Writing.Com General Discussion

I've heard quite a bit about active voice vs passive voice. I'm no expert, but I'll try to add in my two cents:

Active voice: When the subject of a sentence performs the verb’s action, we say that the sentence is in the active voice. For example, in "Bob fixed the car", the focus is on Bob, who is the one doing the action. That's why it's active voice. Sentences in the active voice have a strong, direct, and clear tone.

Passive voice: A sentence is in the passive voice, on the other hand, when the subject is acted on by the verb. Basically, in passive voice your subject (the thing the sentence is giving the focus to) isn't doing the action, but rather being acted upon. For example, in "The car was fixed by Bob", the focus of the sentence is on the car, who is not doing the action, but is rather being acted upon. That's why it's passive voice.

Using the active voice conveys a strong, clear tone and the passive voice is subtler and weaker. It's recommended to not use the passive voice just because you think it sounds a bit fancier than the active voice.

That said, there are times the passive voice is useful and called for. Take “The squirrel was chased by the dog,” for example, as opposed to "The dog chased the squirrel". That sentence construction would be helpful if the squirrel were the focus of your writing and not the dog. So while active voice is what you probably should use most of the time, it doesn't mean that passive voice is something you should never use.

A good rule of thumb is to keep in mind who the focus should be on. Normally you want the focus of the sentence to be on the same thing or person you're focusing you're writing on. The main issue with passive voice is that it's not as strong or engaging as the active voice, so that's why the active voice is usually the preferred option. Remember, active voice keeps the focus on the person or thing doing the action, while the passive voice puts the focus on the thing or person that's being acted upon.

Active voice is usually what you should aim to use for the most part, as it gives the sentence a much stronger, clearer and more direct tone that keeps the focus on the person or thing that's doing the action. Stories are moved by characters doing things, they move by actions, so if you see it from that perspective, it makes sense that you'll want to keep the focus on who's taking the action. It's a much more engaging experience because you put the spotlight on the person or thing that's doing something.

Overall, I'd say to try to use the active voice for the most part, but when in doubt, try writing the sentence both ways and see which one sounds best. Passive voice has a few moments when it can be helpful, so it's not a case of avoiding it like the plague. Most writing rules are like this, it's more of a general guideline to keep in mind when you write than a definitive "always do this" or "never do that".

I hope that was helpful to you. If there's anything I can help you with, let me know!
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