Download What is the active voice?

What is the active voice?
A sentence is in the active voice when the
subject does the acting instead of being
the recipient of the acting.
Active: Jim wrote a report on the study.
Passive: The study report was written by
Jim.
What is an active verb?
A verb that conveys action—as opposed
to a verb that merely links the subject to
a thought.
Active: Jim tossed the report away.
Linking: Jim was tired of the report.
Active Verbs (Active Voice) Versus
Passive Verbs (Passive Voice)
• Active verbs express meaning more emphatically
and vigorously than their weaker counterparts—
forms of the verb be or verbs in the passive voice.
• Forms of the verb be (is, am, are, be, being, been,
were was,) lack vigor because they convey no
action.
• Verbs in the passive voice lack strength because
their subjects receive the action instead of doing it.
The active voice is generally stronger.
Both kinds of verbs are useful in
writing. That’s why we have both.
But, unless you’re a diplomat or
bureaucrat or some other kind of weasel,
you need to rely on the active voice more
than the passive.
Compare passages in the active and
passive voices to see for yourself which is
more effective.
Stay away from the hot wire. It can kill you.
The hot wire should be avoided. You can be
killed by it.
Who’s doing it?
To change a sentence from the passive to the active voice,
determine carefully who or what is performing the action…
The whistle was sounded by the referee.
At twilight, the little house could hardly be seen by
passersby.
The ball was tossed high into the air
Wait…Who is doing it?
Sometimes the performer of the action does not appear in
a passive-voice sentence. (This is popular with politicians)
Example:
Passive: Results will be published in the next issue
of the journal.
Active: The researchers will publish their results in
the next issue of the journal.
Why bother?
Quit trying to up the word count
Example:
Original: Burying nuclear waste in Antarctica would be in
violation of an international treaty.
Revised: Burying nuclear waste in Antarctica would violate
an international treaty.
The meeting is being held by the human resources
department.
It’s a great honor to be applying to a prestigious
company.