Converting a sentence from passive voice to active voice strengthens your writing by making it clearer, more direct, and often more concise. It shifts the focus from the action's recipient to the action's doer.
Understanding Voice: Active vs. Passive
Before diving into conversion, let's clarify what active and passive voice mean:
- Active Voice: In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. It follows a clear Subject + Verb + Object structure.
- Example: The dog chased the ball. (The dog is the doer.)
- Passive Voice: In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action. The doer of the action is either moved to a "by" phrase or omitted entirely. It typically uses a form of the auxiliary verb "to be" followed by a past participle.
- Example: The ball was chased by the dog. (The ball received the action.)
Why Convert from Passive to Active?
While passive voice has its uses (e.g., when the doer is unknown or unimportant, or to emphasize the action's recipient), converting to active voice often offers several benefits:
- Clarity: It immediately tells the reader who is performing the action.
- Conciseness: Active sentences often use fewer words.
- Impact: Active voice creates a more dynamic and engaging tone.
- Directness: It avoids ambiguity and makes your message more straightforward.
Steps to Convert Passive Voice to Active Voice
To change a sentence from passive to active voice, you essentially identify the core elements and rearrange them to emphasize the doer of the action. This process involves reversing the structure typically used to form passive sentences.
Here are the key steps:
-
Identify the Agent (the Doer of the Action):
- In a passive sentence, the actual performer of the action is often found in a "by" phrase. This "agent" will become the subject of your new active sentence.
- Example (Passive): The report was written by Sarah. (Sarah is the agent.)
- What to do: Make "Sarah" the new subject.
- Tip: If the "by" phrase is missing (e.g., "The report was written"), you'll need to infer a logical subject (e.g., "someone," "they," "the team," "researchers") or state "someone" if the doer is truly unknown.
-
Identify the Passive Subject (the Recipient of the Action):
- The subject of the passive sentence is the person or thing that receives the action. This element was originally the direct object in the active voice.
- Example (Passive): The report was written by Sarah. (The report is the passive subject.)
- What to do: Move "the report" to the direct object position in your new active sentence.
-
Adjust the Verb Form:
- In passive voice, the verb consists of a form of the auxiliary verb "to be" (e.g., is, was, were, has been) followed by the main verb's past participle (e.g., written, built, seen).
- Example (Passive): The report was written by Sarah.
- What to do: Remove the "be" verb and transform the past participle into the appropriate active voice verb tense. Ensure the new verb agrees with your new subject and maintains the original sentence's tense.
Let's illustrate with an example:
Passive Sentence: The ball was hit by the boy.
| Passive Component | Action to Take | Resulting Active Component |
|---|---|---|
| "by the boy" (Agent) | Becomes the new Subject | The boy |
| "The ball" (Passive Subject) | Becomes the new Direct Object | the ball |
| "was hit" (Verb Form) | Remove "was," change "hit" to active tense | hit |
| Active Sentence | The boy hit the ball. |
More Examples
Here are additional examples demonstrating the conversion:
- Passive: The decision was made by the committee.
- Active: The committee made the decision.
- Passive: New policies are being developed by the management.
- Active: The management is developing new policies.
- Passive: The ancient ruins were discovered in 1950. (Agent unknown/unimportant)
- Active: Archaeologists discovered the ancient ruins in 1950. (Inferred agent)
- Active (Alternative): Someone discovered the ancient ruins in 1950.
- Passive: The proposal has been approved by the board.
- Active: The board has approved the proposal.
Tips for Identifying Passive Voice
To convert effectively, first, you need to spot passive voice. Look for:
- A form of the verb "to be" (e.g., am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been)
- Followed by a past participle (usually ending in -ed or -en, but irregular forms exist like done, said, seen, written)
- Often, but not always, a "by" phrase indicating the doer.
For further exploration of active and passive voice and writing principles, you can consult resources like the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).
By mastering the conversion from passive to active voice, you can make your writing more powerful, concise, and engaging for your audience.
