How to fix passive voice

PassiveVoiceChecker editorial · Updated November 10, 2026 · 3 min read

To fix a passive sentence, find out who did the action and put them first: "The claim was denied" becomes "The adjuster denied the claim." When you cannot name a doer, either supply one honestly ("We denied the claim"), swap in a verb that does not need one ("The claim failed"), or keep the passive — because sometimes it is the right sentence.

First, confirm it is actually passive

Half the “passive voice” people try to fix is not passive. “She was running” (progressive), “I am interested” (adjective) and “He has written” (perfect) are all active. A passive sentence has a form of be or get plus a past participle, and the subject is on the receiving end. If you are not sure, run the sentence through the checker — it separates true passives from look-alikes.

Fix 1: name the doer and put it first

This is the standard fix and it works whenever the doer is known.

Mechanically: take the noun after “by,” make it the subject, change was sent to sent, and make the old subject the object. The converter does exactly this.

When there is no “by” phrase, you have to decide who the doer is. Often it is you or your organisation, and the sentence was passive precisely to avoid saying so:

Fix 2: swap in a verb that does not need a doer

Some passives exist because the writer reached for a transitive verb when an intransitive one would do.

Fix 3: drop the dummy opener

“It is believed that,” “it was decided that,” “it should be noted that,” “there was agreement that” — these openers exist to avoid a subject. Cut the opener and start with the point, or name the believer.

Fix 4: leave it alone

Not every passive needs fixing. The APA Style guidance keeps the passive for when the recipient of the action is the point; the federal plain-language guidelines allow it when the law itself is the only actor. Keep the passive when:

• the doer is unknown (“The files were deleted sometime Friday night”);
• the doer is obvious (“He was sentenced to five years”);
• the receiver is what the paragraph is about (“The policy was issued in March and was cancelled in June”);
• naming the doer would be tactless or legally unwise (“Your application was not successful”).

The test is whether a reader would be helped by knowing who did it. If yes, fix it. If no, the passive is doing its job.

A worked paragraph

Before (five passives in four sentences):

The site was inspected on 3 May. Several hazards were identified, and photographs were taken. It was recommended that the guardrails be replaced before work is resumed. A follow-up visit has been scheduled.

After:

I inspected the site on 3 May, identified several hazards and photographed them. I recommend replacing the guardrails before work resumes. We have scheduled a follow-up visit.

Same facts, 42 words instead of 44, and the reader now knows who inspected, who recommends and who scheduled. One passive would have been fine to keep — “A follow-up visit has been scheduled” if the scheduler does not matter — which is the point: fix the ones that hide something, and leave the ones that do not.

Questions people ask

How do I get rid of passive voice?

Identify the doer, make it the subject, and change be + past participle to the plain verb in the same tense. “The report was filed by the clerk” → “The clerk filed the report.” If no doer is named, decide who it is, or restructure the sentence around a different verb.

How do I fix passive voice when I don't know who did it?

You have three honest options: name the most likely actor (“Someone broke the window”), use a verb that needs no actor (“The window broke”), or keep the passive (“The window was broken”). Passive with an unknown doer is correct English.

How do I fix "it was decided that"?

Name the decider: “The board decided that…” or “We decided that….” If you are avoiding naming them on purpose, that is a choice to make openly, not a grammar problem to fix.

Does fixing passive voice change the meaning?

It changes the emphasis, not the facts. “The budget was approved by the board” and “The board approved the budget” report the same event; the first is about the budget, the second about the board. Pick the one that matches what the paragraph is about.

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Sources

• Purdue OWL — Active versus passive voice
• Federal plain-language guidelines — writing (digital.gov)
• APA Style — Active and passive voice