The passive voice, conversely, occurs when the object is acted upon by the subject of the sentence.

For example, “The cake was baked by Julie.” In this case, the object (cake) receives the action (baked), which is carried out by the subject (Julie).

One indicator of a passive voice sentence is the presence of a “be” verb followed by a past participle. However, a sentence can still be in the active voice even if it contains a form of the “be” verb. For instance, “I am eating a pie” is in the active voice, despite using the “be” verb (“am”). Additionally, the absence of an object can signal the passive voice, although it is also possible to have an active sentence without an object.

When should you use the active or passive voice?

Some believe sentences should be written in the active voice whenever possible, as it often makes writing more concise. As seen in the example above, the passive voice typically requires more words and can sound awkward or vague if used improperly, especially when the subject is implied but not specifically mentioned.

However, this does not mean that the passive voice should be avoided entirely. It has valuable applications, particularly in fiction writing. Many authors, especially in the mystery genre, use the passive voice to hide key details and maintain suspense in their stories.

The passive voice is also commonly used in scientific and academic writing. Although there has been a shift toward allowing scientists to discuss their actions in experiments, the passive voice is still favored in these fields to maintain objectivity. By not emphasizing the actor, it focuses on the actions taken and the results achieved.

In writing, always consider whether to use the active or passive voice based on your intent. If your goal is to highlight the doer of the action, use the passive voice. If you want to emphasize the action itself, then the active voice is the better choice.