Active vs Passive Voice Explained

Verb, Object, Subject

Verb, Subject, Object

Object, Subject, Verb

Subject, Verb, Object

The object

The subject

The agent

The verb

The original object

The original subject

The verb

The agent

He writes a letter.

The cat chased the mouse.

A book was read by her.

They are playing football.

No specific word is used

With the word 'from'

With the word 'to'

With the word 'by'

The agent is always omitted

The subject and object switch places

The verb becomes the subject

The sentence no longer contains a verb

Active voice

Passive voice

Neither

Both

To make sentences shorter

When the action performer is unknown

To avoid using verbs

To emphasize the action over the subject

The subject performing the action

The time the action occurred

The action being performed

The result of the action

To highlight the performer of the action

To make the sentence more complex

When the action's performer is obvious

To focus on the action's result