A passive voice example puts the object first: “The test was graded by Ms. Khan,” while active starts with the doer.
You’ve seen it in essays, lab reports, and quick work notes: a sentence that feels a bit distant. That’s often passive voice. If you’re asking what is passive voice example?, you’ll get clear patterns, real sentences, and clean rewrites you can use right away.
Passive Voice In Plain English
In active voice, the subject does the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action. The meaning can stay the same, but the spotlight shifts.
Active: “Lina wrote the report.” Passive: “The report was written by Lina.”
Most passive voice uses a form of be (am, is, are, was, were, been, being) plus a past participle (written, built, eaten, chosen). Many passive sentences add a by phrase that names who did the action. Some drop the doer and leave it unnamed.
Quick Test You Can Do In Ten Seconds
- Find the main verb phrase.
- Ask: “Who did this?”
- If the doer sits in a by phrase, or isn’t named, the sentence is often passive.
| Pattern You’ll See | What It Usually Signals | Fast Active Rewrite |
|---|---|---|
| was + past participle | Passive voice with a past event | Put the doer first |
| is/are + past participle | Passive voice in present time | Use a present-tense action verb |
| has been + past participle | Passive voice across a time window | Swap to “has/have” + action verb |
| will be + past participle | Passive voice about a later action | Start with who will act |
| Past participle + by phrase | Doer appears after the action | Move the doer to the front |
| No by phrase | Doer is unknown or left out | Name the doer if it matters |
| get/got + past participle | “Get-passive,” casual tone | Use a clear action verb |
| Passive + vague subject (“Mistakes were made”) | Blurry responsibility | State who made the mistake |
What Is Passive Voice Example? With Spotting Clues
A fast way to learn passive voice is to read pairs. Take the passive sentence, then its active twin. Notice how the active version names the doer early and often uses fewer words.
Passive Voice Examples With Active Rewrites
- Passive: “The window was broken during the game.” Active: “A player broke the window during the game.”
- Passive: “The homework was collected before lunch.” Active: “Mr. Rahman collected the homework before lunch.”
- Passive: “Two tickets were sold in the first hour.” Active: “The box office sold two tickets in the first hour.”
- Passive: “The results were shared on Friday.” Active: “The team shared the results on Friday.”
Clues That Often Point To Passive Voice
- A form of be near the verb.
- A past participle (thrown, built, known, finished).
- A by phrase that names who did the action.
- A sentence that answers “What happened?” more clearly than “Who did it?”
Passive Voice Example In School Writing And Work Emails
Teachers often want active voice because it’s direct. Readers don’t have to hunt for who did what. In many assignments, active voice also helps you build stronger verbs and tighter sentences.
Passive voice still shows up a lot in daily writing. It can sound polite, formal, or neutral. It can also hide the doer. That’s where trouble starts.
Where Passive Voice Works Well
Passive voice isn’t “wrong” by default. Use it when the receiver of the action matters more than the doer, or when the doer is unknown.
- Processes and procedures: “The solution is heated to 80°C.”
- Unknown doer: “My bike was stolen last night.”
- Emphasis on the result: “The scholarship was awarded on Monday.”
Where Passive Voice Causes Confusion
Passive voice can blur action and responsibility. In school writing, that can weaken an argument. In work messages, it can slow a next step.
- “The files were not sent.” (By who? To who?)
- “The meeting was moved.” (Who moved it, and to when?)
- “The rule was broken.” (What happened, and who fixes it?)
How To Spot Passive Voice Fast In Your Draft
Here’s a quick routine that works on a phone screen or a printed page.
Step 1: Mark The Forms Of Be
Look for am, is, are, was, were, been, being. Don’t delete them on sight. Just mark them. Many passive sentences start there.
Step 2: Check The Word Right After
If the next word is a past participle, you may have passive voice: “was written,” “were chosen,” “is made.”
Watch for adjectives that look like participles. “The door was closed” can mean someone shut it, or it can describe its state. Context decides.
Step 3: Ask The “By Robots” Question
Try adding “by robots” after the verb phrase. If it still makes sense, the sentence is likely passive.
“The report was submitted by robots” is odd, but it still works. “Lina submitted the report by robots” falls apart. That points to active voice.
Step 4: Decide If The Doer Matters
If the doer matters for meaning, name it. If the doer doesn’t matter, passive may be fine.
How To Change Passive Voice To Active Voice
Rewriting passive voice is about making the sentence do its job with less drag.
Swap Method That Works Most Of The Time
- Find the doer (often in a by phrase).
