Active vs. Passive

By then, the soundtrack will have been completely remixed by the sound engineers.

Passive Voice (This passive voice sentence is more wordy than an active voice version.)

The boy was bitten by the dog.

Passive Voice The dog is acting upon the sentence subject (the boy), meaning it uses the passive voice.

Action on the bill is being considered by the committee.

Passive Voice This passive voice sentence is less concise than its active voice counterpart (shown below).

The brakes were slammed on by her as the car sped downhill.

Passive Voice

Your bicycle has been damaged.

Passive Voice

The entrance exam was failed by over one third of the applicants to the school.

Passive Voice (The action is performed upon the sentence subject, meaning this sentence is passive (indirect).)

Scientists have conducted experiments to test the hypothesis.

Active Voice

The dog bit the boy.

Active Voice

Watching a framed, mobile world through a cars' windshield reminds me of watching a movie or tv.

Active Voice

By then, the sound engineers will have completely remixed the soundtrack.

Active Voice (This active voice sentence is more concise than the passive voice version (above) because the subject directly performs the action.)

I have damaged your bicycle.

Active Voice (This is an example of an active voice sentence because its subject performs the action expressed in the verb.)

She slammed on the brakes as the car sped downhill.

Active Voice (This is an example of an active voice sentence because the sentence subject performs the action.)

Over one third of the appliacants to the school failed the entrance exam.

Active Voice (This is an example of the active voice because the sentence subject performs the action.)

The committee is considering action on the bill.

Active Voice This active voice sentence requires fewer words to communicate the same idea as the passive voice version (above).