Understanding the Passive Voice
Learn how to recognise the passive voice by what the subject is doing, why a writer might choose it, and which sentences can be made passive in the first place.
Shifting the focus
The passive voice puts the receiver of an action first.
In an active sentence, the subject performs the action. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action instead, and the performer of the action may be named, or left out entirely.
In The window was broken., the subject the window receives the action of breaking. Nothing is said about who or what broke it; the sentence focuses entirely on what happened to the window.
This lesson focuses on recognising the passive voice and understanding why it exists. The mechanics of building a passive sentence are covered in the next lesson, Forming the Passive Voice.
Before you begin
This is one of ten topics on the passive voice.
This lesson focuses on understanding the passive voice specifically. The passive voice as a whole includes nine other topics, each covered in its own lesson.
If you would like an overview of the passive voice in general, begin with the Passive Voice page.
The central idea
The same event can be told from two different starting points.
Compare an active sentence with the passive version of the same event.
01
Active
Someone broke the window.
02
Passive
The window was broken.
The useful question is: is the subject doing the action, or receiving it?
In the active version, someone performs the action. In the passive version, the window receives it, and the performer disappears from the sentence entirely.
Testing for the passive voice
Ask what job the subject is doing.
Find the subject
The report was submitted late.
Ask whether it performs the action, or receives it
A report cannot submit itself; someone submitted the report. The subject here is receiving the action, so this sentence is passive.
Compare it to an active version
Someone submitted the report late.
In the active version, the report becomes the object rather than the subject, confirming that the original sentence was passive.
Why choose the passive voice
The passive voice serves several distinct purposes.
The performer is unknown
My car was stolen last night.
The speaker does not know who stole the car.
The performer is unimportant or obvious
The bridge was built in 1932.
Who exactly built the bridge matters less here than the fact and date of its construction.
The performer is intentionally left out
Mistakes were made.
This wording avoids naming who is responsible.
The receiver of the action is the main focus
The patient was treated successfully.
The focus stays on the patient, rather than on the medical staff.
Not every sentence can be passive
A verb needs a direct object to have a passive form.
She arrived early. (no passive form)
A verb like arrive does not take a direct object; there is nothing to become the subject of a passive sentence. Only verbs that take a direct object, such as break, submit or build, can be turned into the passive voice.
A useful decision guide
Ask what the subject is doing, and why passive suits the sentence.
01
Is the subject performing the action, or receiving it?
A receiving subject signals a passive sentence.
02
Does the verb take a direct object in its active form?
Only verbs with a direct object can be made passive.
03
Is the performer known, unknown, or unimportant?
This often decides whether passive voice fits the sentence.
04
What does the sentence want to emphasise?
Passive voice shifts emphasis toward the receiver of the action.
Common mistakes
Not every be verb, and not every verb, signals the passive voice.
A be verb describing a state is not automatically passive.
Not passive: This was a mistake.
Passive: The mistake was corrected.
Was a mistake describes a state, not an action performed on the subject, so it is not a passive verb form.
An intransitive verb has no passive form.
Not standard: The party was arrived at by the guests.
Correct: The guests arrived at the party.
Arrive does not take a direct object, so this sentence cannot be made passive.
The subject of a passive sentence should be checked, not assumed.
Not passive: She has finished the report.
Passive: The report has been finished.
The first sentence uses has as part of the present perfect, with she still performing the action, so it is active, not passive.
Check your understanding
Is each sentence active or passive?
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
The letter was delivered this morning.
✅ Exactly! The letter receives the action of being delivered.
❎ Not quite. Ask whether the letter is performing the delivery, or receiving it.
Can a letter deliver itself?
The committee approved the proposal.
✅ Exactly! The committee is performing the action of approving.
❎ Not quite. Is the committee doing the approving, or receiving it?
Who is doing the approving here?
This was a difficult decision.
✅ Exactly! “Was” here describes a state, not an action performed on the subject.
❎ Not quite. Not every sentence with “was” is passive.
Is there a past participle describing an action here, or just a description?
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the passive voice correctly.
Why is “My car was stolen last night.” a good candidate for the passive voice?
✅ Exactly! Not knowing who performed the action is one of the clearest reasons to choose the passive voice.
❎ Not quite. Think about what information the speaker does not have.
Why can “She arrived early.” not be made passive?
✅ Exactly! Only verbs with a direct object can be turned into the passive voice.
❎ Not quite. Look for a direct object receiving the action of “arrived”.
Quick review
The passive voice puts the receiver of an action in the subject position.
In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action rather than performing it.
Writers choose the passive voice when the performer is unknown, unimportant, or intentionally left out, or when the receiver of the action is the main focus.
Only verbs that take a direct object in their active form can be made passive.
Not every sentence with a form of be is passive; a be verb describing a state is not the same as a passive verb form.
Remember
Ask what the subject is doing to the action, not just what verb form appears.
A subject that receives an action, rather than performing it, is the clearest sign of the passive voice.