This is not an instruction to always use the passive
The passive changes how an event is presented, not the event itself: the participant affected by the action becomes the grammatical subject and opening topic. This allows you to continue an established line of discussion, naming the performer later or leaving them unnamed.
Moving from given to new information is a useful tendency, not an absolute law. If the performer is already known or their contribution is itself the news, the active may organise information better.
A team at Cambridge analysed the samples using gas chromatography is grammatical. It fails only a narrow discourse objective when the samples is already the topic and the team is new information to be presented at the end.
The samples were analysed by a team at Cambridge.
The samples were analysed by a team at Cambridge.
The samples continues the established topic; the new agent appears in the by-phrase.
A team at Cambridge analysed the samples.
A team at Cambridge analysed the samples.
The grammatical active is appropriate when the team is already the topic or its contribution needs foregrounding.
Identifying given information, new information and the topic chain
Given does not necessarily mean old in general. Information may have just been mentioned, be visible in the situation, be shared knowledge or be readily recoverable from context. New information is what the sentence adds to that starting point.
To check coherence, read the preceding sentence and ask what the reader is already thinking about at the start of the next one. The passive often lets you make that element the subject without repeatedly making abrupt shifts to a new agent.
Final position often carries new information or a heavier phrase, but intonation, contrast and genre can change the focus. Final position alone is not enough to label an element new.
The report identified a fault in the cooling system. The fault was first documented by an engineer in Reykjavík.
The report identified a fault in the cooling system. The fault was first documented by an engineer in Reykjavík.
The fault moves from new information in the first sentence to the given topic in the second; the new agent comes at the end.
Our Reykjavík team investigated the failure. The team identified a fault in the cooling system.
Our Reykjavík team investigated the failure. The team identified a fault in the cooling system.
The active is natural because the known performer already maintains the topic chain.
A form that serves the information choice
In the canonical passive, the object of a transitive active verb becomes the subject. The auxiliary chain expresses tense, modality and agreement; a form of be combines with a past participle to create the passive: is checked, was checked, has been checked, must be checked. In has been checked, has agrees with the subject, while been stays unchanged.
This rule is not a complete course on every passive tense and construction. Form is covered as far as needed to achieve the chosen information structure without changing participants, time or meaning.
Active and passive versions can describe the same event while guiding readers along different paths. A grammatical active alternative should not be marked wrong merely because the passive better supports the specified topic.
participant affected by the action + appropriate form of be + past participle (+ by + performer)
- V3 / past participle —
- The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.
The invoices have been approved by the finance lead.
The invoices have been approved by the finance lead.
Have been approved preserves Present Perfect; plural invoices requires have.
The finance lead has approved the invoices.
The finance lead has approved the invoices.
The same event in the active; this version is motivated when the finance lead's contribution matters.
The agent: name it, omit it, do not invent it
A by-phrase names the performer of an action: by the review panel. With usually introduces an instrument: with a calibrated tool. Not every by after a passive introduces an agent: by Friday expresses a deadline.
Using gas chromatography describes a method, not a performer. When changing active to passive or vice versa, preserve the relationships: the performer remains the performer, and the with or using phrase remains the means of the same action.
It is natural to omit an agent when they are unknown, obvious, irrelevant to the current purpose or deliberately backgrounded. Omission does not license inventing a performer: if the source has not established who acted, the sentence must preserve that uncertainty.
When someone asks who made a decision or a document must record responsibility, an agentless passive may not be transparent enough. Name the verified agent: in a by-phrase to retain the topic, or as an active subject for direct focus.
The sealed container was opened by a technician with a calibrated tool.
The sealed container was opened by a technician with a calibrated tool.
By introduces the agent; with introduces the instrument.
The samples were analysed using gas chromatography by a team at Cambridge.
The samples were analysed using gas chromatography by a team at Cambridge.
Using gas chromatography names the analytical method; by a team at Cambridge names the performer. These phrases are not interchangeable.
Access was revoked overnight; the investigation has not identified who did it.
Access was revoked overnight; the investigation has not identified who did it.
