Effective Business English

Understanding when to use active or passive voice helps you convey your message more effectively, depending on the context and what you wish to emphasise. Active voice is generally preferred for its clarity and directness, while passive voice is useful for focusing on the action or creating an impersonal tone.

Active Voice

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb. The focus is on the subject doing the action.

Structure: Subject + Verb + Object

Examples:

• Active: The chef (subject) prepared (verb) the meal (object).
• Active: The team (subject) won (verb) the match (object).
• Active: She (subject) wrote (verb) the report (object).

Benefits of Active Voice:

• Clarity: It makes it clear who is doing what.
• Directness: Sentences are usually shorter and more straightforward.
• Engagement: Active sentences are often more engaging and dynamic.

Passive Voice

In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon by the verb. The focus is on the action and the object rather than who or what is performing the action.

Structure: Object + Form of 'to be' + Past Participle (Verb) + (by Subject)

Examples:

• Passive: The meal (object) was prepared (verb) by the chef (subject).
• Passive: The match (object) was won (verb) by the team (subject).
• Passive: The report (object) was written (verb) by her (subject).

Benefits of Passive Voice:

• Emphasis on the Action: It highlights the action or the object rather than the doer.
• Impersonal Tone: Useful for formal or scientific writing where the focus is on the action or result.
• Unknown or Unimportant Doer: When the doer is unknown or not important to the context.

When to Use Each

Active Voice:

·       Clarity and Directness: When you want your writing to be clear and direct.

·       Engagement: To make your writing more dynamic and engaging.

·       Example: 'The manager approved the budget.'

Passive Voice:

·       Focus on the Action: When the action itself is more important than who performed it.

·       Impersonal Tone: In formal, scientific, or technical writing.

·       Unknown Doer: When the performer of the action is unknown or irrelevant.

·       Example: 'The budget was approved.'

Examples and Exercises

Active to Passive:

1. Active: The scientist discovered a new element.
• Passive: A new element was discovered by the scientist.
2. Active: The company launched a new product.
• Passive: A new product was launched by the company.

Passive to Active:

1. Passive: The book was written by the author.
• Active: The author wrote the book.
2. Passive: The project was completed by the team.
• Active: The team completed the project.