Use the word active voice in a sentence

Активный залог (active voice) показывает, что лицо или предмет, выраженное подлежащим, само производит действие.

Что такое залог в английском языке

Для начала давайте рассмотрим, что такое залог, и зачем он нужен в английском языке.

Залог выражает отношение к действию, то есть он показывает:

• человек/предмет сам совершает действие (я принес письмо)
• человек/предмет испытывает действие кого-то на себе (письмо принесли)

В английском языке выделяют два вида залога:

• Активный залог (Active voice) – действующее лицо само совершает действия.

Клиенты подписали договор (клиенты – действующее лицо, и они совершили определенное действие).

• Пассивный залог (Passive voice) – действующее лицо испытывает на себе действие другого лица.

Договор подписан (договор подписал не сам себя, действие было совершено над ним).

Активный залог (active voice)

Категория залога показывает, производит ли действие лицо (предмет), выраженное существительным или местоимением в функции подлежащего, или же оно само испытывает на себе чье-либо действие.

Активный залог (active voice) показывает, что лицо или предмет, выраженное подлежащим, само производит действие.

• Sam baked a big cake.  /  Сэм испек большой пирог.

В примере выше лицо, выраженное подлежащим (Sam) самостоятельно производит действие (baked), т.е. является активным. Таким образом, можно сказать, что предложение в целом употреблено в активном залоге.

Другие примеры предложений в активном залоге:

• Jeremy opened the present. / Джереми открыл подарок.
• Susan found her car keys. / Сьюзен нашла свои ключи от машины.
• James climbed the ladder. / Джеймс поднялся по лестнице.
• Kate has knitted this sweater herself. / Кейт сама связала этот свитер.

Таблица и примеры

• Active Voice :They usually visit their granny. — Они обычно навещают свою бабулю.
• Passive Voice:Their granny is usually visited. — Их бабулю часто навещают.
• Active Voice:They are visiting their granny now. — Сейчас они навещают свою бабулю.
• Passive Voice:Their granny is being visited now. — Их бабулю сейчас навещают.
• Active Voice:They have just visited their granny — Они только что навестили свою бабулю.
• Passive Voice:Their granny has just been visited. — Их бабулю только что навестили.

Active Voice	Passive voice
The subject comes first in the sentence	The subject comes last in the sentence
Direct and clear sentence structure	The structure becomes less clear
Can be constructed in any form.	Always made with a conjugated form of the verb ‘to be’
Contains an active main verb	Contains the main verb in its past participle form

The active voice is also important in non-fiction. It is present in non-fiction texts such as newspaper articles, recipes, and instruction manuals. The active voice is commonly used here because it makes sentences sound clearer and more direct. It is important in this context as it can be used to create instructions and deliver facts efficiently. Let’s look at an example of this from a newspaper article

The Active Voice in Literature

Can you see the active voice in this extract? We can see that there are four examples of the active voice here. Let’s use the table below to better understand this:

Subject	verb	Object
I	found	her mother’s maid
We	locked	the door
She	wouldn’t let go of	the letter
She	took	it

We can see that the active voice is frequently used in this extract. This makes the paragraph direct and easy for the reader to understand. It is also used to create short bursts of information that provide readers with a clear view of the scene depicted. From this example, we can see how important the active voice is when used in literature.

Sometimes, it’s best to take the direct approach. When we want to do this in grammar, we use the active voice.

The active voice gets straight to the point and tells us who did what in both shorter sentences like I ran and longer ones like I carefully ran to the store in order to buy the last inflatable gorillas they had on sale. If you’ve been writing or speaking English for a while, you’ve probably been using the active voice most of the time without even knowing it. That being the case, it is only fair that we learn a little more about our very active friend and the best ways to use the active voice in our speech and writing.

What is the active voice?

The active voice is one of two “voices” of verbs that we use in writing and speech. A verb is said to be in the active voice when the subject of a sentence or clause is the one performing the action described by the verb. For example, the sentence Rose hugged her sister uses a verb in the active voice because the subject Rose is the one that performed the action described by the verb hugged. Rose is both the subject and the one who did the hugging.

This all sounds simple enough, right? We tend to use verbs in the active voice in so much of our writing and speech, so you should be pretty familiar with using it already. There are no special rules when it comes to using verbs in the active voice: as long as the subject is actually the one performing the action of the verb, the verb is in the active voice.

If the subject is receiving the action rather than performing the action, it is not using the active voice. For example, the sentence Matt was poked by a chimpanzee does not use a verb in the active voice. If you look closely, you will see that the subject Matt is not performing the action described by the verb poked. Matt didn’t poke anything; a chimpanzee poked him. This is an example of a sentence that uses the other voice of verbs: the passive voice. We will explore the difference between the two voices more later.

