“The trail was blazed in the 1930’s by a legendary Alaska miner named Earl Pilgrim…” In the following paragraphs, Krakauer uses the passive voice to reveal the setting in the story. The second sentence, Still, Gallien was concerned, reveals a weaker to be verb, and shows the apprehension Gallien is feeling. In these sentences, Alex is given strong and specific verbs. The final sentence, where Alex is the subject is also active voice, Alex admitted. He (Alex) is the subject, and Krakauer follows the subject with a strong verb, peppered, to reveal imagery in this sentence. In the above passage, the first sentence shows active voice with the words He peppered Gallien. Alex admitted that the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice.” “He peppered Gallien with thoughtful questions about the kind of small game that live in the country, the kinds of game that live in the country, the kinds of berries he could eat – ‘that kind of thing.’ Consider this passage written in active voice from Into the Wild (1996) by John Krakauer. Non-fiction writers can also weave passive voice into writing that is more editorial, or for writing meant to feel conversational to the reader. Using active verses passive voice is an effective way to show verses tell in the writing.įor non-fiction writers, using the active voice is important in persuasive writing, or journalistic writing that conveys facts. Once a writer is clear about the difference between the two voices, they can begin to play with the usage of each. The passive voice lacks the same authority and gives a more objective feeling to the writing. Writing in the active voice is oftentimes shorter and more straightforward for the reader. The active voice creates authority in the sentence giving a sense of objectivity. Different Functions: P assive Voice vs Active VoiceĮach voice gives a different impression in a sentence. Passive voice happens when the action of the sentence is happening to the subject.Įxample: The ball was thrown to Jennifer. How do we resolve this constant battle between passive voice vs active voice? What is Passive Voice vs Active VoiceĪctive voice happens when the subject appears at the beginning of the sentence and performs an action. But the difference between active and passive voice can be elusive for the more experienced writer as well. Young writers slip into passive voice easily, particularly when they are writing personal pieces. Many of us remember teachers warning against the use of passive voice in our lessons.

Passive voice vs active voice