Active and

Passive
Voices

Passive Voice
The passive voice emphasizes the action
being performed rather than the person
doing the action
The passive voice has two main uses:

To present ideas objectively

(Showing that the results are more
important than the person doing the work)
The surveys were tabulated.

To avoid using names or assigning

blame
An unfortunate error has occurred.

Construction of passive
voice
sentences:
They begin with a thing rather than
a person
They use a two-word verb
is

or was followed by a pasttense verb

They sometimes end with a phrase

starting with by that identifies the
doer of the action
All
Starts with
a thing

expenses were approved by the

CEO.
Two-word
Can be
verb

left out

Active Voice
The active voice is preferred for
most type of business writing
because it is shorter, more
personal, and more forceful
In active voice sentences, the
subject of the verb performs the
action
I

heated the solution

You made a mistake

Exercise
Instructions:
Decide

whether each of the

following sentences uses the
active or passive voice
Then decide whether it should be
changed from one to the other.
Be prepared to justify your
answer
When necessary, write down the
revised version
The first one is done for you

Sample Answer
The new procedure is thought to be
superior by the president.
Active Voice
Voice

Passive

It should be written in the active

voice
The

president thinks the new

procedure is superior

Exercise
1. I left the window open last night and killed all
the plants.
2. Verification of passwords must be done on a
daily basis by security personnel.
3. The observer saw the needle on the gauge
jump into the red zone at the same time the
circuit overloaded.
4. I cannot approve your loan until you have
provided us with collateral.
5. We made a major error by spelling our clients
name wrong in the report.
6. The editing of the financial reports was done
over the weekend by the accountant.

Exercise (continued)
7. You failed to submit the application before
the due date
8. We should not have ordered a separate phone
line for each person in the office.
9. It was suggested by the project manager that
construction schedules be revised to take
advantage of the unusually warm weather.
10. We must delay filling your order because of
problems with our supplier.
11. You must send an additional payment of $12
so that we can process your order.
12. The software was installed incorrectly on your
computer.