Active Voice — Definition, Use, and Examples
What is active voice?
Active voice in writing occurs when the subject of a sentence performs the action identified by the verb. Writers use active voice if they want their writing to be direct and clearly state the action performed by the subject.
To identify a sentence in active voice, determine if the subject is performing the action using an active verb. When writing in active voice, sentences must follow a basic structure: subject + verb + object:
Subject: Who or what is performing the action; the “doer of the action”
Verb: The action performed
Object: Who or what is affected by the action
| Subject | Verb | Object | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler | waited | bus | Tyler waited for the bus to arrive. |
| Zachary | left | zoo | Zacahary left the zoo to go to the lake |
| John and June | adopted | puppy | John and Jane adopted the puppy last week |
Active voice examples
The following examples are written in the active voice:
James painted the house last week.
James + painted + house
The bunny ran quickly through the yard.
bunny + ran + yard
The model rocket shot straight into the sky.
model rocket + shot + sky
The children could not stop laughing at the clown.
children + laughing + clown
Julie expertly played the piano at the recital.
Julie + played + piano
Active vs. passive voice
Passive voice occurs when the subject of a sentence receives the action, whereas with active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. There are important differences between active and passive voice.
The following compares active voice sentences to passive voice sentences:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| Michael ate five pieces of pizza at dinner. | Five pieces of pizza were eaten by Michael. |
| We watched a movie last night. | A movie was watched by us last night. |
| The custodians clean the offices each morning. | The offices are cleaned by the custodians each morning. |