Passive Voice Detector Guide: Spotting Passive Constructions
Learn how the be-verb plus participle pattern works and why it is only a starting point.
What is the Passive Voice Detector?
This tool is a heuristic helper, not a perfect grammar checker. It looks for a form of be, such as was or were, followed by a past participle, including common irregular forms like written and taken. It can miss passives with other helpers and can flag a few borderline cases, so read each match in context before rewriting.
How to use it
- Paste or type your text into the box.
- Click Detect.
- Review each flagged construction in context before rewriting.
Worked example
For the sample, the tool flags was written and was analysed as possible passive constructions, and does not flag the active sentence about the team writing the summary.
Is passive voice always wrong?
No. Passive voice suits cases where the action matters more than the actor, or the actor is unknown. The goal is to choose it deliberately, not to remove every instance.
Frequently asked questions
Is this detector perfectly accurate?
No. It is a heuristic based on be-verbs plus participles, so it can miss some passives and flag borderline cases. Treat matches as candidates to review.
Does it catch passives without a be-verb?
Not reliably. Constructions built with other helpers or with no helper at all may slip past this pattern.