Passive voice
A sentence structure where the subject receives the action rather than performing it. The doer is either placed after the verb or omitted entirely.
Also known as:
Indirect voice, Object-first writing
What is passive voice?
Passive voice reverses the natural order of a sentence by putting the receiver of the action before the verb. In "The report was submitted by the team," the subject receives the action rather than performing it. Compare that to the active version: "The team submitted the report." Passive constructions typically include a form of "to be" followed by a past participle, such as "was launched," "is being reviewed" or "has been updated."
Why does passive voice matter?
Passive voice obscures who is responsible for an action, which makes your CTAs weaker, your instructions harder to follow and your brand sound less confident. It is not always wrong, there are cases where the doer is unknown or irrelevant, but defaulting to it is a real problem in brand copy. Most modern style guides recommend active voice as the default and passive voice as a deliberate, occasional choice.
How do you use passive voice intentionally?
Reserve passive voice for situations where the doer is unknown or irrelevant, such as "The server was restarted during maintenance."
Scan your content for "to be" constructions followed by a past participle, as these are passive constructions worth reviewing before publishing.
Set an active voice rule in your Brivvy brand voice so every AI tool connected to your workspace flags passive constructions automatically.
