The Passive Voice Index

PassiveVoiceChecker research · Engine v1.0.0 · Run 2026-11-09 · 146 documents, 2,642,285 words

Presidential inaugural addresses written before 1850 put a passive construction in 45% of their sentences; those since 1980 average 14%. The U.S. Constitution runs 54% passive, Jane Austen about 20%, and Shakespeare's plays under 4%. This page measures 146 public-domain and U.S. government documents with the same engine that powers our checker, so every number is reproducible.

What the numbers say

Passive voice in American political speech fell by two-thirds over two centuries, and most of the fall tracks shorter sentences. Inaugural addresses from 1789 to 1849 averaged 45% passive sentences at 43 words per sentence. From 1980 to 2025 the figures are 14% and 19 words. Across the whole Index, sentence length and passive share are strongly correlated (r = 0.78): long sentences have more clauses, and more clauses mean more chances for a passive. Measured per 100 words instead of per sentence, the drop is smaller — about 1.5 passives per 100 words before 1900, about 0.8 since 1946 — but still clear.

The founding documents are heavily passive, and it is not an accident. The Constitution’s 54% reflects what it is: a document about what shall be done, by offices rather than by named people (“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress”). The Declaration of Independence sits at 21%, with its passives concentrated where the colonists are the ones acted upon (“Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury”). The Gettysburg Address, 272 words long, has two passive sentences out of ten.

Fiction varies by author more than by era. Austen’s three novels run 17–23% passive; Chesterton’s run 9–13%; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is 8%. Dialogue-heavy prose has fewer passives, which is why the three Shakespeare plays — almost entirely dialogue — sit at the bottom of the Index at 2.6–3.3%, and why a children’s book like The Adventures of Buster Bear is at 4%.

The King James Bible is 20% passive, more than Moby-Dick, with its passives clustered in the narrative books (“and it was told the king”). Milton’s Paradise Lost is 14%; Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, a first-person catalogue of doing, is 6.5%.

Only one modern inaugural clears the 10% line that Yoast uses for web copy. Fifty-two of the sixty addresses exceed 10%; the 2021 address, at 10.1%, comes closest. The same is true of the State of the Union messages until the 1980s: those from 1945–1960 average 20% passive, those from 1981–2006 average 10%.