The agentless passive honestly preserves an unknown performer rather than inventing someone's involvement.
Genre and a motivated active choice
The passive often appears in scientific, technical and detached writing because it allows focus on an object or procedure. This does not make every passive formal or mean that scientific writing must be entirely passive.
Genre conventions vary across disciplines and document sections. A standard procedure may naturally background the performer, while an author's contribution, decisions, responsibility or a clear instruction often benefits from an active agent.
Assess what the form does, not its prestige: what becomes the subject, what readers encounter first, whether the performer is clear and whether this serves the text's purpose.
Each sample was weighed twice before analysis.
Each sample was weighed twice before analysis.
In a methods account, the procedure and object matter; the individual worker adds no useful information.
We developed the calibration method used in this study.
We developed the calibration method used in this study.
The active directly attributes the new contribution to the authors; the passive is not a compulsory sign of academic style.
A late agent, weight and focus
When the agent is new or lengthy, the passive can keep a short familiar topic first and postpone a heavy by-phrase until the end. Readers first find a starting point and then receive the new detail.
A by-phrase is not automatically necessary. If the agent is obvious and not contrasted with anyone, repeating it can burden the sentence. If the agent answers an explicit question, however, it should be retained.
Length alone does not determine voice choice. An excessively long passive with several insertions may be less clear than two shorter sentences or a motivated active version.
The portrait was restored in 1998 by a conservation team led by Ana Ruiz.
The portrait was restored in 1998 by a conservation team led by Ana Ruiz.
The short familiar topic portrait opens the sentence; the long new agent naturally comes last.
Ana Ruiz’s team restored the portrait in 1998.
Ana Ruiz’s team restored the portrait in 1998.
The active is better if the text introduces the team or contrasts it with another performer.
Ambiguity and responsibility
Grammatical correctness, style and transparency are different dimensions. The deadline was missed is grammatically sound, but in an accountability report it may hide a critically important participant.
Sometimes an unknown agent reflects genuine uncertainty rather than evasion. An honest agentless passive is appropriate while checks continue. Once an agent is confirmed and relevant, update the text rather than deliberately leaving it vague.
Do not add assessments, causes or performers absent from the facts. Switching between active and passive must preserve semantic roles: who acted, what was acted on, when, and with what established result.
A deadline was missed.
A deadline was missed.
The sentence is grammatical; a problem arises only when readers need the responsible performer identified.
The release manager missed the deadline, which delayed the launch.
The release manager missed the deadline, which delayed the launch.
The active directly names the established participant and causal relationship without obscuring responsibility.
A practical editing procedure
Establish the facts first, then the information goal. Identify the current topic, the sentence's new information, whether the agent is known and whether transparent responsibility is needed.
Build grammatical active and passive alternatives without changing the participants. Read them after the preceding sentence: which creates a more natural topic link without hiding necessary information?
Check be + past participle, agreement, by for the agent and with for the instrument. Finally, consider the genre and paragraph rhythm. Good writing normally alternates active and passive, each doing its own job.
We assembled a dataset of 800 responses. It was later re-analysed by Dr Chen.
We assembled a dataset of 800 responses. It was later re-analysed by Dr Chen.
The active introduces dataset, the pronoun It keeps it as the topic, and the passive adds a new agent.
Dr Chen joined the project in June. She later re-analysed the dataset.
Dr Chen joined the project in June. She later re-analysed the dataset.
When Dr Chen is already the topic, active She continues the chain better.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:The samples was analysed before noon.
Correct:The samples were analysed before noon.
The plural subject samples requires were, not was.
Incorrect:The report was submit by the editor.
Correct:The report was submitted by the editor.
After be, the passive requires the past participle submitted.
Incorrect:The bridge repaired by the engineering corps.
Correct:The bridge was repaired by the engineering corps.
The complete passive predicate here is missing a finite form of be: was.
Incorrect:The decision was made the review panel.
Correct:The decision was made by the review panel.
Introduce the agent of a passive action with by.
Incorrect:Was approved the proposal yesterday.
Correct:The proposal was approved yesterday.
In an ordinary statement, the passive subject comes before was.