There’s something else to keep in mind. Both transitive and intransitive verbs can use the active voice. A transitive verb is “a verb accompanied by a direct object and from which a passive can be formed.” For example, in the sentence Jenny kicked the ball, the ball is the direct object because it is the thing that Jenny kicked. Kicked is in the active voice.

Also, as long as the subject is the one performing an action, intransitive verbs can use the active voice, too. For example, both of the following sentences use the active voice:

• The boy walked the dog. (Transitive verb walked.)
• The babies are peacefully sleeping. (Intransitive verb sleep)

In both sentences the subjects (boy and babies) are the performers of the actions (walked and are sleeping).

Although we don’t think of them as describing “actions,” stative verbs refer to emotions and opinions (such as like, belong, or doubt) can also be used in the active voice. In this case, we consider whether or not the figurative action of the subject is targeted toward something else by the verb. Let’s explain with some examples:

• Romeo loves Juliet.
• I think kittens are adorable.

Both of the above sentences use stative verbs in the active voice. However, the subject of each sentence is the one performing the action described by the verb. Looking at it this way, you can see that a sentence like She hates broccoli uses the active voice while the sentence Broccoli is hated by her does not.

Don’t confuse active voice with action verbs. Find out the details about action verbs here.

Examples of active voice

Let’s look at a variety of sentences that use verbs in the active voice. As you read each one, you’ll see that the subject of each sentence or clause is directly performing an action.

• Julian read books by the fireplace.
• Fred, Daphne, and Wilma searched the spooky mansion.
• The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
• The strict teacher ignored the wiley student’s attempts to get out of taking the test.
• The rain poured, the thunder boomed, and the lightning crashed.
• I forgot where I hid my passport.

When do you use active voice?

Generally speaking, the active voice is the preferred voice in formal and academic writing. It is seen as more direct and often makes sentences easier to read or understand. Even in casual speech and writing, the active voice tends to come more naturally to most people. That being said, there are specific instances where the active voice is particularly useful.

When writing shorter sentences

Often, the active voice results in shorter, more direct sentences than the passive voice. You can see this is the following two sentences:

• Active: I saw her. (Three words)
• Passive: She was seen by me. (Five words)

To give sentences a sense of authority

Because the performer of an action cannot be omitted in a sentence that uses the active voice, the active voice often sounds more authoritative. You’ll notice this difference in the following two sentences:

• Active: The president made the decision.
• Passive: The decision was made.

Even if the performer of an action isn’t omitted, the passive voice often sounds weaker and less impactful because it typically shifts the focus away from the performer:

• The decision was made by the president.

To make sentences easier to understand and absorb

As mentioned earlier, the active voice is more direct than the passive voice. As a result, sentences that use the active voice are usually easier to understand than the often rambling and confusing sentences written in passive voice. For example,

• Active: I finished my homework and then met my friends at the mall. They told me that Ashley was going to be late.
• Passive: The homework was finished by me before my friends were met by me at the mall. The fact that Ashley was going to be late was told to me by them.

When should you avoid active voice?

In general, the active voice is rarely considered inappropriate or “wrong.” However, there may be times when the passive voice may be the better option to use.

The performer is unimportant, obvious, or unknown 

If an actor is not known, is unimportant, or is obvious, the passive voice may be used. For example,

• The man was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (The action was obviously performed by a judge.)
• An escaped tiger was seen prowling the city. (It isn’t important who specifically saw the tiger.)
• The car was stolen! (It is unknown who stole the car.)

Avoiding blame

Because the active voice always identifies a performer of an action, it may not be used if a person doesn’t want to assign the blame to someone.

• Active: Travis broke the fence. (Travis is taking the blame.)
• Passive: The fence was broken. (Nobody is taking the blame.)

Shifting the focus of a sentence

By using the passive voice rather than the active voice, we can shift the focus away from the performer of an action and toward the receiver of an action.

• Active: Many important people attended the fancy dinner party. (The focus is on the people.)
• Passive: The fancy dinner party was attended by many important people. (The focus is on the party.)

How to fix passive voice

In general, you will often be warned against using passive voice or told to correct writing or speech that overuses it. Let’s look at an example of a passive voice sentence and then consider how to change it into an active voice sentence.

• Example: The mice are being chased by the hungry cat.

First, identify who or what is actually performing an action. In this sentence, we can see that the hungry cat is the performer. So, the hungry cat will become the subject of our active voice sentence.

Next, we get rid of the verb be and change the past participle into a correctly conjugated verb that agrees with our new subject. In this case, it makes sense to use the verb chase in the present continuous tense: is chasing.

Finally, we make the old subject into the direct object of the new active voice sentence if it makes sense to do so. In this case, the mice will become the direct object.

So, our new active voice sentence looks like this:

• The hungry cat is chasing the mice.