Document	Author	Year	Words	Passive sentences	Per 100 words	Words / sentence	Example
Inaugural Address (1793) Presidential inaugural addresses	George Washington	1793	135	75%	2.2	33.8	“Fellow citizens, I am again called upon by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate.”
Inaugural Address (1789) Presidential inaugural addresses	George Washington	1789	1,431	60.9%	1.8	62.2	“Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your...”
Inaugural Address (1821) Presidential inaugural addresses	James Monroe	1821	4,476	57.4%	2.5	34.7	“Peace and good will have been, and will hereafter be, cultivated with all, and by the most faithful regard to justice.”
Inaugural Address (1873) Presidential inaugural addresses	Ulysses S. Grant	1873	1,340	54.5%	2.3	30.5	“Under Providence I have been called a second time to act as Executive over this great nation.”
U.S. Constitution (consolidated text, amendments incorporated) Founding documents	Constitutional Convention	1787	6,345	53.6%	1.9	45.3	“Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State,...”
Inaugural Address (1809) Presidential inaugural addresses	James Madison	1809	1,177	52.4%	1.2	56	“Under the various circumstances which give peculiar solemnity to the existing period, I feel that both the honor and the responsibility allotted to me are...”
Inaugural Address (1841) Presidential inaugural addresses	William Henry Harrison	1841	8,445	47.6%	1.5	41	“The majority of our citizens, on the contrary, possess a sovereignty with an amount of power precisely equal to that which has been granted to them by the...”
Inaugural Address (1797) Presidential inaugural addresses	John Adams	1797	2,321	45.9%	1.2	62.7	“In this dangerous crisis the people of America were not abandoned by their usual good sense, presence of mind, resolution, or integrity.”
Inaugural Address (1825) Presidential inaugural addresses	John Quincy Adams	1825	2,916	45.9%	1.6	39.4	“The consummation of both was effected by this Constitution.”
Inaugural Address (1877) Presidential inaugural addresses	Rutherford B. Hayes	1877	2,489	45.8%	1.5	42.2	“The immeasurable benefits which will surely follow, sooner or later, the hearty and generous acceptance of the legitimate results of that revolution have...”
Inaugural Address (1805) Presidential inaugural addresses	Thomas Jefferson	1805	2,166	44.4%	1.3	48.1	“These, covering our land with officers and opening our doors to their intrusions, had already begun that process of domiciliary vexation which once entered...”
Inaugural Address (1829) Presidential inaugural addresses	Andrew Jackson	1829	1,128	44%	1.5	45.1	“Powerful auxiliaries to the attainment of this desirable end are to be found in the regulations provided by the wisdom of Congress for the specific...”
Inaugural Address (1837) Presidential inaugural addresses	Martin Van Buren	1837	3,844	43.6%	1.4	40.9	“The jealousies which the smaller States might entertain of the power of the rest were allayed by a rule of representation confessedly unequal at the time,...”
Inaugural Address (1909) Presidential inaugural addresses	William Howard Taft	1909	5,440	43%	1.7	34.4	“Relief of the railroads from certain restrictions of the antitrust law have been urged by my predecessor and will be urged by me.”
Inaugural Address (1813) Presidential inaugural addresses	James Madison	1813	1,211	42.4%	1.8	36.7	“The impressions on me are strengthened by such an evidence that my faithful endeavors to discharge my arduous duties have been favorably estimated, and by a...”
Inaugural Address (1885) Presidential inaugural addresses	Grover Cleveland	1885	1,686	41.9%	1.2	39.2	“Nothing can relieve me from anxiety lest by any act of mine their interests may suffer, and nothing is needed to strengthen my resolution to engage every...”
Inaugural Address (1845) Presidential inaugural addresses	James K. Polk	1845	4,810	41.6%	1.7	32.3	“Fellow citizens, without solicitation on my part, I have been chosen by the free and voluntary suffrages of my countrymen to the most honorable and most...”
Inaugural Address (1865) Presidential inaugural addresses	Abraham Lincoln	1865	700	38.5%	2	26.9	“Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper.”
Inaugural Address (1849) Presidential inaugural addresses	Zachary Taylor	1849	1,091	38.1%	1	52	“Elected by the American people to the highest office known to our laws, I appear here to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution, and, in compliance...”
Inaugural Address (1853) Presidential inaugural addresses	Franklin Pierce	1853	3,341	37.5%	1.4	32.1	“They proved themselves equal to the solution of the great problem, to understand which their minds had been illuminated by the dawning lights of the Revolution.”
Inaugural Address (1869) Presidential inaugural addresses	Ulysses S. Grant	1869	1,129	36.6%	1.7	27.5	“In meeting these it is desirable that they should be approached calmly, without prejudice, hate, or sectional pride, remembering that the greatest good to...”
Inaugural Address (1897) Presidential inaugural addresses	William McKinley	1897	3,974	36.2%	1.5	31.3	“The responsibilities of the high trust to which I have been called -- always of grave importance -- are augmented by the prevailing business conditions...”
