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Which one to use?Intermediatevoz gramaticalvoz gramatical
Active voicevsPassive voice
In the active voice the subject acts; in the passive voice the subject receives the action.
Side-by-side comparison
Active voice
voz gramaticalThe subject does the action. Use it when you want to be direct and clear. Most professional texts prefer it because it is easier to read.
The engineering team released the new version of the app after three months of intensive testing and bug fixing.
She negotiated the contract terms directly with the supplier, cutting costs by 15% compared to the previous agreement.
The CEO made the final decision after consulting with the board and reviewing the quarterly projections.
Passive voice
voz gramaticalThe subject receives the action. Use it when what matters is the result, not who did it, or when you prefer not to mention who is responsible.
The new policy was implemented across all departments following extensive feedback from employees and managers.
Several errors were found in the original report, and the document has been sent back for revision.
The system will be updated overnight, so users may experience brief service interruptions between 2 and 4 a.m.
Common mistake
- •The most common mistake among advanced learners is overusing the passive to sound more formal: "Mistakes were made" is harder to read and hides who is responsible.
- •Use active voice when you know who performs the action.
Trick to remember it
- •If you see "to be + past participle" (was approved, is being reviewed), it is passive voice.
- •Ask yourself if the agent is worth mentioning; if yes, switch to active.
Quick rule
- •Active voice: the subject does the action (clear and direct).
- •Passive voice: the subject receives the action (useful when the agent is unknown or unimportant).
Did you know?
Passive voice has had an unfairly bad reputation since George Orwell listed it among his writing prohibitions in 1946. But science uses it deliberately: "The samples were analyzed" puts the focus on the protocol, not on who ran it. Passive is not the enemy; the problem is using it to hide who made a decision or made a mistake.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Which sentence is in the PASSIVE voice?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The window _____ by a child playing football in the street.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
BeenvsBeing
"Been" is the past participle of "be" (used with have/has/had); "being" is the present participle of "be" (used with am/is/are/was/were).
DovsMake
'Do' is used for actions and general tasks; 'make' is used when the result is something tangible or created.
Simple pastvsPresent perfect
Simple past indicates a completed action at a specific past moment; present perfect connects the past to the present.
AvsAn
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy