When should you use passive voice in writing?

In one line

Use passive voice when you want to focus on the action or the receiver, not on who did it.

The rule

In passive voice, the subject receives the action, and the doer (agent) may not be important or mentioned.

Formula: Subject + form of 'to be' + Past Participle (V3) + (by + Agent)

Let's understand it simply

Imagine you are at home and a glass breaks. If you say, "The glass was broken," you are using passive voice. You are not saying who broke it. Sometimes, who did the action is not important, or you do not want to say it. Passive voice helps you do this.

Active vs Passive Voice

	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Focus	Doer (who does the action)	Receiver (who gets the action)
Example	The chef cooked the meal.	The meal was cooked by the chef.
Use when	Doer is important	Doer is unknown or not important

How it works

Decide if the doer is important. If not, use passive.
Make the receiver of the action the subject of your sentence.
Use the correct form of 'to be' (is, was, were, are, etc.).
Use the past participle form of the verb (V3).
Add 'by' and the doer only if needed.

How to change active to passive voice

Find the object in the active sentence.
Make it the subject in passive.
Add the correct 'to be' verb.
Use the past participle (V3) of the main verb.
Add 'by' and the doer (if needed).

The story behind it

Passive voice has been used in English for hundreds of years. It helps writers and speakers focus on what happened, not always on who did it. Scientists, news reporters, and official letters often use passive voice to sound formal or neutral.

Where you see it in real life

Science experiments: "The solution was heated to 80°C." (Focus is on the process, not the person.)
News reports: "A new bridge was built in the city." (The builder is not important.)
Rules and instructions: "Helmets must be worn at all times." (Who must wear them is clear from context.)
Mistakes or accidents: "The window was broken." (Who broke it may be unknown or not to be blamed.)
Official letters: "Your request has been approved." (Focus is on the action, not the person who approved.)

Why it matters

Makes writing formal and polite, useful in official and academic work.
Helps when you do not know who did the action.
Useful when the doer is not important.
Used in exams and higher studies, especially in science and reports.

Common mistakes

Using passive voice when active voice is clearer. ("The teacher taught the lesson" is clearer than "The lesson was taught by the teacher.")
Forgetting to use the correct form of 'to be' and the past participle.
Making sentences too long or confusing by overusing passive voice.