Inaugural Address (1893) Presidential inaugural addresses	Grover Cleveland	1893	2,018	34.5%	1.3	34.8	“At the same time, in our efforts to adjust differences of opinion we should be free from intolerance or passion, and our judgments should be unmoved by...”
Inaugural Address (1817) Presidential inaugural addresses	James Monroe	1817	3,378	34.4%	1.7	27.7	“I should be destitute of feeling if I was not deeply affected by the strong proof which my fellow-citizens have given me of their confidence in calling me...”
Inaugural Address (1857) Presidential inaugural addresses	James Buchanan	1857	2,833	32.6%	1.1	32.9	“Whenever in our past history doubtful powers have been exercised by Congress, these have never failed to produce injurious and unhappy consequences.”
Inaugural Address (1881) Presidential inaugural addresses	James A. Garfield	1881	2,989	32.4%	1.6	26.9	“We have no standard by which to measure the disaster that may be brought upon us by ignorance and vice in the citizens when joined to corruption and fraud...”
Inaugural Address (1889) Presidential inaugural addresses	Benjamin Harrison	1889	4,397	32.1%	1.4	28.2	“The cotton plantation will not be less valuable when the product is spun in the country town by operatives whose necessities call for diversified crops and...”
Inaugural Address (1861) Presidential inaugural addresses	Abraham Lincoln	1861	3,638	31.9%	1.6	26.4	“It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves; and the intention of the...”
State of the Union (1946) State of the Union messages	Harry S. Truman	1946	27,509	31.1%	1.6	22.8	“The plain fact is that civilization was saved in 1945 by the United Nations.”
Inaugural Address (1901) Presidential inaugural addresses	William McKinley	1901	2,216	30.2%	1.7	23.1	“But fortunate as our condition is, its permanence can only be assured by sound business methods and strict economy in national administration and legislation.”
State of the Union (1956) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1956	8,290	27.7%	1.4	21.6	“Government spending has been cut by more than ten billion dollars.”
Inaugural Address (1833) Presidential inaugural addresses	Andrew Jackson	1833	1,177	27.6%	1	40.6	“It shall be displayed to the extent of my humble abilities in continued efforts so to administer the Government as to preserve their liberty and promote...”
State of the Union (1954) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1954	6,029	25.4%	1.4	21	“In West Germany, in Iran, and in other areas of the world, heartening political victories have been won by the forces of stability and freedom.”
State of the Union (1947) State of the Union messages	Harry S. Truman	1947	6,097	24.3%	1.3	20.9	“The power to mold the future of this Nation lies in our hands-yours and mine, and they are joined together by the Constitution.”
Inaugural Address (1905) Presidential inaugural addresses	Theodore Roosevelt	1905	989	24.2%	1	30	“To us as a people it has been granted to lay the foundations of our national life in a new continent.”
Sense and Sensibility Fiction (public domain)	Jane Austen	1811	119,007	22.6%	1	27	“His father was rendered easy by such an assurance, and Mr. John Dashwood had then leisure to consider how much there might prudently be in his power to do for them.”
Inaugural Address (1913) Presidential inaugural addresses	Woodrow Wilson	1913	1,706	22.1%	0.9	25.1	“The offices of President and Vice-President have been put into the hands of Democrats.”
Declaration of Independence Founding documents	Thomas Jefferson (Second Continental Congress)	1776	1,337	21.3%	0.8	28.4	“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among...”
State of the Union (1961) State of the Union messages	John F. Kennedy	1961	5,822	21%	0.9	26	“Public considerations have been largely characterized by apathy, indifference and skepticism; while, at the same time, many of the civil defense plans have...”
Persuasion Fiction (public domain)	Jane Austen	1817	83,593	20.6%	1	24.8	“This friend, and Sir Walter, did not marry, whatever might have been anticipated on that head by their acquaintance.”
Inaugural Address (2009) Presidential inaugural addresses	Barack Obama	2009	2,399	20.5%	1	21.4	“The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.”
Inaugural Address (1929) Presidential inaugural addresses	Herbert Hoover	1929	3,573	20.3%	1	22.6	“My Countrymen: This occasion is not alone the administration of the most sacred oath which can be assumed by an American citizen.”
Inaugural Address (1981) Presidential inaugural addresses	Ronald Reagan	1981	2,436	20.2%	1.1	19.6	“Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?”
State of the Union (1959) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1959	5,017	20.1%	1.2	18.7	“The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile program has been marked by rapid development as evidenced by recent successful tests.”
Gettysburg Address (Bliss copy) Founding documents	Abraham Lincoln	1863	272	20%	0.7	27.2	“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all...”
State of the Union (1949) State of the Union messages	Harry S. Truman	1949	3,438	19.9%	1.1	18.5	“Our democratic ideals are often thwarted by prejudice and intolerance.”
State of the Union (1957) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1957	4,155	19.7%	0.9	22.1	“In the world today, the surging and understandable tide of nationalism is marked by widespread revulsion and revolt against tyranny, injustice, inequality...”
