active voice

grammar

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July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

In grammar, voice indicates the relationship between a sentence's subject and the action. The two primary voices in English are active and passive.1

In the active voice, the subject performs the action. The sentence structure typically follows a doer → action → receiver pattern. For example, "The committee approved the budget". Active voice is often preferred for its clarity and directness, making writing more engaging.2

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. This is often formed using a form of "to be" plus a past participle. For instance, "The budget was approved by the committee". The passive voice can be useful when the doer is unknown, when emphasizing the result, or when the receiver of the action is more important than the doer. However, overuse of the passive voice can make writing seem weak or evasive.2

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voice
…in languages are those of active, passive, and middle voice. These distinctions may be made by inflection, as in Latin, or by syntactic variation, as in English. The active-passive opposition can be illustrated by the following sentences:
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…in languages are those of active, passive, and middle voice. These distinctions may be made by inflection, as in Latin, or by syntactic variation, as in English. The active-passive opposition can be illustrated by the following sentences:
Read More

Indo-European languages
Verbal inflection
…of endings, distinguishing two voices: active, in which typically the subject was not affected by the action, and mediopassive, in which typically the subject was affected, directly or indirectly. Thus, Sanskrit active yájati and mediopassive yájate both mean ‘he sacrifices,’ but the former is said of a priest who performs…
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…of endings, distinguishing two voices: active, in which typically the subject was not affected by the action, and mediopassive, in which typically the subject was affected, directly or indirectly. Thus, Sanskrit active yájati and mediopassive yájate both mean ‘he sacrifices,’ but the former is said of a priest who performs…
Read More