Often, you only need to flip the sentence around like this in order to change passive voice to active voice.  However, you always need to make sure your new sentence follows subject-verb agreement and doesn’t significantly change the meaning.

Is there a time to use the passive voice? Read more about it to find out.

Passive vs. active voice

We have already looked at a lot of the different ways we use passive vs. active voice. The difference between the two voices is:

• In the active voice, the subject is doing something.
• In the passive voice, the subject is having something done to it.

If you keep this big difference in mind, you’ll have a much easier time keeping active voice and passive voice separate.

Here’s a helpful tip: intransitive verbs mainly use the active voice. The reason why makes sense if you think about what intransitive verbs are. They are verbs that show complete actions but are not accompanied by a direct object or form a passive. (Remember that many verbs have both transitive and intransitive senses.) This might be easier to understand with some examples. The following two sentences show a grammatically correct sentence that uses an intransitive verb in the active voice and a nonsensical sentence that attempts to use an intransitive verb in a passive voice sentence.

• Active: The kids are swimming in the river.
• Passive: The kids are being swum in the river.

Let’s finish things up with a short quiz. Take a look at each of the following sentences and see if you can tell if the verb is using the active or passive voice.

1. Diana built a sandcastle.
2. The gold watch was purchased by a suspicious customer.
3. The birds noisily chirped outside my window.
4. My son likes watching cartoons.
5. The lions are being trained to perform impressive stunts.

Make an active choice to improve your grammar

Confused about passive and active voice and their proper use? Let Thesaurus.com Grammar Coach™ guide you! This writing platform uses machine learning technology uniquely designed to catch grammar as well as spelling errors. Plus, Grammar Coach™ Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing.

Answers: 1. Active 2. Passive 3. Active 4. Active 5. Passive

Generally, try to use the active voice whenever possible. Passive voice sentences often use more words, can be vague, and can lead to a tangle of prepositional phrases.

Active vs. passive voice

In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

Active: The candidate believes that Congress must place a ceiling on the budget.
Passive: It is believed by the candidate that a ceiling must be placed on the budget by Congress.

Active: Researchers earlier showed that high stress can cause heart attacks.
Passive: It was earlier demonstrated that heart attacks can be caused by high stress.

Active: The dog bit the man.
Passive: The man was bitten by the dog.

Converting sentences to active voice

Here are some tips and strategies for converting sentences from the passive to the active voice.

• Look for a “by” phrase (e.g., “by the dog” in the last example above). If you find one, the sentence may be in the passive voice. Rewrite the sentence so that the subject buried in the “by” clause is closer to the beginning of the sentence.
• If the subject of the sentence is somewhat anonymous, see if you can use a general term, such as “researchers,” or “the study,” or “experts in this field.”

When to use passive voice

There are sometimes good reasons to use the passive voice.

To emphasize the action rather than the actor

After long debate, the proposal was endorsed by the long-range planning committee.

To keep the subject and focus consistent throughout a passage

The data processing department recently presented what proved to be a controversial proposal to expand its staff. After long debate, the proposal was endorsed by . . . .

To be tactful by not naming the actor

The procedures were somehow misinterpreted.

To describe a condition in which the actor is unknown or unimportant

Every year, thousands of people are diagnosed as having cancer.

To create an authoritative tone

Visitors are not allowed after 9:00 p.m.

1. What is the “voice” in a sentence?

In English, we can use active or passive verbs to determine the focus of a sentence. These form the voices of a sentence: the active voice and the passive voice. Most of the time, we write and speak in the active voice because it is the clearest and easiest way to share information.

In general, teachers encourage students to avoid the passive voice in their writing, though there are exceptions.

2. Active and Passive Verbs

Voice is determined by the way that a verb is used in a sentence- its active form or its passive form.

• An active verb results in the subject doing the action in the sentence
• A passive verb results in the subject being acted upon, formed by the verb “to be” and the past participle form of the main verb in the sentence.

Here is a chart to help you see the difference between the use of active and passive verbs.

Sentences with ACTIVE VERBS	Sentences with PASSIVE VERBS
The fox ate pancakes.	Pancakes were eaten by the fox.
He is eating dinner.	Dinner is being eaten by him.
Today the fox took a test.	Today a test was taken by the fox.
Many foxes can speak Spanish.	Spanish is spoken by many foxes.
I made the cookies.	The cookies were made by me.
Very few people own pet foxes	Pet foxes are owned by very few people.
You can cook popcorn on the stove.	Popcorn can be cooked on the stove.

As you can see, all of the passive sentences include the verb “to be” and the past participle form of the main verb. The active sentences only have the active form of the main verb.

3. Types of Voice

As you now know, a sentence’s verb determines which type of voice it will use: the active or the passive.

a. Active Voice

In English, the best way to write and speak is almost always with the active voice. Basically, the active voice puts emphasis on the most important part of the sentence, so it’s the clearest, most direct way to share information.

