Passive Voice Detector
Detect passive voice in your writing. Find instances of passive voice constructions (like "was written", "is done", "been taken") to improve clarity and make your writing more engaging.
Table of Contents
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.
Passive voice is typically formed using a form of "to be" (was, were, is, are, been) followed by a past participle. For example:
Passive Voice:
- "The report was written by John."
- "The mistake was made yesterday."
- "The door is being opened."
Active Voice (preferred):
- "John wrote the report."
- "We made the mistake yesterday."
- "Someone is opening the door."
While passive voice isn't always wrong, active voice is generally clearer, more direct, and more engaging. Most writing guides recommend using active voice when possible.
Why Avoid Passive Voice?
Clarity
Active voice makes it immediately clear who is doing what. Passive voice can obscure the subject, making sentences harder to understand. For example, "The ball was thrown" doesn't tell us who threw it, while "John threw the ball" is 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 voice can feel flat and lifeless.
Conciseness
Active voice is often more concise. Passive voice typically requires more words to convey the same information. For example, "The team completed the project" (active) is shorter than "The project was completed by the team" (passive).
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 It Works
Our passive voice detector uses pattern matching to identify passive voice constructions in your text. Here's how it works:
- Pattern Detection: The tool looks for forms of "to be" (was, were, is, are, been) followed by a past participle
- Past Participle Recognition: It identifies past participles by checking for words ending in -ed, -en, or common irregular past participles (like "written", "taken", "done")
- Highlighting: All detected passive voice instances are highlighted in yellow for easy identification
- Counting: The tool provides a count of how many passive voice instances were found
Note: This tool uses pattern matching and is not perfect. It may miss some passive voice constructions or flag false positives. However, it's "good enough" for a free tool and will catch most common passive voice patterns. Always review flagged instances to determine if they should be changed to active voice.
All detection happens instantly in your browser as you type. Your text is never sent to our servers, ensuring your privacy.
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. For example: "The window was broken" (we don't know who broke it) or "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. For 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. For example: "The solution was heated to 100°C" rather than "We heated the solution to 100°C."
When Avoiding Blame
Passive voice can be used to avoid assigning blame or responsibility. For example: "Mistakes were made" rather than "We made mistakes." However, 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.
Examples
Passive Voice:
"The report was written by the team."
Active Voice:
"The team wrote the report."
Passive Voice:
"The decision was made after careful consideration."
Active Voice:
"We made the decision after careful consideration."
Passive Voice:
"The problem is being investigated by the committee."
Active Voice:
"The committee is investigating the problem."
Passive Voice:
"The data has been analyzed and the results were published."
Active Voice:
"We analyzed the data and published the results."
Common Use Cases
- Content Writers: Ensure blog posts, articles, and web content use active voice for better engagement
- Academic Writers: Identify passive voice in papers and convert to active voice when appropriate (though some disciplines prefer passive voice)
- Business Writers: Make business communications clearer and more direct by using active voice
- Students: Improve essay writing by identifying and converting passive voice to active 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
- Copywriters: Write more compelling marketing copy using active voice
- Editors: Quickly identify passive voice instances in manuscripts for review
Frequently Asked Questions
The detector uses pattern matching to identify common passive voice constructions. It's not perfect and may miss some instances or flag false positives. However, it's "good enough" for a free tool and will catch most common passive voice patterns. Always review flagged instances to determine if they should be changed.
Not always. While active voice is generally preferred, passive voice is sometimes appropriate. Use your judgment based on context. If the actor is unknown or unimportant, or if you're writing in a style that traditionally uses passive voice (such as scientific writing), passive voice may be fine.
The detector looks for forms of "to be" (was, were, is, are, been) followed by a past participle. Past participles are identified by common endings (-ed, -en) or by checking against a list of common irregular past participles.
No, passive voice isn't always wrong. It's a valid grammatical construction that serves specific purposes. However, active voice is generally clearer, more direct, and more engaging, so it's usually preferred. Use passive voice intentionally when it serves a specific purpose.
Yes, but be aware that some academic disciplines (especially sciences) traditionally use passive voice. Check your style guide or ask your instructor about preferences for your field. The tool can help you identify passive voice, but you'll need to decide whether to change it based on your discipline's conventions.
No. All detection happens entirely in your browser. Your text is never sent to our servers, stored in a database, or saved anywhere. When you refresh or close the page, your text is cleared. Your privacy is protected.
To convert passive voice to active voice: (1) Identify the actor (who performed the action), (2) Make the actor the subject of the sentence, (3) Use an active verb, (4) Place the original subject as the object. For example, "The report was written by John" becomes "John wrote the report." If the actor is unknown, you may need to add a generic subject like "someone" or "they."