MEPX
Chapter 13 of 13All chapters
  1. 1Parts of speech
  2. 2Sentences and fragments
  3. 3Subject and verb agreement
  4. 4Tenses
  5. 5Lie and lay
  6. 6Pronouns
  7. 7Apostrophes
  8. 8Sound alike pairs
  9. 9Fewer and less
  10. 10Plurals
  11. 11Commas
  12. 12Other punctuation
  13. 13Active and passive

Chapter 13 of 13

Active and passive

Choosing where the subject sits.

The difference

Active puts the doer first: the server rejected the request. Passive puts the receiver first: the request was rejected. Active is usually shorter and clearer.

  • Passive hides who acted, which is sometimes dishonest and sometimes kind.
  • It is the right choice when the doer is unknown or genuinely irrelevant.

Editing for it

If you can add "by zombies" after the verb and the sentence still works, it is passive. Rewrite it only when naming the doer helps the reader.