Highlight passive voice sentences
AI finds every passive voice construction in your writing so you can decide which ones to make active.
Highlight passive voice sentences
River's Passive Voice Highlighter identifies every passive voice construction in your writing. You paste your content, and the AI highlights sentences using passive voice without changing anything or making judgments about what's good or bad. This tool simply shows you where passive voice occurs so you can make informed decisions about which sentences to revise for clarity and impact. Whether you're editing marketing copy, blog posts, or professional writing, this tool helps you write more directly and powerfully.
Unlike grammar checkers that suggest random rewrites, we only highlight passive constructions and let you decide what needs fixing. The AI identifies all forms of passive voice accurately (is/was/has been + past participle), shows you exactly which sentences use passive constructions, doesn't flag false positives or miss true passives, and provides context so you understand each instance. You maintain complete control over your writing while having full visibility into where passive voice occurs.
This tool is perfect for professional writers improving clarity, marketers making copy more compelling, content creators writing directly and powerfully, or anyone who knows passive voice weakens writing but struggles to identify it consistently. If you've been told to avoid passive voice but can't reliably spot it, this tool helps. Use it when editing content that needs to be clear, direct, and action-oriented rather than vague and indirect.
What Makes Passive Voice Weaken Writing
Passive voice weakens writing by hiding who did what. In passive constructions, the subject receives the action instead of performing it ('The report was written' vs 'Sarah wrote the report'). This creates several problems: it obscures responsibility and agency, adds unnecessary words that dilute impact, makes sentences harder to understand quickly, and creates distance between reader and action. Active voice is clearer because it follows natural language patterns (actor-action-object). Readers process active sentences 20-30% faster than passive ones. For marketing, sales, or persuasive writing, that clarity difference dramatically impacts effectiveness.
However, passive voice isn't always wrong. Sometimes you need it when the actor is unknown or irrelevant ('The building was constructed in 1920'), when you want to emphasize the recipient of action ('Our customers are treated with respect'), or in scientific writing when objectivity matters ('The experiment was conducted'). The problem isn't using passive voice occasionally. The problem is overusing it or using it unconsciously when active voice would be clearer. Good writers use passive voice strategically, not accidentally. This tool helps you see where you're using it so you can make intentional choices.
To evaluate whether passive voice should stay or go, ask: Does this sentence hide important information about who did the action? Would active voice be clearer? Is there a good reason to emphasize the recipient over the actor? Would active voice sound awkward or wrong here? Fix passive voice when it adds wordiness, obscures responsibility, or weakens impact. Keep it when you genuinely need to deemphasize the actor or emphasize what happened to something. The goal isn't eliminating all passive voice. The goal is using it consciously and sparingly.
What You Get
Every passive voice sentence highlighted in your document
Accurate detection of all passive voice forms
No suggestions or rewrites, just identification
Complete control over what you choose to fix
Clear visibility into your passive voice patterns
How It Works
- 1Paste your contentCopy your writing into the workspace (100-5000 words works best)
- 2AI highlights passive voiceOur AI finds every passive construction in 30-60 seconds and highlights them
- 3Review highlighted sentencesSee where you used passive voice and decide which instances to revise
- 4Rewrite for clarityConvert important passive sentences to active voice for stronger, clearer writing
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I fix every highlighted passive voice sentence?
No. Passive voice isn't grammatically wrong, and sometimes it's the right choice. Fix passive voice when it obscures who did the action, adds unnecessary words, or weakens your message. Keep passive voice when the actor is unknown or irrelevant, when you want to emphasize what happened rather than who did it, or when active voice would sound awkward. Review each highlighted sentence and ask if active voice would be clearer and stronger. If yes, rewrite it. If passive voice works better in that context, leave it. The tool shows you where passive occurs so you can make informed decisions.
How do I convert passive voice to active voice?
Identify who or what performed the action (often hidden or at the end of passive sentences), make that the subject, use a direct action verb, and put the object after the verb. Example: Passive 'The email was sent by Sarah' becomes active 'Sarah sent the email.' Passive 'Mistakes were made' becomes active 'We made mistakes' (note how passive hid responsibility). Sometimes you need to figure out the missing actor. Passive 'The decision was made to cut costs' needs you to identify who decided: 'Management decided to cut costs.' Active voice follows subject-verb-object order and is almost always clearer.
Why does passive voice make writing weaker?
Passive voice adds words, hides actors, and creates distance between readers and actions. Compare 'The campaign was launched by our team' (passive, 7 words) to 'Our team launched the campaign' (active, 5 words). Active is shorter and clearer. Passive also obscures responsibility: 'Mistakes were made' doesn't say who made them. For marketing and persuasive writing, passive voice kills impact because readers want to know who does what. Active voice is direct, clear, and powerful. Passive is vague, wordy, and weak. Readers process active voice faster and find it more engaging.
What's the difference between passive voice and past tense?
Past tense describes when something happened. Passive voice describes sentence structure. You can have active voice past tense: 'Sarah wrote the report yesterday' (active, past). You can have passive voice present tense: 'The report is written by Sarah' (passive, present). Passive voice uses 'to be' verbs (is, was, were, been) plus past participles, with the subject receiving action instead of performing it. Past tense just means the action happened in the past. Don't confuse them. Passive voice is about sentence structure (who acts on whom), not timing.
Can this tool suggest how to rewrite passive sentences?
No, this tool only highlights passive voice. It doesn't suggest rewrites because the best rewrite depends on context, meaning, and your intent. Sometimes you want to keep passive voice. Sometimes the rewrite requires adding information the sentence doesn't contain (who performed the action). You're the writer and know your content best. The tool gives you visibility so you can make informed decisions. Review each highlighted sentence and rewrite the ones where active voice would be stronger. This approach respects your expertise rather than forcing automated rewrites that might not fit your needs.
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