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Take a sentence like “I want ice cream now.” It’s clear and straightforward—you know immediately that the subject, I, wants an object, ice cream. Now, recast this sentence, flipping it so that the object is in the position of the subject: “Ice cream is wanted by me now.” It isn’t just longer, but it’s also more detached, roundabout, and a little awkward, too.

Those two sentences are examples of the active voice and the passive voice. Certain kinds of writing are best suited for the active voice, while the passive voice is most appropriate for other kinds of writing. Understanding how, when, and why to use each is key to being an effective writer and speaker.

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Active and passive are the two grammatical voices in English. Neither is inherently better than the other, but each is suited to certain types of writing. There’s a reason why news anchors sound detached from the stories they’re reporting: They often speak using the passive voice. There’s also a reason why the authors of opinion pieces sound so sure of their positions: They usually write in the active voice.

Although the idea of teachers telling their students to avoid the passive voice is repeated so frequently that it feels like a trope, the truth is that the passive voice does have its applications.

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Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

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Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

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Active: The hunter killed the lion.

Passive: The lion was killed by the hunter.

Active: Someone has cleaned the windows.

Passive: The windows have been cleaned.

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When should you use active vs. passive voice?

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When should you use active vs. passive voice?

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Use the active voice in any sentence that focuses on the doer of the action. Unless the majority of your writing is scientific or reporting incidents involving unknown perpetrators, most of the sentences you write should be in the active voice.

The passive voice is meant for sentences where you need to emphasize the target of an action or the action itself rather than who or what is performing the verb.

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Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

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Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

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If we want to show the person or thing doing the action, we use by:

She was attacked by a dangerous dog.

The money was stolen by her husband.

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We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive:

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We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive:

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Be careful with that glass. It might get broken.

Peter got hurt in a crash.

We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:

Active: I gave him a book for his birthday.

Passive: He was given a book for his birthday.

Active: Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros.

Passive: She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros.

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We can use phrasal verbs in the passive: 

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We can use phrasal verbs in the passive: 

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Active: They called off the meeting.

Passive: The meeting was called off.

Active: His grandmother looked after him.

Passive: He was looked after by his grandmother.

Active: They will send him away to school.

Passive: He will be sent away to school.