Passive voice detector
Paste your writing and every likely passive phrase is wrapped in ⟦ ⟧ marks, with a count of phrases and of sentences that contain one. Passive voice is not always wrong, but seeing it helps you decide where an active sentence would be clearer.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Paste English text.
- Read the marked phrases, shown between ⟦ and ⟧.
- Rewrite the sentences where an active verb would be clearer.
How it works
A pattern finds a form of “to be”, optional adverbs, and a word that is accepted as a past participle. The count line shows marked phrases, the sentences containing at least one, and the total sentences.
Worked example
“The ball was thrown by the boy.” is marked as “The ball ⟦was thrown⟧ by the boy.” The active version is “The boy threw the ball.”
Tips
To fix a passive sentence, ask who does the action and make that the subject. Do not chase a zero count: some passive sentences read better than the active alternative.
Frequently asked questions
How does the detector find passive voice?
It looks for a form of "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being and the contractions like wasn't), optionally followed by words such as not, also or an adverb ending in -ly, and then a past participle. A participle is a word of five or more letters ending in -ed, or one from a built-in list of irregular participles such as written, taken or built.
Why is it only a heuristic?
It does not parse grammar. It can mark adjectives that look like participles (a few common ones such as tired and excited are skipped) and miss passives built with get, with a long gap between the verb and the participle, or with a participle not on its list.
Is passive voice always bad?
No. It is useful when the doer is unknown or unimportant, as in "The bridge was built in 1932". It becomes a problem when it hides who does what or makes sentences vague.
How are sentences counted?
Text is split after a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a space, and at line breaks. Abbreviations with full stops can make the count slightly high.