Passive Voice

Over this week, I have written tens of paragraphs. I’ve noticed a pattern. When I write using the active voice, the structure of my paragraphs becomes more self-evident. But when I use passive voice, the sentences become circuitous and can develop fragments.

I liken passive voice to a disease on a plant.

Picture a bush with small dark green heart-shaped leaves, slight yellow undertones and spindly wooden stick stems.

The active voice is a hearty and healthy bush. It discovers the right nutrients, drinks enough rainfall, and basks in both dew-filled mornings and stark dry afternoons.

In contrast, the passive voice is a red mottled bush. It finds no food, suffocates in excess water, and curdles in perpetual clawing humidity.

@article{forrest2026passivevoice,
  author = {Angus Forrest},
  title = {Passive Voice},
  journal = {angusforrest.com},
  year = {2026},
  month = {Oct},
  url = {https://angusforrest.com/posts/passive-voice},
}