Reference:
Humphrey, S., Love, K., & Droga, L. (2011). Working Grammar: An introduction for
secondary English teachers. Victoria: Pearson.
Definitions:
Active voice: Verbs are written with the subject performing
the process.
e.g. ‘I read the paper.’
Passive voice: Verbs are written with the subject receiving the
action expressed by the verb.
e.g. ‘The paper was read’.
Subject – the noun (or its equivalent) about which the
sentence is written. It agrees with the verb.
Object – the noun (or its equivalent) governed by an active
verb or preposition.
(Adapted from: Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary, 5th ed., 2009).
Uses of active and passive voice
Verbs are written in active or passive voice depending on the purpose of the writer or
speaker.
Active voice:
• Is more immediate
• Is more dynamic, energetic and engaging
• The writer or speaker is expressing a direct relationship with the material they are
writing/speaking about
• The writer/speaker may be establishing a more familiar or ‘real’ connection with the
audience
• The writer/speaker may be taking personal responsibility for what they are talking/
writing about
Passive voice:
• The writer/speaker is distancing themselves from the material they are writing/speaking
about
• The performer of the action may be unknown
• The writer/speaker wants to make the performer’s role less visible for a variety of reasons
(political or sensitive subject matter, not taking personal responsibility for something,
not wanting to name specific individuals or groups etc)
• The written text/speech is formal
Examples – Active/Passive Voice
(Humphrey et al., 2011, p. 55)
Active voice
Passive voice
We found the rainforest after a long
day’s drive.
Rainforests are found along the east
coast of Australia.
The timber company logs many of these These areas are logged by clearfelling
rainforests.
methods.
The ancients in all their wisdom wrote
these things down in their books.
Books were written long ago about
these things.
The stockmen found the kids and
herded and piled them onto the back of
the truck.
The kids were found … they were
herded and piled onto the back of the
truck.
• In all the sentences in the Active voice column, the subject is the ‘doer’ of the
process.
• In the Passive voice column, the subject does not perform the action expressed
by the verb group.
Exercise 1
(Humphrey et al., 2011, pp. 56-57)
Rewrite the following sentences in either active or passive form,
depending on the gaps in the table. The first one has been done for you.
Active voice
Passive voice
The drought completely destroyed their
wheat crop last year.
Their wheat crop was completely destroyed
last year.
Your files should be backed up at least once
a week.
The ruling government committed an
injustice against the Stolen Generations.
The country was ruled dictatorially for
decades.
The World Cup Soccer was successfully
hosted in July 2010 in South Africa.
The new desalination plant will endanger
marine wildlife.
Exercise 2
In the following text:
1. Underline all the verb groups
2. Identify whether each verb or verb group is using active or passive voice.
3. Describe either the effect, reason or purpose of the type of voice used for
each verb or verb group.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s
history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with
confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and
governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these
our fellow Australians…
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a
proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be
received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the
nation…
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a
future that embraces all Australians.
(From Kevin Rudd’s ‘Sorry Speech’ 2008)
Answers
 The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page




in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past
and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive
Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound
grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians…
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a
proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that
this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered
as part of the healing of the nation…
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past
and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
Answers cont’d
1.
‘has now come’ – passive voice, formal opening to the apology
all other verb groups in 1st dot point – active voice, the ‘nation’ is the
doer of the actions and must take responsibility for the actions.
2.
Both verb groups use the active voice – the doers of the actions are
explicitly named. Taking personal responsibility for both us (‘we’)
and the ‘successive Parliaments and governments’ of the past.
3.
‘thus inflicted’ – passive voice, distancing himself from personal
responsibility for causing the actual pain.
‘say sorry’ – active voice, uses ‘we’, taking personal responsibility for
apologising for the actions of past governments. A very clever
strategy here – does not want to say that he caused the pain, but
wants to apologise personally and actively for the pain caused by
others (past governments).
Answers cont’d
4. ‘respectfully request’ – active voice, immediate, personal engagement
with the audience of Aboriginal people. Reaching out on a personal
level to start to attempt the process of healing the relationship
between the Aboriginal people and the government – an intensely
personal process, so the active, personal voice is needed for the
apology to have any real effect.
All other verb groups in 4th dot point are passive – gives this part of the
apology a formal gravity and seriousness to show the importance of the
apology; is requesting the apology be accepted by the Aboriginal
people as a whole – a serious and formal request, showing respect and
dignity towards the Aboriginal people.
5. All verb groups active – personal, representing the government as ‘we’
and speaking about the active steps that ‘we’ as a government and as
a nation will take.
Reflection
From the excerpt given from Kevin Rudd’s 2008 ‘Sorry Speech’, you can see
that the use of active and passive voice in writing and speaking is strategic and
can have profound effects on positioning an audience.
For the following text types, identify one or more possible purposes for each
and explain how active or passive voice may be appropriate to use for each and
why. Just give one or two examples for each text type.
Text type
Diary entry
Persuasive speech
Formal speech
Formal analytical essay (on
a novel or set topic)
Purpose(s)
Active/Passive voice
Why?
Extension
Choose one of the topics below and on that topic, write a short excerpt
of a diary entry, persuasive speech, formal speech AND formal essay.
In each excerpt, demonstrate:
• the differing use of active and/or passive voice.
• the different ways you can treat the same subject matter through different
text types with different purposes and audiences in mind.
Keep each excerpt short – and experiment with your use of language to meet
the purposes and audiences you have in mind for each text type.
TOPICS:
•Education
•Whales
•Motorbikes
•Surfing
•Dogs
•Logging
•Oceans
•Unsupervised parties
•Underage drinking
•Peer pressure
•Speeding on our roads
•Setting personal goals
•Bullying in schools
•Littering
•Other: your own choice