The King James Bible Scripture, verse and drama	Authorized Version	1611	821,148	19.6%	0.9	27.3	“29:43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”
State of the Union (1953) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1953	6,964	19.5%	1.1	20	“This policy will be governed by certain fixed ideas.”
Inaugural Address (1925) Presidential inaugural addresses	Calvin Coolidge	1925	4,057	19.3%	1.1	20.6	“They have been secured by a constant and enlightened effort marked by many sacrifices and extending over many generations.”
State of the Union (1960) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1960	5,648	19.2%	0.9	22.6	“This determination is shared by the entire Congress--indeed, by all Americans.”
Inaugural Address (1941) Presidential inaugural addresses	Franklin D. Roosevelt	1941	1,342	19.1%	1	19.7	“For they have brought to us greater security and, I hope, a better understanding that life's ideals are to be measured in other than material things.”
State of the Union (1981) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1981	4,501	19.1%	1	20.5	“I'm here tonight to reaffirm that pledge and to ask that we share in restoring the promise that is offered to every citizen by this, the last, best hope of...”
Inaugural Address (1801) Presidential inaugural addresses	Thomas Jefferson	1801	1,730	19%	0.8	41.2	“Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself.”
State of the Union (1955) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1955	7,298	19%	1	21.7	“The security of the Mediterranean has been enhanced by an alliance among Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia.”
Inaugural Address (1933) Presidential inaugural addresses	Franklin D. Roosevelt	1933	1,881	18.8%	1.1	22.1	“The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities.”
State of the Union (1969) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1969	4,105	18.8%	1	21.5	“So I believe an urban development bank should be created by the Congress.”
Inaugural Address (1917) Presidential inaugural addresses	Woodrow Wilson	1917	1,529	18.3%	1	25.5	“My Fellow citizens: The four years which have elapsed since last I stood in this place have been crowded with counsel and action of the most vital interest...”
State of the Union (1948) State of the Union messages	Harry S. Truman	1948	5,181	18.1%	1	18.8	“Yet our great national achievements have been attained by those with vision.”
State of the Union (1950) State of the Union messages	Harry S. Truman	1950	5,171	17%	0.8	22	“Right here, I want to say that no one appreciates more than I the bipartisan cooperation in foreign affairs which has been enjoyed by this administration.”
Emma Fiction (public domain)	Jane Austen	1815	158,715	16.8%	0.9	24.1	“The compliments of his neighbours were over; he was no longer teased by being wished joy of so sorrowful an event; and the wedding-cake, which had been a...”
Inaugural Address (2001) Presidential inaugural addresses	George W. Bush	2001	1,583	16.7%	1.1	16.5	“I know this is in our reach because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates us equal in His image.”
Moby-Dick Fiction (public domain)	Herman Melville	1851	214,479	16.5%	0.9	23.6	“"She came to bespeak a monument for her first love, who had been killed by a whale in the Pacific ocean, no less than forty years ago." --IBID.”
State of the Union (1945) State of the Union messages	Harry S. Truman	1945	1,900	16.5%	1.1	16.5	“It can be provided only by a united nation deeply devoted to the highest ideals.”
Inaugural Address (1949) Presidential inaugural addresses	Harry S. Truman	1949	2,279	16.4%	1	19.6	“The first half of this century has been marked by unprecedented and brutal attacks on the rights of man, and by the two most frightful wars in history.”
State of the Union (1974) State of the Union messages	Richard Nixon	1974	5,271	16.1%	0.7	25.7	“However, it should be clearly understood by our friends in the Middle East that the United States will not be coerced on this issue.”
Inaugural Address (1937) Presidential inaugural addresses	Franklin D. Roosevelt	1937	1,823	16%	0.9	19.4	“We refused to leave the problems of our common welfare to be solved by the winds of chance and the hurricanes of disaster.”
Inaugural Address (2025) Presidential inaugural addresses	Donald Trump	2025	2,912	16%	1.1	16.6	“While they are plentiful, they will be annihilated by this great momentum that the world is now witnessing in the United States of America.”
Inaugural Address (2017) Presidential inaugural addresses	Donald Trump	2017	1,459	15.7%	1.1	16.4	“What truly matters is not which party controls our Government, but whether our Government is controlled by the people.”
State of the Union (1965) (second) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1965	3,741	15.7%	0.9	19	“One good man, a man of God, was killed.”
State of the Union (1962) State of the Union messages	John F. Kennedy	1962	6,669	15.6%	0.7	24.8	“For our Nation is commissioned by history to be either an observer of freedom's failure or the cause of its success.”
Inaugural Address (1961) Presidential inaugural addresses	John F. Kennedy	1961	1,366	15.4%	0.7	26.3	“To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be...”
