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

With passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb. To keep the subject and focus consistent throughout a passage With active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb. To emphasize the action rather than the actorĪfter long debate, the proposal was endorsed by the long-range planning committee. There are sometimes good reasons to use the passive voice. 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.”.Rewrite the sentence so that the subject buried in the “by” clause is closer to the beginning of the sentence.

If you find one, the sentence may be in the passive voice. Look for a “by” phrase (e.g., “by the dog” in the last example above).Here are some tips and strategies for converting sentences from the passive to the active voice. Passive: It was earlier demonstrated that heart attacks can be caused by high stress. Passive: It is believed by the candidate that a ceiling must be placed on the budget by Congress.Īctive: Researchers earlier showed that high stress can cause heart attacks. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.Īctive: The candidate believes that Congress must place a ceiling on the budget. In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. Passive voice sentences often use more words, can be vague, and can lead to a tangle of prepositional phrases. Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.Generally, try to use the active voice whenever possible. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped). The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence the verb of perception is put into passive voice. – Women are said to live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.Īlthough Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.Įxample: They say that women live longer than men. say, think, know).Įxample: They say that women live longer than men. In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception ( e. g. Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive. Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.Įxample: They build houses. Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.Īs you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Passive Sentences with Two Objects Level: intermediate the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)Įxamples of Passive Level: lower intermediate TenseĮxamples of Passive Level: upper intermediate Tense.the finite form of the verb is changed ( to be + past participle).the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following: Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Passive active voice