How do you fix passive voice in a sentence?
Daniel Moore
Published Jan 24, 2026
How to fix passive voice
- Identify who or what is actually performing the action described by the verb in the sentence. ...
- Get rid of the verb be and turn the past participle into a correctly conjugated verb. ...
- Take the subject of the old sentence and turn it into a direct object.
What are the 3 steps to fixing passive voice?
How to Fix Passive Voice in 5 Simple Steps
- Look for sentences that turn the object into the subject. ...
- Identify the meaning of the sentence. ...
- Try putting the subject (the one doing the thing) in its rightful place. ...
- Decide whether the sentence needs changing. ...
- Correct passive voice misuse by rearranging the sentence.
How do you get rid of passive writing?
To avoid using the passive voice, make sure the subject of your sentence is doing the action. For example, "The tail was wagged by the dog" is passive, but "The dog wagged its tail" isn't because the subject of the sentence, the dog, is doing the action.
How do you restructure passive voice?
In the passive voice, the main verb is always a combination of the verbbe and the past participle of another verb. Example: Many mistakes were [verb be] made [past participle of make] by her. Example: The table was [verb be] set [past participle of set] before I arrived.
How do you fix unclear sentences?
There are many strategies for improving the clarity of your sentences and your papers.
- Go from old to new information. ...
- Be careful about placement of subordinate clauses. ...
- Use active voice. ...
- Use parallel constructions. ...
- Avoid noun strings. ...
- Avoid overusing noun forms of verbs. ...
- Avoid multiple negatives.
How do you change a passive sentence into an active sentence?
If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly.
How do you change to passive voice in word?
Choose Proofing from the column on the left of the Word Options window. Go to Writing Style, then select Grammar from the drop-down menu. In Grammar Settings, scroll down to the Clarity section then tick both Passive Voice and Passive Voice with Unknown Actor. Click OK.
What is wrong with using passive voice?
Passive voice often creates unclear, less direct, wordy sentences, whereas active voice creates clearer, more concise sentences. To change a sentence from passive to active voice, determine who or what performs the action, and use that person or thing as the subject of the sentence.
What makes a sentence unclear?
The first is due to the modifying word or phrase being placed too far from the word or group of words it's meant to modify. The second happens when the sentence doesn't include a logical subject to modify. In both situations, dangling modifiers make the meaning of a sentence unclear — confusing the reader.
How can I change my voice in a sentence?
To change an active voice sentence to a passive voice sentence:
- Make the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
- Use the verb “to be” in the same tense as the main verb of the active sentence.
- Use the past participle of the main verb of the active sentence.
How can I improve my sentence?
Lesson Summary
- Ensure the information within the sentence is clear.
- Make sure to use transitional words.
- Use care with subordinate clauses.
- Use active voice.
- Use active verbs.
- Follow grammar rules.
How can I make my sentence better?
6 Tips for Writing Good Sentences
- Keep it simple. Long sentences or overly complex sentences don't necessarily make sophisticated sentence writing. ...
- Use concrete rhetoric. ...
- Employ parallelism. ...
- Mind your grammar. ...
- Properly punctuate. ...
- Practice writing.
How can I improve my sentence fluency?
4 Ways to Improve Sentence Fluency
- Read it aloud. The very first thing to do before revising essays for sentence fluency is to read the piece out loud. ...
- ABC the paragraphs. ...
- Combine simple sentences to form compound sentences. ...
- Use dependent clauses to start sentences.
How do you make a smooth sentence?
How to Smoothen Your Writing
- #1 Write the main idea of each paragraph in the margin. To conceptualise and check the logic of your piece, write the idea of the paragraph in one sentence. ...
- #2 Use transition words. ...
- #3 Peer Review. ...
- #4 Avoid Run-on sentences.
What makes sentences easy to read?
Keep your main verb ('doing word') as close as possible to the subject ('do-er') of the sentence. Don't separate them with intervening verbiage. For your sentence's main verb, choose something dynamic - a word that shows your sentence's main character or characters taking action.
How can writing conventions be improved?
What Are Writing Conventions?
- Apply spelling rules correctly.
- Use correct punctuation to smoothly guide the reader through the paper.
- Use verb tenses correctly.
- Write sentences that express complete thoughts.
- Demonstrate paragraph organization and use smooth transitions.
How do you correct a sentence?
Subject-Verb Agreement. In order for a sentence to be grammatically correct, the subject and verb must both be singular or plural. In other words, the subject and verb must agree with one another in their tense. If the subject is in plural form, the verb should also be in plur al form (and vice versa).
How do you revise a sentence?
Need Help Revising Sentences? Try These 10 Top Exercises
- Read Your Work Aloud.
- Separate Writing and Proofreading.
- Print Out Your Work.
- Look for Sentence Fragments.
- Get Your Apostrophes Right.
- Check For Correct Commas.
- Evaluate the Readability of Your Work.
Is there an app to rewrite sentences?
QuillBot is a paraphrasing and summarizing tool that helps millions of students and professionals cut their writing time by more than half using state-of-the-art AI to rewrite any sentence, paragraph, or article.
What are sentence Errors?
Students commonly make three kinds of sentence structure errors: fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. 1) Fragments: Fragments are incomplete sentences. Very often, they consist of a subject without the predicate. Example: The child who has a rash. Example: Since the drugs have many side effects.
What are the 4 types of sentence structures?
There are four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Each sentence is defined by the use of independent and dependent clauses, conjunctions, and subordinators. Simple sentences: A simple sentence is an independent clause with no conjunction or dependent clause.
Can it be repaired in active voice?
Answer. Answer: Can you repair it?