Defining the Active Voice

Active voice writing is the form most young scholars learn in early English education. It follows the basic format of subject-action-target in which the subject takes the specified action upon the target. The use of active voice is considered preferable to the use of passive voice in the majority of nonscientific writing situations as sentences written in active voice are typically considered clearer and more direct than passive. They are also more concise than passive voice sentences, using fewer words to express action in active voice than in passive voice.

Converting Passive to Active

Converting a passive voice sentence to active voice is usually an easy thing to do, though writers sometimes find the resulting sentence’s significance or strength dramatically altered. In transforming passive voice to active, identify the actor (the one performing the verb phrase) first. This may take inference from the context of the surrounding sentences to identify the actor. The actor will be moved to the beginning of the new sentence. The writer then identifies what action (verb) was performed and place it after the actor’s identification. Finally, place the target of the action (the action’s victim, if you will) at the end. In reviewing the sentence for clarity, the verb should be altered to reflect the new sentence structure.

Use in Compound Sentences

Compound sentences can be particularly problematic in maintaining active versus passive voice. It is very easy to mix the two voices in compound sentences without ever realizing you have done so. Consider the last sentence in the previous section, which was miss-worded on purpose. The first half follows an active voice pattern, though the actor (the writer) is unmentioned. The target of the verb (reviewing) is the sentence, but the target of the verb in the second part (should be altered) is “the verb” that preceded it.