passive voice

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A way of forming sentences in which the subject receives the action of the verb, usually built with a form of be plus a past participle.

   Grammar: Usually with the: the passive voice; in the passive is also common.

   Patterns

   • in the passive voice
   • use the passive voice

   The sentence The window was broken by the ball is in the passive voice.

   Scientific writing often uses the passive voice to focus on the experiment, not the researcher.

   Teachers advise students to avoid the passive voice when it hides who did something.

2. 2noununcountabledisapproving

   A writing style that feels indirect or impersonal because it hides who is responsible for an action.

   Grammar: Often a mild criticism when used to describe a writer's habit.

   Patterns

   • write in the passive voice

   The report was written in the passive voice, and no one was blamed for the delay.

   Mistakes were made is a famous example of the passive voice used to avoid blame.

Common combinations

in the passive voice

Rewrite this sentence in the passive voice.

use the passive voice

Reports often use the passive voice.

avoid the passive voice

Editors tell writers to avoid the passive voice.

change to the passive voice

Change the active sentence to the passive voice.

overuse the passive voice

Many students overuse the passive voice in essays.

Synonyms and how they differ

the passive

The passive is a shorter form of the same term, more common in grammar books than in everyday talk.

Opposites

Word family

passive adjective

describing a verb form where the subject receives the action

passively adverb

in a way that accepts action without acting

passivity noun

the quality of not acting

voice noun

a verb form showing active or passive

Commonly confused: passive voice or passive tense?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “passive voice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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