Grade by Grade
B. Foundations of Language · Listening, Speaking and Word Power

Active or Passive Voice? Choosing When You Speak

B1.5 A1.2 A3.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell whether a sentence is in the active voice or the passive voice.
  • I can explain why the active voice is usually clearer and livelier.
  • I can choose the passive voice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, or when I want to focus on what received the action.
  • I can choose the voice that helps my audience understand when I speak.

Words to know

active voice
A sentence where the subject does the action: The goalie stopped the puck.
passive voice
A sentence where the subject receives the action: The puck was stopped by the goalie.
subject
Who or what the sentence is about.
doer
The person or thing that does the action.
past participle
The verb form used after was/were/has been, like stopped, built, eaten, written.

A new idea for Grade 6

In Grade 5 you worked with subjects, verbs and direct objects (the person or thing that receives the action, like the ball in Ana kicked the ball). In Grade 6, you'll learn that you can flip a sentence around so the receiver comes first. That's called the passive voice. In this lesson, you'll learn to choose the voice that helps your listeners most. (The Foundations of Writing unit practises converting between the voices in your writing.)

Let's start with a puzzle

What's the difference?

  1. The goalie stopped the puck.
  2. The puck was stopped by the goalie.

Both sentences tell the same fact. But in sentence 1, the goalie comes first and does the action. In sentence 2, the puck comes first and receives the action. Sentence 1 is in the active voice. Sentence 2 is in the passive voice.

A black hockey puck on the ice in front of a red goal net at an indoor rink.
The goalie stopped the puck (active), or the puck was stopped by the goalie (passive): same fact, different focus. AI-generated image
ACTIVEThe goaliestoppedthe puck.PASSIVEThe puckwas stoppedby the goalie.
Active: The goalie (doer) stopped (action) the puck (receiver). Passive: The puck (receiver) was stopped (action) by the goalie (doer). The doer and receiver swap places, and the verb changes.

How to spot the passive voice

A passive sentence usually has:

  1. The receiver as the subject.
  2. A form of be (is, are, was, were, has been, will be) + a past participle (stopped, built, eaten, written).
  3. Sometimes by + the doer (by the goalie). Sometimes the doer is left out completely: The window was broken.

A fun test: If you can add "by zombies" after the verb and it still makes sense, it's probably passive. The cookies were eaten (by zombies). ✔ Passive. The kids ate the cookies (by zombies). ✘ Doesn't work, so it's active.

Active voicePassive voice
The students planted maple trees.Maple trees were planted by the students.
Our class wrote a play.A play was written by our class.
The wind knocked down the fence.The fence was knocked down by the wind.
Someone left the gate open.The gate was left open.
In the last passive example, the doer (someone) is left out.

When is active better?

Most of the time, especially when speaking, the active voice is clearer:

  • It's shorter: The dog chased the cat (5 words) vs. The cat was chased by the dog (7 words).
  • It's livelier: listeners hear who did what, right away.
  • It's easier to follow, because people expect the doer first.

When is passive the right choice?

  • The doer is unknown: My bike was stolen. (You don't know who did it.)
  • The doer is unimportant or obvious: The roads were plowed overnight. (Everyone knows plow crews did it.)
  • You want to focus on the receiver: Our team was chosen for the finals! (The important part is our team.)
  • Science and procedures: The water was heated to 80 °C. (The focus is on what happened, not who did it.)
  • Being tactful: A mistake was made in the schedule sounds less like blame than Mr. Lee made a mistake.
ActiveThedogchasedthecat= 5 wordsPassiveThecatwaschasedbythedog= 7 wordsdoerreceiveraction
Same fact, but the active sentence is two words shorter and names the doer first, so it's easier for listeners to follow.
Worked example

Let's choose a voice for an announcement

Jayden is making the morning announcement. He has two versions:

A: "The Grade 6 class raised $450 for the local food bank." B: "$450 was raised for the local food bank by the Grade 6 class."

