How to Detect Passive Voice: Improve Your Writing Clarity and Engagement
Have you ever been told your writing needs “more active voice” but weren’t sure what that meant? Or maybe you’ve struggled to identify passive voice in your own writing?
Passive voice detection is a crucial skill for any writer — and it’s easier to master than you think.
Using simple pattern recognition, you can instantly spot passive voice constructions and convert them to active voice. This helps you:
- Write clearer, more direct sentences
- Create more engaging content
- Improve reader comprehension
- Meet professional writing standards
The Tooladex Passive Voice Detector makes this simple: paste your text and instantly see all passive voice instances highlighted, ready for you to review and improve.
📝 What Is Passive Voice?
Passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of a sentence receives the action rather than performing it.
In passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the actual actor (who performed the action) is either missing or mentioned after the verb.
Passive Voice Structure
Passive voice is typically formed using:
- A form of “to be” (was, were, is, are, been, being)
- Followed by a past participle (a verb form like “written”, “done”, “taken”)
Example:
“The report was written by John.”
Here, “The report” (the object) is the subject, and “John” (the actor) comes after the verb.
Active Voice Structure
Active voice is the opposite — the subject performs the action:
Example:
“John wrote the report.”
Here, “John” (the actor) is the subject performing the action.
🎯 Why Avoid Passive Voice?
While passive voice isn’t always wrong, active voice is generally preferred because it offers several advantages:
✔ Clarity
Active voice makes it immediately clear who is doing what. Passive voice can obscure the subject, making sentences harder to understand.
Passive: “The mistake was made.” (Who made it?)
Active: “We made the mistake.” (Clear and direct)
✔ Engagement
Active voice is more engaging and dynamic. It creates a sense of action and movement, making your writing more interesting to read.
Passive: “The ball was thrown across the field.”
Active: “Sarah threw the ball across the field.” (More vivid and engaging)
✔ Conciseness
Active voice is often more concise. Passive voice typically requires more words to convey the same information.
Passive: “The project was completed by the team.” (8 words)
Active: “The team completed the project.” (5 words)
✔ Professional Standards
Many style guides, including APA, MLA, and Chicago Manual of Style, recommend using active voice. Academic and professional writing often favors active voice for clarity and directness.
🔍 How to Identify Passive Voice
Passive voice follows a predictable pattern that’s easy to spot once you know what to look for:
The Pattern
Look for:
- Forms of “to be”: was, were, is, are, been, being
- Followed by a past participle: words ending in -ed, -en, or irregular forms like “written”, “taken”, “done”
Common Passive Voice Constructions
- “was written”
- “were made”
- “is being done”
- “has been completed”
- “are being considered”
- “was taken”
- “were given”
Quick Test
Ask yourself: “Who is doing the action?”
- If the answer is clear and the actor is the subject → Active voice
- If the answer is unclear, missing, or comes after the verb → Passive voice
Example:
“The door was opened.”
Who opened it? We don’t know. This is passive voice.
“John opened the door.”
Who opened it? John. This is active voice.
🧰 Tooladex Passive Voice Detector Features
The Tooladex Passive Voice Detector makes finding passive voice instant and effortless:
🔍 Automatic Detection
Uses pattern matching to identify passive voice constructions instantly.
🎨 Visual Highlighting
All passive voice instances are highlighted in yellow for easy identification.
📊 Match Counting
See exactly how many passive voice instances your text contains.
⚡ Real-Time Analysis
Results update instantly as you type — no waiting, no clicking.
🔒 Private & Secure
Everything runs in your browser. Your text is never sent to servers.
📝 Pattern Recognition
Detects common passive voice patterns including regular (-ed, -en) and irregular past participles.
📚 Examples: Passive vs. Active Voice
Here are common examples showing the difference:
Example 1: Business Writing
Passive: “The proposal was reviewed by the committee.”
Active: “The committee reviewed the proposal.”
Example 2: Academic Writing
Passive: “The data was analyzed and the results were published.”
Active: “We analyzed the data and published the results.”
Example 3: Technical Writing
Passive: “The system is being updated by the development team.”
Active: “The development team is updating the system.”
Example 4: Creative Writing
Passive: “The treasure was discovered by the explorer.”
Active: “The explorer discovered the treasure.”
Example 5: News Writing
Passive: “The decision was made after careful consideration.”
Active: “We made the decision after careful consideration.”
