When to use passive voice
Use the passive voice when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant; when the thing acted on is the topic of the sentence; when you are being deliberately impersonal; or when the procedure matters more than the person. In those five cases the passive is not a lapse — it is the sentence a careful writer would choose.
1. The doer is unknown
“My car was stolen last night.” “The files were deleted over the weekend.” “The window was broken.” You could write “Someone stole my car,” but someone adds nothing the reader did not already assume. The passive is shorter and more natural here.
2. The doer is obvious
“The suspect was arrested on Tuesday.” Everyone knows the police arrest people. “The defendant was found guilty.” Juries find people guilty. “The patient was discharged.” Writing the doer in would be padding.
3. The receiver is the topic
Sentences are organised so that the subject is what the sentence is about. If a paragraph is about the bridge, keep the bridge as the subject even when other people did the acting: “The bridge was built in 1932, was widened in 1978 and is now being repainted.” The active version — “Workers built the bridge in 1932, the county widened it in 1978 and a contractor is now repainting it” — changes subject three times and loses the thread. APA Style makes this the main reason to use the passive: when the focus should be on the recipient of the action.
4. You are being deliberately impersonal or tactful
“Your application was not successful.” “The decision has been made.” “Mistakes were made.” The last is famous as an evasion, and sometimes evasion is exactly the register you want: a rejection letter, a diplomatic statement, a note that should not assign blame. Use the passive knowingly here, and know that readers can tell.
5. The procedure matters and the person does not
“Samples were centrifuged for ten minutes.” “The surface was cleaned with isopropyl alcohol.” “Payroll is audited annually.” In lab methods, safety procedures and process documentation, the point is what happens, not who makes it happen. The federal plain-language guidelines prefer active voice in regulations because the reader needs to know who must act — but they allow the passive when the law itself is the only actor, which is the same principle.
Two more good reasons
Sentence rhythm. A long active subject can be clumsy: “A committee of seventeen underwriters, three actuaries and the chief risk officer approved the rate change” reads better as “The rate change was approved by a committee of seventeen underwriters, three actuaries and the chief risk officer.” Put the heavy noun phrase at the end, where English prefers it.
Linking sentences. The end of one sentence often becomes the start of the next. “The carrier issued a new endorsement. The endorsement was drafted by outside counsel.” The passive in the second sentence lets the endorsement stay in the subject seat.
How to write a good passive
Keep it short — be + participle, and the “by” phrase only if the doer adds information. Avoid stacking: “It has been decided that the request will be reviewed” has two passives where one would do. And do not let the passive drift into a whole paragraph; one or two in a run of active sentences is invisible, five in a row is a form letter.
Paste a draft into the checker and read the verdict line under each flagged sentence: it tells you which of the cases above probably applies, and which passives are hiding a doer the reader would want to see.
Questions people ask
- When is it appropriate to use passive voice?
When the doer is unknown (“The car was stolen”), obvious (“He was arrested”), or unimportant (“The samples were stored at −80 °C”); when the receiver is the topic (“The bridge was built in 1932”); or when you are being deliberately impersonal (“Your request was not approved”).
- Should I use passive voice in a research paper?
In methods sections, often yes: the procedure matters and the researcher does not. APA Style permits both voices and recommends the active where the actor matters. Many journals now ask for “we measured” rather than “measurements were taken.”
- Is passive voice OK in business writing?
In small doses. “Your order has been shipped” is fine. A paragraph of passives in a complaint response reads as evasive; name who will do what.
- How do I write in passive voice?
Make the receiver the subject, use the right form of be for the tense, add the past participle, and decide whether to name the doer after “by.” The active to passive converter builds it for you.
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