  1. Identify the voices: A is active (the class does the raising). B is passive (was raised by).
  2. Think about the audience: students listening over the speakers. They need it short and clear.
  3. Think about the focus: Jayden wants to celebrate the Grade 6 class, so they should come first.
  4. Choose: version A (active). It's shorter and puts the doers first.
  5. When B might fit: if the focus were the money, for example, in a thank-you letter from the food bank that lists donations.

Version A, in the active voice, is clearer for this audience and celebrates the class that did the work.

Passive isn't wrong

The passive voice is a tool, not a mistake. Use it on purpose, when it helps your listener focus on the right thing.

Just for fun

Have you noticed? "The last muffin was eaten." There is no doer anywhere in that sentence. The passive voice is the favourite voice of muffin thieves everywhere!

Hands-on activity

News reporter voice switch

You need: paper, a pencil, and a family audience. Optional: a hairbrush or spoon as a pretend microphone.

  1. Think of five things that happened at home this week (Dad shovelled the driveway, Someone ate the last muffin).
  2. Write each one in the active voice, then in the passive voice.
  3. Be a news reporter and read your "news" aloud. For each story, choose the voice that fits best and say why. (For the mystery muffin, the passive The last muffin was eaten! is fun, because the doer is unknown.)
  4. Your family votes: Which version was clearer?

What to look for: correct passive forms (was shovelled, was eaten), and reasons like "the doer is unknown" or "active is shorter and clearer."

Your turn

1

Active or passive? The snowplow cleared the street.

2

Active or passive? The street was cleared by the snowplow.

3

Change to the passive voice: Emma painted the mural.

4

Change to the active voice: The ball was thrown by Liam.

5

Why might someone say "My lunch was taken" instead of naming a person?

6

Use the zombie test on The poster was hung in the hallway. Is it passive?

7

Which voice is usually clearer for a speech? Why?

More practice: warm-up

1

In the active voice, does the subject do the action or receive it?

2

Find the form of be and the past participle: The cake was eaten.

3

Active or passive? The cat chased the mouse.

4

Active or passive? The mouse was chased.

5

True or false: The passive voice is always a mistake.

More practice: on your own

1

Change to passive and leave out the doer: Workers built the bridge in 1930.

2

A science report says: The seeds were planted in three pots. Why is passive a good choice here?

3

Your team just won the trophy. Which is better for an excited announcement: "Our team won the trophy!" or "The trophy was won by our team!"? Explain.

4

Change to the active voice: The new rules were explained by the coach.

5

Why is "A mistake was made on the field trip form" more tactful than "Ms. Singh made a mistake on the form"?

Challenge

1

Rewrite this short report so it's clearer when spoken aloud: "The game was won by the Hawks. Three goals were scored by Mia. The final whistle was blown by the referee."

2

Write one sentence where passive voice is the best choice, and explain why.

3

Which sentence is passive? Explain how you know. (a) The students were happy. (b) The students were chosen for the choir. (c) The students chose a song.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which sentence is in the active voice?

2.

Which sentence is in the passive voice?

3.

When is the passive voice a good choice?

4.

What is the passive form of The chef cooked dinner?

5.

Why is the active voice usually better in a speech?

6.

Which is passive with the doer left out?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (B1.5, A1.2, A3.1): In Grade 6, B1.5 asks students to use the active or passive voice as appropriate when communicating. This lesson focuses on choosing a voice when speaking; the companion unit Foundations of Writing (B3.2) practises distinguishing and converting between the voices in writing. The passive voice is common in science procedures (A3.1).

How to help at home:

  • Listen for passive sentences in news reports ("The road was closed...") and ask why the reporter might have chosen passive.
  • Play the "by zombies" test with sentences from a book.
  • When your child retells events, encourage active voice: "Who did it? Start with them."

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking any sentence with was is passive. She was happy isn't passive: nothing is done to her.
  • Thinking passive is always wrong. It's a choice; the key is using it on purpose.
  • Forgetting the past participle (was ate instead of was eaten).