State of the Union (2001) (second) State of the Union messages	George W. Bush	2001	3,038	15.3%	1	16.6	“It has already been delivered by the American people.”
Inaugural Address (2013) Presidential inaugural addresses	Barack Obama	2013	2,112	15.2%	0.8	23	“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among...”
Inaugural Address (2005) Presidential inaugural addresses	George W. Bush	2005	2,058	14.9%	0.8	21.9	“At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but by the history we have seen together.”
Inaugural Address (1989) Presidential inaugural addresses	George H. W. Bush	1989	2,318	14.1%	1	16.3	“And he would, I think, be gladdened by this day; for today is the concrete expression of a stunning fact: our continuity these 200 years since our government began.”
State of the Union (1963) State of the Union messages	John F. Kennedy	1963	5,495	14%	0.6	24	“No doubt tax reduction without reform would sound simpler and more attractive to many - but our growth is also hampered by a host of tax inequities and...”
The Parent's Assistant Fiction (public domain)	Maria Edgeworth	1796	166,792	13.9%	0.8	19.4	“One evening, just as he had lighted his candles, a footman came in, who was sent by Isabella with some plain work to Mary.”
State of the Union (1970) State of the Union messages	Richard Nixon	1970	4,538	13.9%	0.6	22.5	“We can no longer afford to consider air and water common property, free to be abused by anyone without regard to the consequences.”
Inaugural Address (1953) Presidential inaugural addresses	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1953	2,457	13.8%	0.7	20	“Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land.”
Paradise Lost Scripture, verse and drama	John Milton	1667	79,953	13.6%	0.4	44.3	“and thou, profoundest Hell, Receive thy new possessor--one who brings A mind not to be changed by place or time.”
Inaugural Address (1921) Presidential inaugural addresses	Warren G. Harding	1921	3,337	13.5%	0.7	22.5	“Liberty -- liberty within the law -- and civilization are inseparable, and though both were threatened we find them now secure; and there comes to Americans...”
State of the Union (1967) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1967	7,211	13.4%	0.7	20.5	“We have come a long way in this hemisphere since the inter-American effort in economic and social development was launched by the conference at Bogota in...”
Inaugural Address (1969) Presidential inaugural addresses	Richard Nixon	1969	2,122	13.2%	0.8	20	“We are torn by division, wanting unity.”
State of the Union (1977) State of the Union messages	Gerald Ford	1977	4,745	13.1%	0.7	22.2	“And the chance for peace among all nations is improved by our determination to honor our vital commitments in defense of peace and freedom.”
State of the Union (1958) State of the Union messages	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1958	4,950	12.9%	0.6	20.5	“The threat has become increasingly serious as this expansionist aim has been reinforced by an advancing industrial, military and scientific establishment.”
State of the Union (1964) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1964	3,219	12.9%	0.7	23.2	“It can be done by this summer, and it can be done without any increase in spending.”
The Wisdom of Father Brown Fiction (public domain)	G. K. Chesterton	1914	72,179	12.8%	0.7	21.6	“In such a place the sea had something of the monotony of a blue-green dado: for the chambers themselves were ruled throughout by a terrible tidiness not...”
State of the Union (2005) State of the Union messages	George W. Bush	2005	5,158	12.7%	0.7	19.2	“As a new Congress gathers, all of us in the elected branches of government share a great privilege: We've been placed in office by the votes of the people we serve.”
State of the Union (1984) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1984	4,997	12.6%	0.8	17.5	“A 600-percent increase in Federal spending on education between 1960 and 1980 was accompanied by a steady decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test scores.”
State of the Union (1989) State of the Union messages	George H. W. Bush	1989	4,841	12.6%	0.8	17.5	“But remember this: The overwhelming majority of all preschool child care is now provided by relatives and neighbors and churches and community groups.”
State of the Union (1987) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1987	3,818	12.5%	0.7	19.1	“We will be guided tonight by their acts; and we will be guided forever by their words.”
State of the Union (1971) State of the Union messages	Richard Nixon	1971	4,153	12.1%	0.6	24	“I will propose: --A Program to insure that no American family will be prevented from obtaining basic medical care by inability to pay.”
State of the Union (1973) State of the Union messages	Richard Nixon	1973	1,709	11.9%	0.5	25.5	“That lesson is that even potentially destructive forces can be converted into positive forces when we know how to channel them, and when we use common sense...”
State of the Union (2003) State of the Union messages	George W. Bush	2003	5,401	11.9%	0.6	19.4	“No one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit - and I urge the Congress to pass medical liability reform.”
State of the Union (1982) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1982	5,223	11.8%	0.6	21.3	“But don't be fooled by those who proclaim that spending cuts will deprive the elderly, the needy, and the helpless.”
