Who did what? Active voice answers it.
Direct answer
In active voice, the subject performs the action: "The team approved the plan." In passive voice, the subject receives it: "The plan was approved by the team." Prefer active voice for clear, direct writing, and use passive when the actor is unknown or unimportant.
Examples
| Passive | Active |
|---|---|
| The report was written by Sam. | Sam wrote the report. |
| Mistakes were made. | We made mistakes. |
| The server was restarted. | Ops restarted the server. |
When passive is fine
- The doer is unknown: "The window was broken."
- The action matters more: "Your order has been shipped."
- Diplomacy: "The deadline was missed" (use sparingly and honestly).
How to fix it
- Find "was", "were", "been" plus a verb.
- Ask who did it.
- Move that person to the front.
Where Teyro fits
Teyro's Clear Writing at Work course turns this into short lessons you can play in a few minutes a day. It has 50 lessons, and you can start free.
The bottom line
Active voice is usually shorter, clearer and more accountable.
