What is active voice?

In English, all sentences are in either passive or active voice. Active voice means that the subject of a sentence acts upon the verb or “A does B.” That is, the verb follows the subject in a sentence.

Here are three examples:

The dog eats food at dinnertime – “dog” is the subject and “eats” is the verb

The dog bit the woman – “dog” is the subject and “bit” is the verb

The IT Department assured us that the system will be operational by Monday – “IT Department” is the subject and “assured” is the verb

Use active in business writing because it’s more direct and succinct.