With the active voice, the subject acts, so we can say that the subject is being “active.” In other words, the subject does the action to the object: A does B to C. Like this:

• The dog burned the popcorn. Active Voice

Here, the dog (S) burned (V) the popcorn (O). You can see that the verb comes immediately after the subject. Let’s try another:

• He bit my hand. Active Voice

Here, he (S) bites (V) the hand (O); “he” does the action “bite.”

b. Passive Voice

Since we usually write and speak using the active voice, it’s important to know about its opposite: the passive voice. You’ve probably heard that the passive voice is “bad,” but may not know why. The main reason is that the passive voice changes the focus of a sentence by stating its meaning in a less direct way.

With the passive voice, the subject is acted upon, so we can say that the subject is being “passive” in the sentence. It receives the action instead of doing it and “gets” the verb from the object: A gets B by C. Look at these sentences:

• The popcorn was burned by the dog. Passive voice
• The dog burned the popcorn. Active Voice

Here, “popcorn” is the focus because it’s the subject in the sentence: “popcorn” gets “burned” by the dog. But the second sentence is the clearer way to share this information, directly telling who did what.

With the passive voice, sometimes the subject is undefined, so it’s unclear what is “doing” the verb in the sentence, like this:

• My hand was bitten. Passive voice

Here, we don’t know who or what does the biting in the sentence, just that the hand “gets” bitten. This also puts the emphasis of the sentence on “bitten.” Really, the writer wants to say that the hand was bitten by someone. So let’s add an object:

• My hand was bitten by the dog. Passive voice
• The dog bit my hand. Active Voice

Here, we know who did the biting, but it’s still an indirect way of sharing the situation because the hand “gets” bitten by the dog. We can avoid this type of problem by using the active voice.

4. How to Avoid the Passive Voice

As a rule, the best way to form a successful sentence is by using the active voice. While the passive voice is grammatically correct, most of the time you should avoid it because there is a clearer way to write your sentence.

Sometimes, people think that the passive voice sounds more elegant or formal, since the active voice is the most direct (and usually shortest) way to say something. But, making a sentence longer doesn’t always make it better— in most cases, it’s unnecessary and can make your writing:

• unclear or harder to follow
• focus on the wrong part of a statement or
• sound strange.

An easy way to identify the passive voice is by finding the verb in the sentence and looking at its form. With the passive voice, the verb is combined with “to be,” like this:

• The popcorn was eaten by the dog (was + eaten) = PASSIVE VOICE
• The popcorn has been eaten by the dog (has been + eaten) = PASSIVE VOICE

To make the sentence active, we want to remove the passive version of the verb and “to be,” and be more direct, like this:

• The dog ate the popcorn (ate, no verb “to be”) = ACTIVE VOICE

By using the active voice instead of the passive voice, your writing will be clearer, more concise, and overall more effective.

5. When is it Okay to Use the Passive Voice?

You may be wondering: if the passive voice is so bad, why does it even exist? The passive voice may have a bad reputation in English writing, but the truth is there are some cases where the passive voice is a better choice. For example, in formal documents, research reports, and other similar works, the action or the object is often the most important thing in the sentence. In those cases, the passive voice expresses meaning better, since the active voice focuses on whom or what does the action. Imagine a report discussing new discoveries about trees:

• Other scientists reviewed the research about trees. Active voice: wrong emphasis
• The research about trees was reviewed by other scientists. Passive voice: better choice

The important information here is that the research was reviewed. Because the report is about trees, NOT about the “other scientists,” “other scientists” shouldn’t be the focus of the sentence. Since the passive voice puts the emphasis on “research about trees” and the verb “reviewed,” it is the better choice for this situation.

Furthermore, we sometimes use the passive voice when we want to emphasize an object (what) rather than a subject (who). Read these examples:

• The fox’s cozy home was visited by many of his friends. Passive Voice
• Many friends visited the fox’s cozy home. Active voice

Depending on the author’s intentions, both of these sentences are correct. In the first sentence, the focus is on the underlined phrase, “the fox’s cozy home.” If the author wants the focus to be about “the fox’s cozy home” (what), then the passive voice is the better choice. But, if the author wants to focus to be on the “many friends” that visit the home (who), then the active voice is the right choice. Let’s add to these sentences to make it clearer:

• The fox’s cozy home was visited by many of his friends. It was filled with comfortable chairs, there was always a warm fire, and it smelled like cookies.
• Many friends visited the fox’s cozy home. Badgers, rabbits, hedgehogs, field mice, and even frogs went there to hang out.

So, as you can see, in the first sentence the author uses the passive voice to focus on the cozy home, because the overall focus of the writing is the home. In the second sentence, we need the active voice because the focus should be on the friends.