State of the Union (1968) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1968	4,889	11.7%	0.7	18.5	“--A President, a Vice President, a House and Senate, and village officials have been chosen by popular, contested ballot.”
State of the Union (1980) State of the Union messages	Jimmy Carter	1980	3,421	11.7%	0.6	21	“The region which is now threatened by Soviet troops in Afghanistan is of great strategic importance: It contains more than two-thirds of the world's exportable oil.”
State of the Union (1986) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1986	3,520	11.5%	0.6	20.2	“History is made by men and women of vision and courage.”
State of the Union (1972) State of the Union messages	Richard Nixon	1972	4,050	11.4%	0.5	23	“Much of this is legislation which I proposed in 1969, in 1970, and also in the first session of this 92d congress and on which I feel it is essential that...”
Poems (Songs of Innocence and Experience) Scripture, verse and drama	William Blake	1794	6,833	11.3%	0.7	16.8	“Little Lamb, I'll tell thee; Little Lamb, I'll tell thee: He is called by thy name, For He calls Himself a Lamb He is meek, and He is mild, He became a little child.”
State of the Union (1975) State of the Union messages	Gerald Ford	1975	4,156	11.2%	0.7	18.6	“Progress and solutions can be achieved, and they will be achieved.”
State of the Union (2004) State of the Union messages	George W. Bush	2004	5,293	11.2%	0.6	19	“And this pledge, given by one, has been kept by many.”
The Ball and the Cross Fiction (public domain)	G. K. Chesterton	1909	81,941	10.6%	0.6	19.6	“That object which seemed to be created by the entanglement of two corkscrews was really the key.”
State of the Union (1976) State of the Union messages	Gerald Ford	1976	4,972	10.3%	0.6	18.3	“Finally, our economy was ravaged by inflation--inflation that was plunging us into the worse recession in four decades.”
State of the Union (2002) State of the Union messages	George W. Bush	2002	3,936	10.3%	0.6	18.4	“And the depth of their hatred is equaled by the madness of the destruction they design.”
State of the Union (1995) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	1995	9,219	10.2%	0.5	20.4	“Our Government, once a champion of national purpose, is now seen by many as simply a captive of narrow interests, putting more burdens on our citizens...”
Inaugural Address (2021) Presidential inaugural addresses	Joe Biden	2021	2,551	10.1%	0.7	16	“To all those who supported our campaign, I am humbled by the faith you've placed in us.”
State of the Union (1985) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1985	4,266	9.9%	0.6	19.2	“We're not here to congratulate ourselves on what we have done but to challenge ourselves to finish what has not yet been done.”
Inaugural Address (1957) Presidential inaugural addresses	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1957	1,660	9.8%	0.5	18	“Yet the world of International Communism has itself been shaken by a fierce and mighty force: the readiness of men who love freedom to pledge their lives to...”
Inaugural Address (1985) Presidential inaugural addresses	Ronald Reagan	1985	2,571	9.7%	0.5	20.7	“This day has been made brighter with the presence here of one who, for a time, has been absent -- Senator John Stennis.”
State of the Union (1994) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	1994	7,436	9.6%	0.5	18.9	“And in fairness, they all had to be passed by you in this Congress.”
State of the Union (1983) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1983	5,623	9.3%	0.5	21.8	“The inflationary expectations that led to a 21\1/2\-percent interest prime rate and soaring mortgage rates 2 years ago are now reduced by almost half.”
State of the Union (1988) State of the Union messages	Ronald Reagan	1988	4,811	9.3%	0.5	22.5	“So my message to you tonight is, put on your work shoes--we're still on the job.”
Stories to Tell to Children Fiction (public domain)	Sara Cone Bryant	1910	46,222	9.2%	0.5	18.6	“Soon that, too, was gone, but long, long afterward the men and animals who were saved by the Cloud kept her blessing in their hearts.”
Inaugural Address (1993) Presidential inaugural addresses	Bill Clinton	1993	1,600	8.9%	0.5	20.3	“Raised in unrivalled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing...”
State of the Union (1991) (second) State of the Union messages	George H. W. Bush	1991	3,981	8.8%	0.5	17.6	“But just as our efforts will bring economic growth now and in the future, they must also be matched by long-term investments for the next American century.”
State of the Union (1999) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	1999	7,519	8.8%	0.5	19.5	“Now, I've ordered these rights to be extended to the 85 million Americans served by Medicare, Medicaid, and other Federal health programs.”
State of the Union (2001) (second) State of the Union messages	George W. Bush	2001	4,484	8.8%	0.6	15.8	“And this spirit of respect and cooperation is vital, because, in the end, we will be judged not only by what we say or how we say it, we will be judged by...”
Inaugural Address (1973) Presidential inaugural addresses	Richard Nixon	1973	1,805	8.7%	0.3	26.2	“A person can be expected to act responsibly only if he has responsibility.”
