The Passive Voice: When and Why to Use It
How to form the passive, and — more importantly — when it is the right choice rather than a stylistic mistake.
The passive has a bad reputation, mostly from writing advice aimed at native speakers. In fact it's essential in professional, technical, and academic English — when used deliberately.
How it's formed
be (in the right tense) + past participle.
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| The team wrote the report. | The report was written by the team. |
| They are testing the system. | The system is being tested. |
| Someone has stolen my bag. | My bag has been stolen. |
| They will announce it. | It will be announced. |
Only the tense of be changes; the participle stays fixed.
When the passive is the right choice
1. The doer is unknown or irrelevant
- My bag was stolen. (we don't know who)
- The road was resurfaced last week. (who did it doesn't matter)
2. The result matters more than the actor
- The vaccine was developed in under a year.
3. Describing processes and procedures
- The samples are heated to 90°C, then left to cool.
4. Being tactful — avoiding blame
- Mistakes were made. (rather than "you made mistakes")
- The deadline was missed.
This last use is genuinely valuable in workplace communication, where naming the person can be counterproductive.
When to avoid it
If the doer matters, the active is clearer and shorter:
- ❌ A decision was reached by the committee.
- ✅ The committee reached a decision.
Mentioning the doer: by
Add by only when the actor is worth stating.
- The proposal was rejected by the board. (relevant)
- The window was broken by someone. (pointless — just say "The window was broken")
Common error: forgetting "be"
- ❌ The report written last week.
- ✅ The report was written last week.
Try it yourself
The quiz below tests both the form and — harder — the judgement of when the passive is appropriate.