Comprehensive Guide to Active and Passive Voice

When drafting academic essays, authors are strongly encouraged to utilize active verbs.
The primary advantage of active voice is that it facilitates reader comprehension by clearly identifying the source from which an action originates.
Active verbs are characterized by explicitly doing something and ensuring the source of the action is immediately identifiable.
Conversely, when writers employ the passive voice, the source performing the action is often obscured or rendered unclear.

Active Voice Characteristics: - The action is explicitly and directly connected to its source. - The physical proximity between the actor (the entity performing the action) and the verb is close. - This directness eliminates confusion regarding how or from whom the action is coming. - These constructions generally avoid the inclusion of helping verbs.
Passive Voice Characteristics: - The person or entity performing the action is frequently removed or distanced from the verb. - The structure typically relies on the presence of a helping verb. - These two factors—distanced actor and the use of helping verbs—act as primary indicators or "clues" that a sentence is written in the passive voice.

Definition: Helping verbs are specifically defined as verbs used in conjunction with a main verb to express tense, mood, or voice.
Forms of "To Be": Common helping verbs that form the idea of "to be" include: - "is" - "am" - "are" - "was" - "were" - "be" - "being" - "been" - "will be"
Additional Categories: Other primary examples of helping verbs include the forms of "to do" and "to have."

Example $1$ : Whiteboard Instruction - Passive Voice: "The exam was written on the whiteboard by the professor." - Analysis: This is identified as passive because the person performing the action (the professor) is removed from the verb. It also utilizes the helping verb "was." - Active Voice: "The professor wrote the exam on the whiteboard." - Analysis: This is very clear because the person doing the action and the verb are directly adjacent, with no ambiguity regarding the origin of the action.
Example $2$ : Subject-Verb Proximity - Passive Voice: "Arriving in New York was what made her feel alive." - Analysis: This uses the helping verb "was" to assist the main verb "made." - Active Voice: "Arriving in New York made her feel alive." - Analysis: This construction is more succinct and clear. It demonstrates how active voice keeps the subject and verb in close proximity without the need for auxiliary verbs.

Conversion Exercise $1$ : The Team and the Mascot - Passive Sentence: "The team was encouraged by the mascot." - Identification: The entity performing the action of encouraging is the mascot. - Active Correction: To convert this, the mascot and the verb "encouraged" must be placed directly next to one another: "The mascot encouraged the team."
Conversion Exercise $2$ : The Neighborhood and the Pickleball Players - Passive Sentence: "Pickleball players were heard when they played on the courts by the entire neighborhood." - Potential Confusion: This sentence can be confusing because the "pickleball players" occupy the position where a subject usually sits, potentially suggesting they are performing the action. - Identification: The actual verb in this context is "hearing." The entity performing the hearing is "the entire neighborhood." - Active Correction: By clarifying who is actually performing the action, the sentence becomes: "The entire neighborhood heard the pickleball players when they played on the courts."