When is it good to use passive voice?

In one line

The rule

Passive voice is used when the subject of the sentence receives the action, not does it.

In passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of the sentence. For example: "The window was broken by the ball."

Let's understand it simply

Imagine you are playing cricket and a window breaks. If you say, "I broke the window," you are using active voice (you did the action). If you say, "The window was broken," you are using passive voice (the window received the action). Sometimes, you do not want to say who did it, or it is not important. That is when passive voice helps.

How it works

1. Find the object in the active sentence (the thing getting the action).
2. Make this object the subject of your new sentence.
3. Use the correct form of "to be" (is, was, were, etc.).
4. Add the past participle of the verb (like "eaten," "broken").
5. Add "by..." if you want to say who did the action (optional).

The story behind it

English has both active and passive voice. Passive voice has been used for hundreds of years, especially in formal writing. It helps when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or you want to sound more formal or polite.

Where you see it in real life

• News reports: "A new law was passed yesterday." (Who passed it is not the focus.)
• Scientific writing: "The experiment was conducted at 5 PM." (Focus on the experiment, not the scientist.)
• Instructions: "The rice should be washed before cooking." (Anyone can do it.)
• Police reports: "The shop was robbed at midnight." (Robber may be unknown.)
• Advertisements: "Winners will be announced soon." (Who will announce is not important.)

Why it matters

• Makes writing more formal and polite.
• Useful when you do not know who did the action.
• Helps focus on the action or result, not the person.
• Common in exams, reports, and official letters.

Common mistakes

• Using passive voice when the doer is important. ("Sachin hit the six" is better than "The six was hit by Sachin" in cricket commentary.)
• Making sentences too long or confusing with too much passive voice.
• Forgetting the correct verb form ("is broke" instead of "is broken").

Remember it

If you care about the action, not the actor, use passive voice.