Passive Voice Checker That Explains Each Fix

Do this pass late, once the content is settled. UNC's handout notes that clarity often comes when you revise¹, not on your first try. On a novel, run the bigger checks first, such as stakes and continuity, with a self-editing checklist.

Most passives pair a form of "be" with a past participle. The US government's plain language guidance lists forms such as "are," "was," "were," "could be" and "have been"², followed by a participle that usually ends in -ed. Irregular ones count too: "was written," "were paid."

For a quick test, add "by zombies" after the verb. "The budget was approved by zombies" still makes sense, so it's passive. "The office was quiet by zombies" doesn't, so it isn't.

Checkers that look only for "be" miss some passives. In a 2014 journal paper, the linguist Geoffrey Pullum shows that passives do not always contain "be"³. "Got fined" is passive, and so is a participle after a noun, as in "the plan, approved in May." UNC adds that grammar checkers typically catch only a fraction¹ of passives.

Keep a passive when naming the actor adds nothing for the reader. Google's developer documentation style guide allows the passive to emphasize an object, to play down an actor, or when readers don't need to know who's responsible⁴. Typical cases:

• The actor is unknown: "The office was broken into overnight."
• The actor doesn't matter: "The bridge was built in 1932."
• You'd rather not blame the reader: Google's guide prefers "Over 50 conflicts were found in the file" to "You created over 50 conflicts in the file."
• The law is the only actor: the federal guidance allows a passive when one action follows another as a matter of law².

A passive also keeps your topic up front. Pullum describes a rule most writing guides miss: in a passive with "by," the actor should be at least as new to the discussion as the subject³. "Have you heard the news about YouTube? It was bought by Google" works because YouTube is already the topic.

Change it when the reader needs the actor: instructions, deadlines, decisions and findings. The federal advice puts it simply: active voice makes it clear who should do what². "The form must be submitted by May 1" doesn't say who submits it. "You must submit the form by May 1" does.

1. 1

   Find the actor

   Look in the "by" phrase, then the sentences around it. If the draft never says, ask someone who knows.

2. 2

   Make the actor the subject

   Put them before the verb: "The board approved the budget." If your team did it, say "we."

3. 3

   Let the verb do the work

   If the action is hiding in a noun, bring it out: "A review was conducted" becomes "We reviewed it."

4. 4

   Read it in context

   Check that it still follows from the sentence before and means exactly what the old one did.

If a sentence still feels heavy without the passive, look for padding or a repeated word. A line editor tightens a whole page in your voice, and a repetitive word finder catches echoes.

The passive's worst use is hiding who is responsible. The UNC handout files "Mistakes were made" among what George Orwell called the "swindles and perversions" of writing¹. Read every apology, incident report and audit finding for it.

Grammar alone won't catch it, though. Pullum notes that "mistakes happened" and "an error has occurred" are not passive³ at all. They still leave out who did it. "An error occurred during the update" dodges; "We deleted 40 customer records" doesn't. So look for the missing person, not just the missing "by."

Science is the big exception, and it is shifting. UNC notes that some instructors want lab reports in the passive, especially in Materials and Methods¹, while more and more journals accept or prefer "we." Nature Portfolio tells authors that the active voice ("we performed the experiment...") typically helps readers⁵ understand results. Follow your journal's or instructor's rule.

In fiction, a passive can be the sharper choice. Pullum points to the first line of Lee Child's first Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor: "I was arrested in Eno's diner." Reacher has no idea who ordered the arrest, so naming the actor would spoil the scene.

And don't aim for zero. George Orwell wrote "Never use the passive where you can use the active" in his 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language." Pullum counted 26% of the transitive verbs in that essay in the passive³, against about 17% in typical prose. Whatever rule your team settles on, write it into your house style guide.

Checking a long report by hand takes a while. The tool at the top of this page comments on each passive with a verdict and, where it helps, an active rewrite. When your draft doesn't say who acted, it asks.