Active Sentence Examples

If you’re struggling with understanding “active versus passive” sentences, I’m here to help with three simple tips. Writing in a passive tone is common, even for experienced writers, but it can be relatively easy to fix. 

3 Tips To Make Your Sentences More Active

When possible:

1. Remove: was and were
2. Remove the phrase: is going to (more for redundancy reasons)
3. Remove: get or got to or go (more for redundancy reasons)
   

Now, you don’t need to remove all of the words/phrases mentioned above, but when possible, try. If the sentence doesn’t absolutely need was, remove it. I promise your manuscript will be stronger for it.

How Do You Apply These Tips?

These tips won’t magically make your book the next best seller, but it will improve your work tremendously. There are a few examples below that turn a passive sentence into a more active one. These sentences aren’t the most attractive, but they’ll help you have a better understanding.
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Examples

1. Removing was and were​

• He was laughing at the tiny monster. (passive)
• He laughed at the tiny monster. (active)
• She was wearing a blue shirt and jeans. (passive)
• She wore a blue shirt and jeans. (active)

​​2. Removing the phrase: is going to

• This is going to be spectacular. (passive)
• This will be spectacular. (active)
• We’re going to need a tomato. (passive)
• We’ll need a tomato. (active)

3. Removing the words: get or got to or go (these words are used too much and can be removed in many instances)

• When I get back from the store. (redundant)
• When I return from the store. (active)
• I’ve got a lot happening at the house. (redundant)
• I have a lot happening at the house. (active)
• I’ll go to take a look. (passive)
• I’ll take a look. (active)

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It’s common to write passive sentences during your first draft, but as you revise your manuscript, take these tips into consideration. Do a quick “search” of your document for the aforementioned words and phrases. If the search turns up too many results, preventing you from viewing them all, then do a separate search chapter by chapter.
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While editing a client’s manuscript, it’s easy for me to catch passive mistakes, and it happens more often than you think (even in my own drafts). Good luck with your writing endeavors!

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I hope this post helps you. 
Take your writing further and create a fantastic plot with colorful characters by using my book, 
​A Wordy Woman's Guide for Writing a Book. 

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About the author:

Dawn Husted

Dawn wrote her first book in 2008. Now, she’s the author of 5 books, owner of Yaupon Berry Press, and a member of SCBWI. She's passionate about the Oxford comma and loves a well-structured plot.
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A Wordy Woman's Guide was created with a tenacious spirit and an enormous vision to offer resources that empower aspiring authors.

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