Passive Voice Checker
Find passive voice constructions in your writing. See which sentences need rewriting for a stronger, more direct style.
What Is This Tool?
The Passive Voice Checker scans your text sentence-by-sentence to detect passive voice constructions (e.g., "was written" or "is being reviewed"). It highlights every passive sentence, shows you the exact passive phrase, and gives you an overall passive rate percentage. Academic and professional writing typically aims for less than 10% passive voice — use this tool to keep your prose strong and direct.
How To Use It
- 1Paste or type your text into the text area.
- 2The tool analyzes each sentence in real time — no button needed.
- 3Review the summary cards showing passive sentence count, total sentences, and passive rate percentage.
- 4Scroll through the sentence list — passive sentences are highlighted in amber with the exact passive phrase called out.
- 5Rewrite the flagged sentences using active voice for clearer, more engaging writing.
Frequently asked
What's wrong with passive voice?+
Nothing inherently — passive voice has legitimate uses (when the actor is unknown or unimportant). But overusing it weakens prose, hides agency, and makes writing harder to follow. Most style guides recommend keeping passive voice below 10%.
How does the tool detect passive voice?+
It looks for the standard pattern: a form of 'to be' (is, was, were, been) followed by a past participle (broken, written, given, etc.). It catches most cases but may miss creative constructions.
Why is one of my sentences flagged when it doesn't look passive?+
Edge cases happen — especially with verbs that are also adjectives ('the door is locked' could be passive or stative). Use your judgment; the tool flags candidates for review.
Is there a target passive-voice percentage?+
Most editors recommend under 10% passive. Academic writing tolerates 15-20%. Marketing and journalism aim for under 5%.
Will my text be stored?+
No. Detection runs in your browser. Nothing leaves your device.
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