✅ When Passive Voice Is Okay
While active voice is generally preferred, there are situations where passive voice is appropriate or even necessary:
When the Actor is Unknown or Unimportant
If you don’t know who performed the action, or it doesn’t matter, passive voice can be appropriate.
Example:
“The window was broken.” (We don’t know who broke it)
Example:
“The experiment was conducted.” (The focus is on the experiment, not who conducted it)
When the Object is More Important
Sometimes the recipient of the action is more important than the actor.
Example:
“The patient was treated immediately.” (The focus is on the patient, not the doctor)
Scientific and Technical Writing
In scientific writing, passive voice is often used to maintain objectivity and focus on the research rather than the researcher.
Example:
“The solution was heated to 100°C” (Standard in scientific writing)
When Avoiding Blame
Passive voice can be used to avoid assigning blame or responsibility.
Example:
“Mistakes were made” (Rather than “We made mistakes”)
Note: This can also be seen as evasive, so use it carefully.
Rule of Thumb
Use passive voice intentionally when it serves a specific purpose. If you’re not sure, default to active voice for clearer, more engaging writing.
🎯 Common Use Cases
Passive voice detection is valuable across many writing contexts:
✍️ Content Writers & Bloggers
Ensure blog posts and articles use active voice for better engagement and readability.
🎓 Students
Improve essay writing by identifying and converting passive voice to active voice.
💼 Business Writers
Make business communications clearer and more direct by using active voice.
📚 Academic Writers
Identify passive voice in papers and convert to active voice when appropriate (though some disciplines prefer passive voice).
🔧 Technical Writers
Balance the use of passive voice in technical documentation (some passive voice is acceptable in technical writing).
✏️ Fiction Writers
Create more engaging narratives by using active voice for action scenes and dialogue.
📱 Copywriters
Write more compelling marketing copy using active voice.
✂️ Editors
Quickly identify passive voice instances in manuscripts for review and improvement.
💡 How to Convert Passive Voice to Active Voice
Converting passive voice to active voice is straightforward once you identify it:
Step 1: Identify the Actor
Find who or what is performing the action. This might be:
- Explicitly mentioned after “by”
- Implied in the context
- A generic subject like “someone” or “they”
Step 2: Make the Actor the Subject
Move the actor to the beginning of the sentence as the subject.
Step 3: Use an Active Verb
Replace the passive construction (was/were/is/are + past participle) with an active verb.
Step 4: Place the Original Subject as the Object
Move the original subject (the recipient of the action) to become the object.
Example Conversion
Passive: “The report was written by John.”
- Actor: John
- Make actor the subject: John…
- Use active verb: John wrote…
- Original subject as object: John wrote the report.
Active: “John wrote the report.”
When the Actor is Missing
If the actor isn’t mentioned, you may need to add a generic subject:
Passive: “The door was opened.”
Active: “Someone opened the door.” or “The door opened.” (if it’s intransitive)
📊 Before and After Example
Here’s a paragraph showing the impact of converting passive voice to active voice:
Before (Heavy Passive Voice)
“The proposal was reviewed by the committee. Several concerns were raised about the budget. The decision was made to request additional information. The proposal was returned to the team for revision.”
Issues:
- Unclear who is doing what
- Less engaging
- Feels distant and formal
After (Active Voice)
“The committee reviewed the proposal. They raised several concerns about the budget. They decided to request additional information. They returned the proposal to the team for revision.”
Improvements:
- Clear who is acting
- More engaging
- More direct and readable
🚀 Try the Tooladex Passive Voice Detector
The Tooladex Passive Voice Detector is:
- ✔ Fast — Instant detection as you type
- ✔ Accurate — Uses pattern matching to catch common passive voice constructions
- ✔ Free — No cost, no sign-up required
- ✔ Private — Everything runs in your browser
- ✔ Visual — Highlights all instances for easy review
Whether you’re writing a blog post, drafting business communications, working on academic papers, or creating marketing copy, the Tooladex Passive Voice Detector helps you identify passive voice and improve your writing clarity.
Just paste your text — and instantly see all passive voice instances highlighted.
Note: The detector uses pattern matching and is “good enough” for a free tool. It will catch most common passive voice patterns, but may miss some instances or flag false positives. Always review flagged instances to determine if they should be changed to active voice.
Passive Voice Detector
Detect passive voice in your writing. Find instances of passive voice constructions to improve clarity and make your writing more engaging.