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Passive Voice Checker

Find passive voice constructions and make your writing more direct

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Write Stronger Sentences by Catching Passive Voice

Passive voice hides the actor, adds words, and weakens impact."The decision was made" is vague — who decided?"We decided" is clear, short, and direct. This checker highlights every passive construction so you can evaluate each one: some deserve to stay, but most can be rewritten to make your writing sharper and more engaging.

The Detection Pattern

The tool looks for a be-verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being) followed within a few words by a past participle. This catches standard passive constructions like"was written,""is being reviewed,""has been approved," and"will be completed." It also handles irregular participles like"made,""done,""given,""taken," and"known" that do not follow the -ed pattern.

When to Keep Passive Voice

Passive voice is the right choice when the actor is unknown, unimportant, or obvious."The building was constructed in 1890" is fine because who built it is not the point. Scientific methods sections use passive by convention. Legal and diplomatic language uses passive strategically to avoid blame assignment. Review each highlighted instance and ask: does naming the actor improve the sentence?

Converting to Active Voice

Find the actor — the person or thing performing the action — and move them to the subject position."The report was reviewed by the committee" becomes"The committee reviewed the report." If no actor is stated, you need to supply one, which is often the real value of the conversion: it forces you to be specific about who is responsible.

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$ faq

What is passive voice? ▸
Passive voice occurs when the subject of a sentence receives the action instead of performing it."The report was written by the team" is passive — the report receives the action of writing. The active equivalent is"The team wrote the report." Passive voice uses a form of"to be" (is, was, were, been, being, are, am) followed by a past participle, often ending in -ed or -en. Passive voice is not grammatically wrong, but overuse makes writing indirect and harder to follow.
How does this tool detect passive voice? ▸
The checker scans for the most common passive voice pattern: a form of the verb"to be" (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being) followed within a few words by a past participle (typically ending in -ed, -en, -t, -wn, or -ng). It also recognizes irregular past participles like"made,""done,""given,""taken,""seen," and"known." This pattern catches the majority of passive constructions in English, though it may miss some complex or inverted passive forms.
What percentage of passive voice is acceptable? ▸
Most style guides recommend keeping passive voice below 10 to 15 percent of sentences. Business writing and journalism typically aim for under 10 percent for maximum directness. Academic and scientific writing tolerates higher passive usage (20 to 30 percent) because convention favors impersonal construction in methods sections. Legal writing uses passive voice strategically to avoid assigning blame. If your percentage exceeds 20 in general writing, consider converting some passive sentences to active.
Is passive voice always wrong? ▸
No. Passive voice is appropriate when the actor is unknown ("The window was broken"), unimportant ("The package was delivered"), or when you want to emphasize the action or recipient over the actor ("The new policy was approved unanimously"). Scientific methods sections use passive by convention ("Samples were collected"). The goal is not to eliminate passive voice but to use it intentionally rather than habitually.
How do I convert passive to active voice? ▸
Identify the actor (who or what performs the action) and make it the subject."The cake was baked by Maria" becomes"Maria baked the cake.""Mistakes were made" becomes"We made mistakes" — you need to supply the actor, which passive voice often hides. If the actor is genuinely unknown or irrelevant, the passive form may be the better choice, and forcing an active construction would be awkward.
Does this tool catch all passive voice instances? ▸
It catches the standard be-verb plus past-participle pattern, which covers the vast majority of passive constructions. It may miss some edge cases: passives with modals ("could have been written"), passives with intervening adverbs ("was quickly written"), or get-passives ("got fired"). It may also flag a few false positives where a past participle functions as an adjective rather than part of a passive construction, such as"she was excited about the trip."
Is any data sent to a server? ▸
No. All detection runs locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text never leaves your device.