The Man Who Was Thursday Fiction (public domain)	G. K. Chesterton	1908	58,187	8.7%	0.5	17.6	“He was helped in some degree by the arresting oddity of his appearance, which he worked, as the phrase goes, for all it was worth.”
State of the Union (1979) State of the Union messages	Jimmy Carter	1979	3,269	8.7%	0.5	20.3	“And abroad, few of them can be solved by the United States alone.”
State of the Union (1951) State of the Union messages	Harry S. Truman	1951	4,041	8.6%	0.6	16.5	“The actions you take will be watched by the whole world.”
State of the Union (1990) State of the Union messages	George H. W. Bush	1990	3,806	8.6%	0.5	19.3	“Today democracy is restored; Panama is free.”
State of the Union (1965) (second) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1965	4,443	8.5%	0.6	17.1	“Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the Congress, my fellow Americans: On this Hill which was my home, I am stirred by old friendships.”
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Fiction (public domain)	Lewis Carroll	1865	26,509	8.3%	0.4	19.9	“"William the Conqueror, whose cause was favoured by the pope, was soon submitted to by the English, who wanted leaders, and had been of late much accustomed...”
State of the Union (1993) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	1993	7,044	8%	0.4	24.5	“Like individuals, nations must ultimately decide how they wish to conduct themselves, how they wish to be thought of by those with whom they live, and...”
State of the Union (1978) State of the Union messages	Jimmy Carter	1978	4,606	7.9%	0.5	18.3	“That was the duty Abraham Lincoln faced when our land was torn apart by conflict in the War Between the States.”
Inaugural Address (1977) Presidential inaugural addresses	Jimmy Carter	1977	1,225	7.7%	0.3	23.6	“Our commitment to human rights must be absolute, our laws fair, our natural beauty preserved; the powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity...”
State of the Union (1966) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1966	5,526	7.3%	0.4	21.3	“I was informed this afternoon by the distinguished Secretary of the Treasury that his preliminary estimates indicate that our balance of payments deficit...”
State of the Union (2006) State of the Union messages	George W. Bush	2006	5,565	7.3%	0.5	17.6	“White House photo by Eric DraperEvery time I'm invited to this rostrum, I'm humbled by the privilege, and mindful of the history we've seen together.”
State of the Union (1992) State of the Union messages	George H. W. Bush	1992	5,136	6.9%	0.4	16.2	“We must not go back to the days of "the hollow army." We cannot repeat the mistakes made twice in this century when armistice was followed by recklessness...”
State of the Union (1963) State of the Union messages	Lyndon B. Johnson	1963	1,639	6.8%	0.3	22.1	“The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time.”
Inaugural Address (1965) Presidential inaugural addresses	Lyndon B. Johnson	1965	1,489	6.5%	0.5	16	“In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write.”
Leaves of Grass Scripture, verse and drama	Walt Whitman	1855	123,422	6.5%	0.3	29.7	“Lack one lacks both, and the unseen is proved by the seen, Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn.”
State of the Union (1991) (second) State of the Union messages	George H. W. Bush	1991	2,894	6.3%	0.4	16.4	“And as President, I can report to the Nation aggression is defeated.”
State of the Union (1998) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	1998	7,344	6.3%	0.3	20.1	“But medical decisions ought to be made by medical doctors, not insurance company accountants.”
State of the Union (2000) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	2000	9,112	5.8%	0.3	18.8	“Then our Nation was gripped by economic distress, social decline, political gridlock.”
State of the Union (1996) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	1996	6,368	5.6%	0.3	17.8	“Our individual dreams must be realized by our common efforts.”
Inaugural Address (1997) Presidential inaugural addresses	Bill Clinton	1997	2,158	5.4%	0.3	19.3	“The promise of America was born in the 18th century out of the bold conviction that we are all created equal.”
State of the Union (1997) State of the Union messages	Bill Clinton	1997	6,796	4.7%	0.2	19.8	“Let us at least agree, we should not pass any measure--no measure should be passed that threatens Social Security.”
The Adventures of Buster Bear Fiction (public domain)	Thornton W. Burgess	1916	15,934	3.9%	0.2	16.8	“But who wouldn't be in a rage if his breakfast was taken from him just as he was about to eat it?”
Macbeth Scripture, verse and drama	William Shakespeare	1606	17,808	3.3%	0.4	9.6	“Wee are sent, To giue thee from our Royall Master thanks, Onely to harrold thee into his sight, Not pay thee”
Julius Caesar Scripture, verse and drama	William Shakespeare	1599	20,498	3.2%	0.4	9.6	“Be gone, Runne to your houses, fall vpon your knees, Pray to the Gods to intermit the plague That needs must light on this Ingratitude”
Hamlet Scripture, verse and drama	William Shakespeare	1603	29,662	2.6%	0.3	9.7	“Sit downe a-while, And let vs once againe assaile your eares, That are so fortified against our Story, What we two Nights haue seene”
Inaugural Address (1945) Presidential inaugural addresses	Franklin D. Roosevelt	1945	559	0%	0	21.5

