A passive sentence “pattern” reverses the subject and the object. Sometimes there is no subject at all. Not using or “hiding” the subject can come in handy for politicians, or people who might want to obscure exactly who is doing what, but good writing is clear and understandable. Passive sentences are not always clear and understandable. They can be awkward, weak, wordy, unclear, and ineffectual, but there is a place for them when you don’t want to overuse a subject or when you want to give a different emphasis to a sentence. You just have to be careful not to use the passive pattern too much, and to be sure it is the most effective way to say what you want to say when you DO use it.
Active: The law now prohibits smoking in public places. (now we see that smoking receives the action prohibited)
Passive: The pie was cut into eight pieces by Mother. (Pie is the direct object—Mother cut the pie. The pie preformed no action of its own.)
Active: Mother cut the pie into eight pieces. (the pie receives the action--cut--done by Mother)
Passive: Cars can be either built as front-wheel or rear-wheel drives. (No subject as a 'doer of action'. Cars don’t build themselves.)
Active: Manufacturers build cars as either front-wheel or rear-wheel drives. (manufacturers do the action--build--to the cars.)
Passive: The dinner leftovers were eaten by Tim when he came home. (the leftovers didn't do anything)
Active: Tim ate the dinner leftovers when he came home. (Tim preformed the action--eaten-- to the leftovers.)
Passive: The endings of some movies can be easily guessed by the viewer. (viewers is the subject. Endings is the direct object)
Active: The viewer can easily guess the endings of some movies.
Passive: The human heart isn’t controlled by the intellect.
Active: The intellect does not control the human heart. (the subject--intellect--performs the action on the direct object-- heart.)
It is easy to fall into the habit of writing passive sentences. Sometimes we use them to add variety to our writing, sometimes
we are unsure what or who the subject should be (passive sentences are great for disguising the subject), and sometimes we
just get lazy. Changing passive sentences to active sentences will give your writing some energy and strength. They will
be easier to read and to understand. How do you change those weak passive sentences? Try these tips (and see the
sentences at the beginning of the page):
Change the verb.
Read the sentence aloud and think about how it could be changed.
Reverse the word order in a clause or in the sentence.
Use the first person as the subject when possible:
Passive: It has been suggested that you wear a tie to work.
Active: I (He, She, We, They) suggest/suggests that you wear a tie to work.
Try revising these passive sentences. Watch for wordy phrases too:
The garage was painted blue by Julio.
The new house will be inspected following state guidelines. (A tricky one. Inspected by whom?)
Hal’s research paper has been examined by the academic review board in order to judge its appropriateness
and accuracy. The decision will be announced at some future point in time.
When making strudel pastry, ice-cold butter must be used by the cook.
After each addition of butter, another layer of dough is added by the cook, then more butter,
then more dough, and the whole pastry must be gently handled by the maker to prevent a tough strudel.
Elaborate fireworks shows are put on to celebrate major holidays in many countries.
Last year, the budget was balanced by the government and the new guidelines on immigration were passed.
When Should We Use Passive Sentences?
1. You can use a passive sentence if the recipient of the action (the direct object) is more important that the doer of the action. The beginning of a sentence is the strongest. That is what people notice and remember, so if whoever or whatever receives the action is the part you want to stress, put that at the beginning of the sentence. This makes a passive sentence. Notice in news reports how often a passive sentence is used. That is because the receiver of the action is often what makes the story newsworthy.
Active: Swedish agronomists have discovered a high-yield grain that can solve the world hunger problem. (Which is more important--the agronomists or the grain?)
Passive: A high-yield grain, capable of solving the world hunger problem, has been discovered by Swedish agronomists.
Active: The ambulance crew arrived at the accident scene in time to rescue all forty-seven team members, along with the team mascot, Mr. Fluffy.
Passive: Forty-seven team members, along with Mr. Fluffy, the mascot, were rescued by the ambulance crew after the accident. ("Who" was rescued is more newsworthy here than who did the rescuing.)
2. You can use passive sentences when the doer of the action (the subject) is not known, or if you do not want the doer known, or if you do not want to sound harsh ( in the second example, using you makes the sentence sound like an accusation).
Active: Somebody maliciously set off the theater's fire alarm last night.
Passive: The theater's fire alarm was maliciously set off last night.
Active: You didn't turn in your report after class.
Passive: Your report wasn't received after class.
3. A passive sentence can be a smooth transition between sentences and paragraphs. Transitions help form a connection between your sentences and paragraphs. Listen to news broadcasts and see if you can spot the transitions, and how many of them are passive sentences.
Active/Active: Patrols will leave camp after the noon meal. Patrol leaders will oversee the meal. The patrol leaders will then take the campers to the next activity.
Active/Passive: Patrols will leave camp after the noon meal. Meal will be overseen by patrol leaders. After each meal, patrol leaders then take the campers to the next activity.
Active/Active: The low and high pressure areas will meet over the Atlantic just off the coast of Brazil. This mixture will soon create a tropical storm in Brazil's coastal regions. The Weather Bureau expects no major damage.
Active/Passive: The low and high pressure areas will meet over the Atlantic just off the coast of Brazil. Brazilian coastal regions will see a tropical storm soon after, but the Weather Bureau expects no major damage. (This is a compound sentence. The first independent clause is passive, the second is active.)
See how using a passive sentence makes the text flow smoothly, one sentence leading to the next? The examples with all active sentences seem choppy.