Active and Passive voice causes writers many, many problems. In business writing, you want to use active voice because sentences in active voice are more direct and forceful. Active voice sentences clearly identify who is doing the action. This reduces confusion and increases brevity in business documents.
In passive voice, who or what does the action of the sentence is implied, unknown, or comes after the verb in the sentence. Passive voice is often used when a writer wants to deflect blame or criticism, or when the action of the sentence is more important than the doer/actor.
The easiest way to determine if a verb is active or passive is to ask the following two questions:
What is the verb?
Who/what is doing the action (verb)?
If you know who is acting = active voice
If you’re unsure who is acting = passive voice
Are the following sentences active or passive?
1. Companies expect accounting positions to increase in the next ten years.
- What is the verb? Expect
- Who/what is expecting? Companies
- This sentence is active.
2. They have to work with computers.
- What is the verb? Work
- Who is working? “They”
- This sentence is active.
3. The report was left on the desk.
- What is the verb? Left
- Who/what left the report? We don’t know.
- This sentence is passive.
4. Several students were failed because of poor writing.
- What is the verb? Failed
- Who failed the students? We don’t know.
- This sentence is passive.
Once you’ve identified passive verbs, how do you change them to active verbs?
- Identify the verb
- Identify who is doing the action of the verb.
- Name the actor as the subject.
Consider the following examples of passive verbs changed into active verbs.
- I was identified by the MBTI as an IFNJ.
- Verb is “identified”
- Who identified? The MBTI
- Revised: The MBTI identified me as an IFNJ.
- A new program was devised for making automatic payments.
- Verb is “devised”
- Who devised? We don’t know, so we must add or name the subject
- Revised: Technicians devised a new program for making automatic payments. Or: The new program is for making automatic payments.
Now, find the passive verbs in your writing by asking:
- What is the verb?
- Who is doing the action of the verb?
Change the sentence to active voice by naming the actor (who/what does the action of the verb) first in the sentence (before the verb).
Understanding the difference between active and passive voice is essential for effective business writing. Your emphasis on using active voice for directness and clarity is spot on. Active voice sentences indeed identify the action’s doer, reducing confusion and enhancing brevity in business communication. Conversely, passive voice, while sometimes necessary, can obscure accountability or prioritize the action over the actor. Your insights provide valuable guidance for writers striving for impactful communication.