- Make the doer the subject.
- Turn the past participle into the main verb.
- Keep the details that still add meaning.
Rewrite Walkthrough On One Sentence
Passive: “The announcement was posted by the principal.” Active: “The principal posted the announcement.”
If the doer is missing, add it if you can name it, or use a true placeholder subject.
Passive: “The form was misplaced.” Active: “I misplaced the form,” or “Someone misplaced the form.”
Passive Voice Pitfalls That Hurt Clarity
Passive voice can do real harm when it hides meaning. These are the slip-ups that show up most in student drafts.
Hiding The Doer When The Doer Matters
“The data was changed” raises a big question. A reader wants to know who changed it and why. If your goal is trust, name the person or group.
Using Passive Voice To Dodge Responsibility
Phrases such as “Mistakes were made” feel slippery. In a reflection, report, or email that asks for action, be direct: “I made a mistake,” or “We made a mistake,” then name the fix.
Mixing Up Passive Voice With Past Tense
Not every past-tense verb is passive. “I kicked the ball” is past tense and active. Passive voice needs a form of be plus a past participle, or a get-passive form.
Leaving Out Needed Details
Passive voice can hide missing info you didn’t notice. “The assignment was submitted” is incomplete if the reader needs a time, a platform, or a file name.
Style Notes From Trusted References
Most writing guides push for active voice in most sentences, then allow passive voice when it keeps the focus where the reader needs it. Purdue OWL has a clear page on active and passive voice.
If you write in APA style, the APA Style site explains when passive voice can fit; see active and passive voice in APA Style.
Passive Voice In Lab Reports
In a lab report, readers often care about what was done to the sample, not who held the pipette. Passive voice can keep a chain of steps steady: “The solution was stirred for 30 seconds.”
Still, many instructors prefer active voice with “we” or a clear role: “We stirred the solution for 30 seconds,” or “The team stirred the solution.” Check the rubric and match it. If it calls for active voice, use it. If it calls for a neutral tone, passive voice can fit, as long as each sentence stays specific.
Watch one trap: passive voice that hides a choice. “The data was removed” leaves readers guessing. Better: “We removed two readings after the sensor failed,” or “We removed outliers above 3 SD,” when that matches your method.
Passive Voice In Requests And Apologies
In emails, passive voice can sound softer: “A mistake was found in the invoice.” That can be useful when you’re breaking news without pointing fingers. But if you need action, name the doer and the task: “I found a mistake in the invoice. I’ll send a corrected copy by 3 p.m.”
A quick rule: use passive voice to report a result, use active voice to assign a next step.
Practice Set For Passive Voice And Active Voice
Read each sentence, decide if it’s passive or active, then rewrite it in active voice. After that, ask if passive voice might be the better choice for the message.
Set A: School And Study Sentences
- The chapter was finished before dinner.
- The quiz was graded during break.
- The lab equipment was cleaned after class.
- The presentation was saved to the drive.
Set B: Work And Daily Life Sentences
- The order was delivered to the wrong place.
- The password was reset this morning.
- The schedule was changed late.
- The report was attached in the email.
| Passive Sentence | Active Sentence | When Passive Still Fits |
|---|---|---|
| The budget was approved yesterday. | The board approved the budget yesterday. | When the board is obvious in context |
| The email was sent at 9 a.m. | Rita sent the email at 9 a.m. | When the sender doesn’t matter |
| The laptop was damaged in transit. | The courier damaged the laptop in transit. | When you don’t know who caused it |
| The class rules were explained on day one. | The teacher explained the class rules on day one. | When the rules are the main point |
| The door was left open. | Someone left the door open. | When you can’t name the doer |
| The prize was given to three students. | The committee gave the prize to three students. | When the giver is less relevant |
| The lights were turned off at noon. | Maintenance turned off the lights at noon. | When the action matters more than the actor |
| The draft was revised before submission. | I revised the draft before submission. | When the writer is already known |
Mini Checklist For Editing Without Overdoing It
Here’s a simple pass you can run at the end of a draft. It catches passive voice without turning your writing into a robot voice.
- Underline forms of be, then check the next word.
- Circle each by phrase and see if the doer should move forward.
- Swap passive to active when responsibility, time, or action steps matter.
- Keep passive voice when the result, object, or process is the point.
- Read the paragraph out loud. If it sounds evasive, name the doer.
If you came in asking what is passive voice example?, you now have a pattern to spot it, rewrites that stay clear, and an editing routine you can reuse.