In an active sentence, the person doing the acting is the subject of the sentence and the object upon which he is acting is the object. Observe.

The dog caught the frisbee.

“The dog,” a noun with an article introducing it, is the subject of the sentence. “Caught” is the verb. It’s an active verb, not a linking for “be” verb (form of “to be” – am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been). What did the dog catch? The dog caught the frisbee. “The frisbee” is a noun (part of speech) functioning as a direct object (part of sentence).

OK, so that’s all fine and dandy, but that’s a good, active sentence. Active sentences are those with active verbs that make you feel a part of the action — which is what all good writing should do. Specific nouns. Colorful and descriptive adjectives. Active verbs. Ah, if only writing were so simple.

In a passive sentence, the person doing the acting is the object of a preposition in the sentence and the object upon which he is acting is the subject. Observe.

The frisbee was caught by the dog.

“The frisbee,” a noun with an article introducing it, is the subject of the sentence. “Was caught” is the compound verb. It’s a form of “to be” with a past participle. In this case, the verb is actually in simple past tense in passive voice. And of course, the actor, the dog, is the object of the preposition “by.”

Active voice is clearly much stronger. Consider the following sentences: The meal was catered by Sino Wok.

This first sentence is a classic example of passive voice. It’s an easy trap to fall into and always results in weaker writing. Why not just say, “Sino Wok catered the meal.”? Active verb. Shorter. Stronger sentence.

Consider: The dinner tables were covered with white sheets.

Who covered them? A good reporter, who found this fact significant, would find out and let the reader know. OK, maybe it’s not the most important detail in a feature lead in which the writer is trying to set the scene, but in the body of the story, don’t keep me in suspense.

Also consider: The rally was deemed a success.

This is opinionated. Who deemed it a success? A critical fact. Find out and tell me. Remember, as journalist, you’re an observer of the action, an objective observer, not a participant. Don’t let your opinion creep into the story. Report the opinion of other students and attribute their quotes.

For example: Students’ spirits were not dampened.

Were not dampened by what? Tell me. Don’t keep me in suspense.

Why then passive?

So, if passive voice is so bad, why was it invented? Well, truly, there are times when passive voice is appropriate and not just a sign of lazy writers and reporters. Some people say never use passive voice. I wouldn’t go that far. Consider

Kennedy assassinated

This was a breaking news headline in the Dallas Morning News and many other newspapers across America. It’s in passive voice. “(President John F.) Kennedy (was) assassinated (by person or persons unknown).” In fact, that last part, what would be the object of the preposition is the key. They didn’t know, at the time, who did the shooting. When you don’t know who the actors are, or when the person being acted upon is more important than who did the acting, passive voice is appropriate.

TENSES

In fact, there are many tenses.

• past: The dog caught the ball.
• present: The dog hears the train coming.
• future: The dog will catch the ball.
• present progressive: The dog is playing ball.
  • “be” (present) + ing
• past progressive: The dog was playing ball
  • “be” (past) + ing
• present perfect: The dog has played ball.
  • “have” (present) + ed
• past perfect: The dog had played ball.
  • “have” (past) + ed
• future perfect: The dog will have played ball.
  • “have” (future) + ed
• past perfect progressive: The dog has been playing ball.
  • “have” + “be” (past) + ing