What makes a voice passive or active?
In the active voice, the object of the sentence is clearly defined by the verb “The dog bit the boy”; in the passive voice the subject of the sentence takes precedence “The boy was bit by the dog”. In this example we can clearly see the dog doing the biting in the active form, whereas the passive voice clouds the action by drawing our attention to the boy. An active voce sentence is Subject+Verb+Object. In a passive voice, the Object takes prominence such as Object+Verb [past tense]+(by)+Subject.
Active represents the “doing”, who does the action; passive uses some form of “to be” followed by a past participle (verb ending in “ed” or equivalent). The “to be” can be in the form of is, are, am , was, were, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been, being. Watch the meaning of these verbs though before labeling a sentence passive – “He HAS to do the dishes” marks something he MUST do; “She is driven” is the state of mind.
The passive voice may not be as clear in the story – “The family was fed” by whom? vs. “Dad fed the family”. Or “The village was taught how to plant crops” by whom? vs “The missionaries taught the villagers how to plant crops”. The focus, or the action/achievement is taken away from the true object of the sentence )dad and the missionaries).
Most editors favor the active voice in a story, however there are times when using the passive voice is preferred. If the intention is to obscure the thought such as a politician saying “Mistakes were made” (without laying specific blame) or to imply some mystery as in “They were being watched”, then passive is correct. If you are reporting on an unsolved crime then you don’t know WHO did the act so it is appropriate to say “the store was robbed”. Scientists are often encouraged to report their findings in a passive voice so that they sound objective in their writing.
To summarize what we’ve learned above: Remember that in the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. Use of the passive voice is not a grammatical error, there are times when it is in your best interest to keep the subject hidden or vague. Even the first person narrative can be in the passive voice, “I was struck by a mugger”.
You can usually turn a passive sentence into an active one by simply changing the order of the words and placing the object in front of the verb with the subject (target) following.
Writing exercise - Change the passive sentences into active:
1) The road was crossed by the chicken.
2) The swimmer was bitten by the shark.
3) The money was put on the counter by the woman.
4) The electricity will be shut off by the utility company.
5) The game was played by the children.
Writing prompt – Finish these sentences:
1) My greatest flaw…
2) No one…
3) My worst fear is…
4) I was arrested because…
5) My worst day began with…
