
To describe a condition in which the actor is unknown or unimportantĮvery year, thousands of people are diagnosed as having cancer. The procedures were somehow misinterpreted. After long debate, the proposal was endorsed by. The data processing department recently presented what proved to be a controversial proposal to expand its staff.

To keep the subject and focus consistent throughout a passage To emphasize the action rather than the actorĪfter long debate, the proposal was endorsed by the long-range planning committee. A sentence is in active voice when the subject is the one performing the verbs action. There are sometimes good reasons to use the passive voice. If the subject of the sentence is somewhat anonymous, see if you can use a general term, such as “researchers,” or “the study,” or “experts in this field.”.Rewrite the sentence so that the subject buried in the “by” clause is closer to the beginning of the sentence. If you find one, the sentence may be in the passive voice. Look for a “by” phrase (e.g., “by the dog” in the last example above).Here are some tips and strategies for converting sentences from the passive to the active voice. Passive: It was earlier demonstrated that heart attacks can be caused by high stress.

Impressively, ChatGPT found all the passive voice issues and was able to make the proper changes to make the sentences active voice. Passive: It is believed by the candidate that a ceiling must be placed on the budget by Congress.Īctive: Researchers earlier showed that high stress can cause heart attacks. Check Passive Voice Because other AI grammar checkers frequently look for passive voice, a test paragraph was submitted to ChatGPT to see if it could detect voice as well. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.Īctive: The candidate believes that Congress must place a ceiling on the budget.

In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. Passive voice sentences often use more words, can be vague, and can lead to a tangle of prepositional phrases. Generally, try to use the active voice whenever possible.
