Active versus Passive Voice: Crafting an Engaging Sentence
Engaging writing is an artful combination of elements: vivid descriptions, varied sentence structures, effective language use, and a liberal application of the active voice.
Active voice is preferred for its directness, clarity, and ability to convey a sense of immediacy. It creates a dynamic and engaging tone by clearly indicating who or what performs the action. However, passive voice can be appropriately used in certain contexts for stylistic reasons, such as emphasizing the result of an action or shifting focus.
While crafting engaging sentences requires a careful balance of different elements, today, we will focus on the significance of the active voice.
The Difference Between Active and Passive Voice
Active and Passive voice is a property of sentences.
Active Voice
In active voice, the subject directly performs the action expressed by the verb on the object.
Example: The chef (subject) cooked (active verb) a delicious meal (object).
Passive Voice
In passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb, and the doer of the action may be mentioned or omitted.
Example: A delicious meal (subject) was cooked (passive verb) by the chef (doer of the action).
Note that the thought expressed by the passive construction of the sentence isn’t much changed if we delete the doer entirely and just write: “A delicious meal (subject) was cooked (passive verb).” However, if we deleted the object from the sentence that contains the active verb (“The chef (subject) cooked (active verb)” the meaning would be radically altered.
Active Voice versus Active Verb; Passive Voice versus Passive Verb
I was confused about the difference between what was meant by “active voice” (or “passive voice”) versus “active verb” (or “passive verb”) for ages! And I guess this is understandable since the active/passive voice and active/passive verbs are closely related concepts in grammar. However, there is a difference.
We have already talked about the active/passive voice above so here I will only treat active/passive verbs. I’ll address each in turn.
Active Verb
An active verb is a word—a verb—that expresses an action that is performed by the subject of the sentence. Further, this action clearly indicates that the subject of the sentence is the agent or doer of the action.
The use of active verbs is closely associated with the active voice. When constructing a sentence in active voice, it is common to use active verbs to convey the action directly and emphasize the doer of the action. For example:
Active verb (in active voice): "Mary baked the cake."
In this sentence, the verb "baked" is an active verb because it shows that Mary (the subject) is performing the action of baking. The sentence is in active voice because the subject is the doer of the action.
Passive Verb
Similarly, a passive verb is a word, a verb, that refers to the action rather than performing the action. These verbs indicate that the subject is being acted upon or affected by the action expressed by the verb.
For example,
Passive verb (in passive voice): "The cake was baked by Mary."
In this sentence, the verb "was baked" is a passive verb because it indicates that the cake (the subject) is being acted upon or receiving the action of being baked. (The sentence is in passive voice because the subject is the receiver of the action rather than the doer.)
Why Active Verbs are Preferred
In his memoir on the craft, On Writing, Stephen King wrote:
“Verbs come in two types, active and passive. With an active verb, the subject of the sentence is doing something. With a passive verb, something is being done to the subject of the sentence. The subject is just letting it happen.”
“I think timid writers like them [passive verbs] for the same reason timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe. There is no troublesome action to contend with…. I think unsure writers also feel the passive voice somehow lends their work authority, perhaps even a quality of majesty. If you find instruction manuals and lawyers’ torts majestic, I guess it does.”
Here are three more reasons to prefer sentences with active verbs:
a. An active verb makes the meaning of a sentence clearer.
Active verbs show the action; they don’t just tell us about it. Active verbs are straightforward and vivid. For example:
Active: The chef prepared a delicious three-course meal for the guests.
Passive: A delicious three-course meal was prepared for the guests by the chef.
The active verb “prepared” straightforwardly indicates who is preforming the action (the chef) as well as the object of the action (a delicious three-course meal). This sentence is both clear and direct.
You can see that in the passive version of the sentence, the reader’s attention is shifted away from the person who is doing the action (the chef), and as a result, who is doing what to whom is less clear and direct.
b. An active verb makes a sentence more concise
Since active verbs convey the action directly, the need for extra words is eliminated. For example:
Active: The athlete won the gold medal.
Passive: The gold medal was won by the athlete.
In the active version, the meaning is clear, precise, and uses fewer words. As a result, the sentence is easier to read than the passive version. (In general, the shorter the sentence, the clearer it will be and the more impact it will have.)
c. An active verb makes the meaning of a sentence more immediate and dynamic
The tone of sentences that contain an active verb is more lively than sentences that don’t.
Active: The wind whipped through the trees.
Passive: The trees were whipped by the wind.
Both the active and passive constructions convey the same information, but the use of the passive verb in the second version makes the action less immediate, emphasizing the result of the action rather than the doer of the action.
Passive Verbs Have Their Place
Sometimes you want to emphasize the receiver of the action. For example:
Active Voice: "The construction crew installed the new windows last night."
Passive Voice: "The new windows were installed last night."
In this example what we are interested in is the new windows and when they were installed. We don’t care that it was a construction crew that did the installation.
Also, sometimes you want a specific tone that can best be achieved by the passive voice. For example:
Active Voice: "The team completed the project ahead of schedule."
Passive Voice: "The project was completed ahead of schedule."
In this case the tone of the sentence with the passive verb is more formal. Also, we care about the project and when it was completed not whose project it was.
In Conclusion
As we've seen, the active voice plays a crucial role in shaping the overall tone of your writing. While it often provides clarity, conciseness, and immediacy, exclusive reliance on it can be a mistake. That said, deciding when to embrace the dynamic energy of the active voice versus the refined formality of the passive voice is a nuanced art.
What are your thoughts on using active versus passive verbs? Do you believe there's a place for passive verbs? Are there examples you'd like to share? I'd love to hear from you! Share your insights in the comments below, and let's continue the conversation.