
- Speeds up reading and comprehension
- Creates a more engaging tone
- Strengthens your writing’s impact
How to Change Passive Voice to Active Voice (Manually)
Shifting from passive to active is straightforward once you know the steps. Below is a guide that you can follow, accompanied by examples to illustrate.
1. Spot the Passive Construction
Look for a form of “to be” plus a past participle.
Example: The book was read by students.
2. Identify the Actor and the Action
Ask: Who performed this action? What did they do?
- Actor: students
- Action: read
- Object: the book
3. Flip the Order
Make the actor the subject, then the verb, then the object.
Example: Students read the book.
4. Adjust the Tense if Needed
If the original tense doesn’t match, tweak the verb form.
For example:
- Passive (future): A decision will be made by the board.
- Active: The board will make a decision.
5. Tweak Any Modifiers
Ensure adjectives or adverbs still make sense after the change.
- Passive: The proposal was carefully reviewed by the team.
- Active: The team carefully reviewed the proposal.
The Faster Way: AI Prompt for Passive Voice to Active Voice Converter
If you’d rather speed things up, you can use an AI prompt to handle the swap for you. Simply feed this prompt to ChatGPT or another AI tool for quicker conversion from passive to active voice.
You are a proofreader. Your task is to identify all sentences written in passive voice and change them into active voice. Adjust modifiers and tenses if needed.
Here is my text: [insert sentence/paragraph]Own Every Sentence
And there you have it! Converting passive voice to active voice is pretty straightforward. But just in case you are in a pinch, you can always ask ChatGPT to convert passive voice sentences for you!