{"id":3450,"date":"2025-07-15T21:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T14:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/?p=3450"},"modified":"2025-07-15T21:38:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T14:38:00","slug":"english-active-voice-vs-passive-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/english-active-voice-vs-passive-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"English Active Voice Vs. Passive Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/h2>\n
The active and passive voice are two different ways to structure sentences, affecting the emphasis on the subject and the object. In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action expressed by the verb.<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

In-depth Explanation<\/h2>\n
\n

You are probably already familiar with the active voice, where the subject performs the action. For example:<\/p>\n

The cat chased the mouse.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this example, the subject (the cat) performs the action of chasing the mouse (the object). Here is the same example in the passive voice:<\/p>\n

The mouse was chased by the cat.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this sentence, the receiver of the action (the mouse) becomes the subject and goes before the verb, while the doer of the action (the cat) becomes the object and goes after the verb.<\/p>\n

Also, take note of the different verb forms:\u00a0\u201cchased\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0in the active voice and\u00a0\u201cwas chased\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0in the passive voice.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\nKey Differences Between the Active and Passive Voice<\/h3>\n
\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\n<\/td>\n

\n

Active Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Passive Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The focus is on the doer of the action<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The focus is on the receiver of the action<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Usage<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • \n

    More often used in casual and spoken language<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Generally clearer and more direct, making it the preferred choice in most cases<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • \n

    More often used in academic and scientific writing, news reports and other formal situations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Often used when the focus is on the action or when the doer of the action is unknown or less important<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Conjugation<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Uses a conjugated verb directly tied to the subject<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Uses a form of the verb “to be” followed by the past participle of the main verb<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Examples<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

She\u00a0is writing<\/strong>\u00a0the report.<\/p>\n

They\u00a0built<\/strong>\u00a0the bridge in record time.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0fixed<\/strong>\u00a0the broken window.<\/p>\n

The team\u00a0won<\/strong>\u00a0the championship.<\/p>\n

The volunteers\u00a0clean up<\/strong>\u00a0the park.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

A new product\u00a0was launched<\/strong>\u00a0in 2010.<\/p>\n

The assignment\u00a0was completed<\/strong>\u00a0on time.<\/p>\n

A new species\u00a0was discovered<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The documents\u00a0were stolen<\/strong>\u00a0last night.<\/p>\n

The meal\u00a0will be prepared<\/strong>\u00a0by an award-winning chef.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Examples of the Active and Passive Voice<\/h3>\n

To see the difference between the formation of the active and passive voices, let\u2019s look at another example in various tenses.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Tense<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Active Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Passive Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Present simple<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0clean<\/strong>\u00a0the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0is cleaned<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Present continuous<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0are cleaning\u00a0<\/strong>the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0is being cleaned.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Past simple<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0cleaned<\/strong>\u00a0the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0was cleaned<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Past continuous<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0were cleaning<\/strong>\u00a0the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0was being cleaned<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Present perfect<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0have cleaned\u00a0<\/strong>the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0has been cleaned.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Past perfect<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0had cleaned<\/strong>\u00a0the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0had been cleaned.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Future simple<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0will clean<\/strong>\u00a0the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0will be cleaned<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Future perfect<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

They\u00a0will have cleaned\u00a0<\/strong>the house.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The house\u00a0will have been cleaned.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary The active and passive voice are two different ways to structure sentences, affecting the emphasis on the subject and the object. In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action expressed by the verb. In-depth …<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[259],"tags":[1440,1436,1438,1429,1425,1437,1433,1431,1423,1409,1430,1428,1422,1426,273,1432,1434,1427,287,1439,1424,1435],"class_list":["post-3450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-verb","tag-active-passive-differences","tag-active-passive-examples","tag-active-passive-exercises","tag-active-passive-structure","tag-active-vs-passive-comparison","tag-bai-tap-chu-dong-va-bi-dong","tag-cach-dung-cau-bi-dong","tag-cach-dung-cau-chu-dong","tag-cau-chu-dong-va-cau-bi-dong-tieng-anh","tag-change-active-to-passive","tag-chuyen-tu-chu-dong-sang-bi-dong","tag-cong-thuc-chu-dong-va-bi-dong","tag-english-active-voice-vs-passive-voice","tag-hoc-cau-chu-dong-va-bi-dong","tag-hoc-tieng-anh-cung-eduma","tag-how-to-use-active-voice","tag-how-to-use-passive-voice","tag-learn-active-and-passive-voice","tag-learn-english-with-eduma","tag-phan-biet-chu-dong-va-bi-dong","tag-so-sanh-chu-dong-va-bi-dong","tag-vi-du-cau-chu-dong-va-bi-dong"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3452,"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions\/3452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edumaenglish.edu.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}