Dr. Murray and Anna C. Rockowitz Writing Center, Hunter College, City University of New York
GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS
Active and Passive Voice
Voice refers to the form of a verb that indicates when a grammatical subject performs the action
or is the receiver of the action. When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject
performs the action; in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. In academic writing, it
is generally preferred to choose an active verb and pair it with a subject that names the person or
thing doing or performing the action. Active verbs are stronger and usually more emphatic than
forms of the verb “be” or verbs in the passive voice.
Active: The award-winning chef prepares each meal with loving care.
Passive: Each meal is prepared with loving care by the award-winning chef.
In the above example of an active sentence, the simple subject is “chef” and “prepares” is the
verb: the chef prepares “each meal with loving care.” In the passive sentence, “meal” is the
simple subject and “is prepared” is the verb: each meal is prepared “by the award-winning chef.”
In effect, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence. Although
both sentences have the same basic components, their structure makes them different from each
other. Active sentences are about what people (or things) do, while passive sentences are about
what happens to people (or things).
USING THE AUXILIARY VERB “BE”
The passive voice is formed by using a form of the auxiliary verb “be” (be, am, is, are, was,
were, being, been) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Active Passive
He loves me. I am loved.
We took our children to the circus. The children were taken to the circus.
A thief stole my money. My money was stolen.
Notice how the “be” auxiliaries change the meaning of the verbs from action to condition or
from “doing” to “being.”
He remembers his grandmother. (“he” is doing an action: remembering)
His grandmother is remembered. (“she” is in a condition: being remembered)
In this way, the past participle functions very much like an adjective; it describes the subject.
The woman is pretty. She is a pretty woman
The woman is married. She is a married woman.