How to read the table

Passive sentences is the share of sentences containing at least one passive or probably-passive construction, which is how Yoast, Hemingway and most checkers score a text. Per 100 words counts the constructions themselves and is less sensitive to sentence length, so it is the fairer comparison between an 18th-century address and a modern one. Words / sentence is there so you can see the length effect for yourself.

Methodology

• Engine. Every document was run through engine/passive.js, the same JavaScript module that powers the checker. Version and run date are in the byline. The engine finds a form of be or get followed, within three tokens, by a past participle, and assigns each hit one of three tiers: passive, probably passive (the participle could be adjectival, as in “the door was closed”) or adjective, not passive (“she was tired”). The first two tiers count; the third does not.
• Accuracy. On our 151-sentence labelled test set the engine scores 100% on passive-or-not and 98% on the exact tier. The test set and the script that runs it ship with the site’s source. Rule-based detection will still mis-tier some sentences in real prose; the per-document error is small relative to the differences reported here.
• Texts. All documents are U.S. government works or works published before 1929, so they are in the public domain. Inaugural and State of the Union texts come from the NLTK data corpora (C-SPAN transcripts; the State of the Union set includes a few special messages to Congress). The Constitution is a consolidated text with amendments incorporated into the articles, so its numbers describe constitutional language rather than the 1787 document alone. Hard line-wraps were removed; nothing else was edited.
• Sentences. Sentence splitting is the engine’s own. Verse and drama are split on punctuation, so their sentence counts are approximate; their per-100-words figures are the reliable ones.
• What is not here yet. Federal regulations, Supreme Court opinions, SEC filings and scientific reports are planned for the next run; they could not be fetched for this one.
• Reproducing it. Download the CSV above, or the site source, and run node scripts/run-index.js.

Use the data

The dataset is released under CC BY 4.0. Cite it as shown below, and link back to this page. If you use the numbers in a classroom, a style guide or an article, we would like to hear about it — see the contact page.

Cite this page

PassiveVoiceChecker.com Passive Voice Index, 2026. https://passivevoicechecker.com/passive-voice-index/ (engine v1.0.0, run 2026-11-09).

Sources

• NLTK data — inaugural, state_union and gutenberg corpora (GitHub)
• U.S. Constitution, consolidated text (GitHub, JesseKPhillips/USA-Constitution)
• Declaration of Independence transcript — National Archives
• Gettysburg Address — Library of Congress exhibition
• Yoast — how the readability analysis (10% passive threshold) was built
• Federal plain-language guidelines — writing (digital.gov)