Mastering the Passive Voice: When and How to Use It in English Writing

You’ve probably been told to avoid the passive voice. Many teachers say it makes writing weak or vague. But that advice skips the nuance. The passive voice isn’t wrong—it’s a tool. The trick is knowing when to use passive voice in English and when to stick with active.

Let me show you the difference with two sentences:

• The cat chased the mouse. (Active – clear, direct)
• The mouse was chased by the cat. (Passive – still correct, but different focus)

In the active sentence, the cat is the star. In the passive, the mouse takes the spotlight. That shift is the whole point.

When Should You Use the Passive Voice?

Here are the most practical situations.

1. The “Doer” Is Unknown or Unimportant

If you don’t know who performed the action, passive is your friend.

• My bike was stolen last night. (Who stole it? No idea.)
• The window was broken during the storm. (We care about the window, not the wind.)

Active would force you to say “Someone stole my bike” – which adds a vague subject. Passive keeps the focus on what matters.

2. The Receiver of the Action Is More Important

Sometimes the result or the person affected matters more than who did it.

• The patient was treated immediately. (Patient is the focus, not the doctor.)
• Three new schools will be opened next year. (The schools matter, not the officials.)

This is common in news and official reports. You’ll see it a lot in English Measure’s reading passages, too.

3. Formal and Scientific Writing

In academic or technical contexts, the doer is often generic or obvious. Passive keeps the tone objective.

• The solution was heated to 100°C. (Who heated it? The lab technician. But that’s irrelevant.)
• It is believed that the economy will recover slowly. (No need to say “Economists believe…” every time.)

Notice how the passive makes the sentence sound more formal. That’s exactly what papers and reports require.

4. To Be Polite or Indirect

If you need to soften a message, passive can help.

• Your application has not been accepted. (Instead of “We rejected your application.”)
• The deadline was missed. (Instead of “You missed the deadline.”)

Passive removes the direct blame. Useful in business emails and apologies.

How to Form the Passive Voice

The structure is straightforward: be + past participle. The “be” verb changes tense to match your meaning.

Active: The chef cooks dinner.
Passive: Dinner is cooked by the chef.

Active: The chef cooked dinner.
Passive: Dinner was cooked by the chef.

Active: The chef will cook dinner.
Passive: Dinner will be cooked by the chef.

The “by + doer” part is optional. Only include it if the doer is important.

Let me give you a quick visual summary. This is how you transform an active sentence into passive:

What to Avoid

Passive voice is great in the right place, but overusing it makes your writing feel clunky and distant. Here are two quick red flags:

• Don’t use passive when the doer is important. “The cake was eaten” is fine if we don’t care who ate it. But if your dog did it, say “My dog ate the cake.”
• Don’t stack passives. “The decision was made to allow the project to be continued” – that’s hard to read. Break it up with active verbs.

A good rule of thumb: if you can easily rewrite a passive sentence in active form and it sounds better, do it.

Ready to Practice?

Knowing when to use passive voice in English is a skill you build with reading and writing. The best way to see it in action is to test yourself.

At English Measure, you can take a free English level test that covers reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Real-world passages will show you when writers choose passive – and when they don’t. Give it a try: Test your English level now.