In spoken English, we generally prefer active voice because it’s more direct and sounds more natural. When you speak in active voice, it’s clear who is doing what.
Think of it this way:
Active Voice (Sounds more natural)
- Who did it? The subject of the sentence.
- Structure: Doer + Action + Receiver
- Example: “My brother broke the window.” (It’s clear who did the breaking.)
Passive Voice (Used less often, for specific reasons)
- What happened? The action is emphasized, or the doer isn’t important.
- Structure: Receiver + “to be” verb + Past Participle (+ by Doer – optional)
- Example: “The window was broken (by my brother).” (Here, the focus is on the window being broken, not necessarily who did it.)
When do we use passive voice in spoken English?
While active is king, there are a few times we naturally use passive voice:
- When you don’t know who did it: “My car was stolen last night!” (You don’t know who stole it.)
- When it’s obvious who did it: “The mail is delivered every morning.” (It’s obvious the mail carrier delivers it.)
- When you don’t want to say who did it (to be polite or avoid blame): “Mistakes were made.” (Instead of “I made mistakes.”)
- When the action is more important than the doer: “The decision was made to close the office.” (The decision itself is the focus.)
So, for most everyday conversations, stick with active voice. It makes your sentences clearer and more dynamic!
Now, let’s look at active and passive voice specifically from a spoken English point of view. The “rules” here are more about naturalness and common usage in conversation than strict grammatical transformations for every single tense.
General Rules for Conversion
| Feature | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Subject performs the action. | Subject receives the action. |
| Structure | Subject + Verb + Object | Object + “to be” verb (auxiliary) + Past Participle + (by + Agent) |
| Emphasis | On the doer of the action. | On the action or the receiver of the action. |
| Pronouns | I, We, He, She, They, Who (as subject) | Me, Us, Him, Her, Them, Whom (as object after “by”) |
| Brevity/Clarity | Generally more direct, clear, and concise. | Can be less direct and often longer. Used when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious. |
Rules by Tense
| Tense | Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Example (Active to Passive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Subject + V1 (+s/es) + Object | Object + is/am/are + V3 + (by + Subject) | He eats an apple. → An apple is eaten by him. |
| Present Continuous | Subject + is/am/are + V1-ing + Object | Object + is/am/are + being + V3 + (by + Subject) | He is eating an apple. → An apple is being eaten by him. |
| Present Perfect | Subject + has/have + V3 + Object | Object + has/have + been + V3 + (by + Subject) | He has eaten an apple. → An apple has been eaten by him. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Subject + has/have + been + V1-ing + Object | (Generally not converted) | He has been eating an apple. → (No common passive form) |
| Simple Past | Subject + V2 + Object | Object + was/were + V3 + (by + Subject) | He ate an apple. → An apple was eaten by him. |
| Past Continuous | Subject + was/were + V1-ing + Object | Object + was/were + being + V3 + (by + Subject) | He was eating an apple. → An apple was being eaten by him. |
| Past Perfect | Subject + had + V3 + Object | Object + had + been + V3 + (by + Subject) | He had eaten an apple. → An apple had been eaten by him. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | Subject + had + been + V1-ing + Object | (Generally not converted) | He had been eating an apple. → (No common passive form) |
| Simple Future | Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object | Object + will/shall + be + V3 + (by + Subject) | He will eat an apple. → An apple will be eaten by him. |
| Future Continuous | Subject + will/shall + be + V1-ing + Object | (Generally not converted, or rare) | He will be eating an apple. → (Less common passive form) |
| Future Perfect | Subject + will/shall + have + V3 + Object | Object + will/shall + have + been + V3 + (by + Subject) | He will have eaten an apple. → An apple will have been eaten by him. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | Subject + will/shall + have + been + V1-ing + Object | (Generally not converted) | He will have been eating an apple. → (No common passive form) |
| Modals | Subject + Modal + V1 + Object | Object + Modal + be + V3 + (by + Subject) | He can lift this box. → This box can be lifted by him. |
| Imperative | V1 + Object (Command) | Let + Object + be + V3 / You are ordered/requested/advised to… | Close the door. → Let the door be closed. / You are ordered to close the door. |
Active vs. Passive Voice in Spoken English
| Feature / Rule Point | Active Voice (Preferred in Spoken English) | Passive Voice (Used Less, for Specific Reasons) |
|---|---|---|
| Main Principle | Direct and Clear: You say who did what. Sounds natural and concise. | Indirect, Action-Focused: You emphasize what happened, not necessarily who did it. Can sound more formal or vague. |
| Typical Structure | Doer + Action + (Receiver of Action) | Receiver of Action + “to be” verb + Past Participle (+ by Doer – often omitted) |
| Emphasis Is On… | The person or thing performing the action. | The action itself or the person/thing experiencing the action. |
| When We Use It (Spoken) | Most of the time! When you know and want to state who did something. For lively, straightforward communication. | Only when: 1. You don’t know who did it. 2. It’s obvious who did it. 3. You don’t want to say who did it (e.g., to be polite, avoid blame). 4. The action is more important than the doer. |
| Sound / Feel | Energetic, direct, personal. “Normal” conversation. | Can sound a bit formal, impersonal, or evasive if overused. Sometimes sounds “official” or like a news report. |
| Example | “I lost my keys!” | “My keys were lost.” (You don’t know who lost them, or it’s you, and you’re just stating the fact.) |
| Another Example | “The team won the championship.” | “The championship was won by the team.” (Focus shifted to the championship.) |
| Example (Omitting Doer) | (N/A, always clear) | Can sound a bit formal, impersonal, or evasive if overused. Sometimes it sounds “official” or like a news report. |
In a nutshell for spoken English:
- Default to Active Voice: It’s clearer, more direct, and sounds more like how we naturally speak.
- Use Passive Voice only when it genuinely serves a purpose: You don’t know the doer, it’s obvious you want to hide the doer, or the action is genuinely the star of the sentence.
Overusing the passive voice in conversation can make you sound less confident or less engaging.