1. Passive versus Active Voice
Making Verbs Work
Passive versus Active Voice

2. Use strong verbs. Verbs provide the momentum of writing.
Proper verb choice makes the difference between crisp, clear writing and bloated, clumsy writing.

3. What is the difference?
A sentence is in the active voice when the subject does the acting instead of being the recipient of the acting.
Active: Lowell depicts a grim view of marriage.
Passive: Marriage is depicted as grim by Lowell.

4. What is the difference?
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.

5. Active verbs
just naturally go with writing that is in the active voice.
When you put the subject front and center, doing something, you will probably find yourself using stronger, more interesting verbs.

6. 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.

7. Active Voice Uses direct action verbs
Has a clearly defined actor and action

8. Passive Voice Uses “to be” verb forms
Emphasizes what was found, not who did the finding
Can be pedantic and wordy in the hands of amateurs

9. Which verb form to use Largely a matter of what you want to emphasize
Active Voice emphasizes an action taken by a subject.
Passive Voice
emphasizes what was found, the end result.
hides who was responsible for the action.

10. Replace wimpy verb phrases
Weak verb phrases
Make a determination
Perform a measurement
Carry out an analysis
Strong verbs
Determine
Measure
analyze

11. Transform into active voice
Change nouns ending in –tion, -ment, and –ance back into verbs.
Indication  indicate
Contamination  contaminate
Measurement  measure
Variation  vary

12. Use “is” verbs sparingly
Is beginning  begins
Is used to detect  detects

13. When to use “is” If sentence defines or equates
Lowell’s poem is a sonnet.

14. When not to use “is”
In sentences that do not present a definition or equality
To analyze

15. Verb tenses
Using active voice eliminates awkward tense shifts

16. Parallel Construction
Verbs must be in the same form

17. Parallel vs. Non-parallel
faulty parallelism:
She revels in chocolate, walking under the moonlight, and songs from the 1930s jazz period.
good parallelism:
She revels in sweet chocolate eclairs, long moonlit walks, and classic jazz music.
She loves eating chocolate eclairs, taking moonlit walks, and singing classic jazz.

18. Advantages of active voice:
Shorter, more direct
More forceful
Greater clarity (The reader knows immediately who is doing what.)
Sharper imagery

19. 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.

20. Should you ever use passive voice? Yes.
Jon Franklin says that if you try to write entirely in the active voice, you are likely to produce something unreadable.
He’s right. The active voice is great, but you can have too much of a good thing.

21. Use passive voice When the actor is unknown or unimportant.
The knife was found beside the body.
Or when you want to focus on the receiver of the action more than on the actor.
The teacher was fired for his political activism.

22. Use passive voice When you want a gentler or more diplomatic approach.
A teenage girl was killed Tuesday by a gunshot wound that police said was self-inflicted.
When you want to strengthen the impression of objectivity—as, for example, in a research report.

23. Use passive voice
When you want to achieve a particular effect—whether it be wry, sardonic, sarcastic or comedic.

24. Good writers use both voices.
Use active voice whenever possible.
You need to know when to use one voice or the other, and when to use them together.

25. Credits Celia M. Elliott, University of Illinois, cmelliot@uiuc.edu
John Rains, Writing Coach, The Fayetteville Observer,
Dr. L. Kip Wheeler, Carson Newman College,
Patricia Burgey, UWG