Grammar Basics: Active and Passive Voice

You use the Active Voice if you emphasize on the doer of the action. One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb - or passive. Hence, passive voice is when you emphasize on the result or the recipient of the action. Which one to choose Active or Passive? Active: “The dog chased the cat.” Passive: “The cat was chased by the dog.” In this very simple sentence, the active voice is the better choice. It is more concise, more direct, and stronger. The passive voice, in this case, is unnecessarily wordy. This class will help you to understand how to structure sentences in the Passive Voice. You will also learn how to avoid the common mistakes that are made in the Passive Voice sentences.