What is the Difference Between Active Voice and Passive Voice?

The main difference between active voice and passive voice lies in the subject's role within the sentence. In the active voice, the subject performs the action, while in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon and receives the action.

Active voice:

• The subject performs the action in the sentence.
• It is direct, clear, and easy to read.
• It is generally more concise and efficient than passive voice.
• Examples: "Neil Armstrong walked on the moon", "The dog chases the ball".

Passive voice:

• The subject is acted upon and receives the action.
• It is less direct and may feel more detached.
• It often uses more words than active voice, which can make writing harder to read and less efficient.
• Examples: "The moon was walked on by Neil Armstrong", "The ball was chased by the dog".

When deciding between active and passive voice, consider the following factors:

• Choose active voice for most non-scientific writing, as it makes your meaning clear and keeps sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy.
• Choose passive voice when the action is more important than the doer of the action, or when the doer is unknown or irrelevant.
• Keep in mind that using too much passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences, even in scientific writing.

Comparative Table: Active Voice vs Passive Voice

Here is a table comparing the differences between active and passive voice:

Active voice is generally preferred for its clarity and directness, while passive voice can be used to emphasize the action rather than the actor or to maintain an authoritative tone.