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Ever feel like your stories and articles are a bit slow-paced and wordy?
If so, that’s probably because you’re using passive voice.
Don’t worry—everyone does it.
But if you want to captivate your readers and keep them turning pages, you need to switch to active voice.
What’s the difference?
Active voice: The subject performs the action. It’s direct, dynamic, and engaging.
Passive voice: The action is performed on the subject. It’s indirect, sluggish, and often confusing.
Consider these simple examples:
Active: The cat chased the mouse.
Passive: The mouse was chased by the cat.
Which one grabs you more?
The active voice, of course!
It’s straightforward and less wordy.
Why is active voice better?
Well, for a number of reasons.
Reason #1. Clarity and Precision
Active sentences are clear and to the point.
They tell you exactly who is doing what.
No guesswork needed.
Reason #2. Engagement
Active voice pulls readers in.
It makes your writing more lively and compelling.
Reason #3. Brevity
Active sentences are often shorter and more concise.
Who doesn’t love a lean, mean sentence?
Here’s a quick trick to identify passive voice: look for a form of “to be” (is, are, was, were) followed by a past participle (usually a verb ending in -ed).
If you find this structure, you’re likely dealing with passive voice.
Let’s look at some transformations:
Passive: The book was read by millions.
Active: Millions read the book.
Passive: The cake was eaten by the children.
Active: The children ate the cake.
See the difference?
The active voice puts the subject front and center, making your sentences more powerful.
Of course, passive voice has its place.
Sometimes you might want to emphasize the action over the doer, or you might not know who performed the action.
But use passive voice sparingly.
Here are some times when you might need it:
#1. An Unknown Doer: The vase was broken. (We don’t know who did it.)
#2. Emphasis is on Action: The experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis. (The focus is on the experiment, not who conducted it.)
#3. A Formal Tone: Passive voice can add a level of formality to your writing, which might be useful in academic or scientific papers.
But for most of your writing, stick with active voice.
It’s the best way to make your writing vibrant and engaging.
So, next time you’re drafting a story or an article, check your sentences.
Are they active and dynamic?
Or passive and dull?
Make the switch to active voice and watch your writing come alive.
Try it!
And for more writing tips and resources, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge, and visit WritebytheSea.com for daily posts about writing.
Suzanne Lieurance is the author of more than 40 published books, a freelance writer, and Law of Attraction Coach for Writers.
3 comments:
Suzanne,
Thank you for these excellent and specific examples of passive vs active. Much of acadamic writing is in passive tense (where I was writing many years ago). The switch is an important lesson for every writer to capture and incorporate into their writing.
Terry
author of Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success (Revised Edition) [Follow the Link for a FREE copy]
Suzanne, in my #TheFrugalEditor, i tell my readers that passive voice is handy when writers want to hide something. It can be used, for instance, to help characterize a devious personality!😊 When I was teaching for UCLA, I learned that, thinking of it this way added a dimension that made it more memorable for my students….
Best ,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Suzanne, thanks for these easy to understand explanations and examples of using active writing rather than passive writing.
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