Passive Voice Checker
Paste your writing and find passive sentences in seconds. This free tool highlights every sentence that may be passive, shows the percentage, and gives simple tips to rewrite in clear active voice. Everything runs in your browser — your text never leaves your device.
Analyzed text
Passive instances
Tip: rewrite in active voice
A passive sentence hides the actor: the cake was eaten. To fix it, find who did the action and move them to the front: the children ate the cake. Active voice makes instructions, emails and essays shorter, clearer and more confident. Aim for under 10% passive sentences in most writing.
How to use
- Paste your text into the box, or click Load Sample Text to try it.
- Click Analyze Text to scan every sentence.
- Sentences shown with a yellow background may be passive — review them in the instance list.
- Use the tip above to rewrite flagged sentences in active voice, then analyze again.
Good to know
- The check is heuristic: it looks for forms of be (is, are, was, were, be, been, being, am) followed by a past participle.
- Some passive forms without be, such as "having finished the work", are not detected.
- Passive voice is fine sometimes — science reports and polite requests often need it. Use it on purpose, not by accident.
- Adjectives that end in -ed, such as "I am tired", can look passive but usually are not — check each match yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How does the passive voice checker work?
It scans each sentence for forms of be followed by a past participle, such as was written or is broken, then highlights those sentences and lists them.
How can I rewrite a passive sentence in active voice?
Find who or what did the action and put it at the start: change the cake was eaten by the children to the children ate the cake.
Is the detection always correct?
No. It uses pattern matching on forms of be followed by past participles, so it can occasionally miss a passive sentence or flag one that is not passive. Use it as a writing aid, not a grammar judge.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Your text is analyzed in your browser and never leaves your device.