Passive voice checker
Highlights every “was decided”, “has been sent” and “were found” so you can put the actor back where readers expect it: first.
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Findings
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Zombie view
If a sentence still makes sense with “by zombies” after the verb, it’s passive. Use this to double-check each flag.
Convert passive to active voice
AI · on requestRewrites passive sentences with the actor first, leaves the rest alone, and lists each change.
Paste text above first.
AI can make mistakes. Check names, numbers and commitments before you send.
See the passive voice happen
Every sentence has someone doing something. Flip the voice and watch the actor move to the end, or vanish entirely.
The figures were reviewedby the finance teamlast week.
The zombie test (popularised by Marine Corps University professor Rebecca Johnson): if you can add “by zombies” after the verb and the sentence still makes sense, it is passive. “The figures were reviewed by zombies” works, so it is passive. “The finance team reviewed by zombies the figures” doesn’t.
When passive voice is fine, and when it isn’t
| Use passive when… | Example |
|---|---|
| The actor is unknown | The server was accessed at 02:14. |
| The actor is obvious or irrelevant | Applications are reviewed weekly. |
| You want the result at the start of a report | Costs were reduced by 12% in Q2. |
| Avoid passive when… | Passive | Active |
|---|---|---|
| It hides responsibility | Mistakes were made. | We made mistakes. |
| The reader needs to act | The form should be completed. | Please complete the form. |
| It adds words | A decision was reached by the committee. | The committee decided. |
Questions people ask
What is passive voice?
A sentence is passive when the thing acted on becomes the subject and the actor moves into a “by” phrase or disappears: “The report was approved by the board” instead of “The board approved the report”. You can spot it by a form of “to be” (is, was, were, has been) followed by a past participle (approved, sent, made).
Is passive voice wrong?
No. It is grammatically correct and useful when the actor is unknown or unimportant (“The office was built in 1920”), or when you want to focus on the result. It becomes a problem in business writing when it hides who is responsible or makes sentences longer and vaguer. Style guides such as the Associated Press and plain language guidelines recommend active voice by default.
How does this passive voice checker detect passive sentences?
It looks for a form of “be” or “get” followed, within two words, by a regular past participle ending in -ed or one of about 100 irregular participles (written, given, taken…). It skips common adjectives that look like participles, such as “interested” or “based”. Like any rule-based checker it can miss unusual forms and occasionally flag an adjective, so read each mark.
How much passive voice is acceptable?
Many editors aim for fewer than 1 in 10 sentences. Hemingway Editor, for example, suggests keeping passive sentences to a small share of the total. In reports and emails, use it deliberately rather than by habit.
How do I know if a sentence is passive?
Look for a form of “to be” (is, are, was, were, been, being) plus a past participle (written, approved, sent), with the doer either missing or after “by”. Quick test: add “by zombies” after the verb. “The budget was approved by zombies” still makes sense, so it is passive. Turn on the zombie view above to apply the test to your text.
Can AI convert passive voice to active voice?
Yes. The converter above rewrites passive sentences with the actor first and lists each change. Where your text never says who acted, it leaves a placeholder like [team] rather than guessing.
Is “I was excited” passive voice?
No. Here “excited” is an adjective describing a state, not an action someone did to you. This checker skips common adjectives like excited, interested, based and involved for that reason.
How do I change passive voice to active?
Find the actor (add “by whom?” if it is missing), move it to the front, and make the verb agree with it. “Mistakes were made” → “We made mistakes”. “The contract will be sent on Monday” → “Legal will send the contract on Monday”.