BYTETOOLS

Passive Voice Checker

Detect passive voice sentence by sentence, with constructions highlighted and a passive percentage score. Free, heuristic-based, 100% in-browser.

0
Sentences
0
Passive sentences
0
Passive constructions
—
Passive %

This is a heuristic, not a grammar engine: it flags a form of “to be” or “get” followed closely by a past participle (regular -ed forms plus ~100 irregulars). Predicate adjectives like “was tired” can be flagged, and unusual phrasings can slip through — review the highlights with judgment.

What is the Passive Voice Checker?

Passive Voice Checker scans your text sentence by sentence and flags likely passive constructions — a form of “to be” or “get” followed closely by a past participle, as in “the report was written”.

  • Sentence-by-sentence detection with in-place highlights
  • Passive percentage against the common 10–15% guideline
  • Recognizes ~100 irregular past participles plus regular -ed forms
  • Handles “get” passives and negations like “wasn't approved”
  • Transparent heuristic — no black-box grammar engine
  • 100% offline; drafts never leave your browser

How to use the Passive Voice Checker

  1. 1

    Paste your text into the input box.

  2. 2

    Read the passive percentage and construction count in the stats.

  3. 3

    Review each red-flagged sentence — the passive construction is highlighted inside it.

  4. 4

    Rewrite where the actor should lead the sentence, and keep passives that are intentional.

About the Passive Voice Checker

Passive Voice Checker scans your text sentence by sentence and flags likely passive constructions — a form of “to be” or “get” followed closely by a past participle, as in “the report was written”. Each detected construction is highlighted in place, and you get a passive-sentence percentage for the whole text.

Students, bloggers and business writers use it to keep prose direct: active voice (“the team missed the deadline”) is usually shorter and clearer than passive (“the deadline was missed”). The commonly cited guideline is to keep passive sentences under about 10–15%, though deliberate passives — when the actor is unknown or unimportant — are perfectly good style.

This is an honest heuristic, not a grammar engine: it uses pattern rules plus a built-in list of ~100 irregular participles, so occasional false positives (like “was tired”) and misses are possible. Everything runs 100% locally in your browser and your text is never uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as passive voice?

A clause where the subject receives the action: a form of “to be” (or informally “get”) plus a past participle — “the window was broken by the wind”. The doer either trails in a by-phrase or disappears entirely. This tool flags exactly that be/get + participle pattern.

Is passive voice always wrong?

No. Passive is the right choice when the actor is unknown, obvious or unimportant (“the suspect was arrested”), and it is standard in scientific writing. The problem is habitual passive that hides who does what — that is what the percentage score helps you notice.

How accurate is this checker?

It is a heuristic, and honestly so: it catches the standard be/get + participle patterns, including irregular forms like “written” and “taken”, but it can flag predicate adjectives (“was tired”) and miss exotic phrasings. Treat highlights as candidates for review, not verdicts.

What percentage of passive voice is acceptable?

Readability tools commonly suggest under 10–15% of sentences. Academic and scientific writing legitimately runs higher. Rather than chasing zero, check that each passive you keep is a deliberate choice.

Does my text get uploaded for analysis?

No. Detection runs entirely in your browser with JavaScript — nothing is sent to a server, and the tool works offline.

Related tools