Spanish Passive Voice.Examples & Practice Exercises.
What are Spanish Passive Voice
In a passive sentence, the grammatical subject receives the action rather than performing it. In an active sentence, the subject performs the action.
In Spanish, the most explicit passive construction is formed with ser plus the past participle. The object of an active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. The original subject may appear after the verb, introduced by por (by), or it may be omitted.
| Active sentence | Passive sentence |
|---|---|
| Alguien comió el pastel. — Someone ate the cake. | El pastel fue comido por alguien. — The cake was eaten by someone. |
| El chef prepara la comida. — The chef prepares the meal. | La comida es preparada por el chef. — The meal is prepared by the chef. |
| La profesora explicó la lección. — The teacher explained the lesson. | La lección fue explicada por la profesora. — The lesson was explained by the teacher. |
The basic structure is:
- Subject + conjugated ser + past participle + (por + agent)
The past participle agrees in gender and number with the passive subject: El informe fue revisado (The report was reviewed), but Las solicitudes fueron revisadas (The applications were reviewed).
The agent, or doer of the action, is often omitted when it is unknown, obvious, or unimportant. The passive voice is especially useful when the action or its recipient is more important than the agent, and it is common in formal, academic, administrative, scientific, and technical writing.
How to form Spanish Passive Voice
To transform an active sentence into a passive sentence, follow these steps:
- Identify the active sentence's subject, verb, and direct object.
- Move the direct object to the subject position of the passive sentence.
- Conjugate ser in the same tense as the active verb. This is the auxiliary verb.
- Add the past participle of the main verb. Make the participle agree in gender and number with the new subject.
- If necessary, add the original subject after por.
Example: El chef cocina la cena. — The chef cooks dinner. La cena es cocinada por el chef. — Dinner is cooked by the chef.
| Active sentence | Passive sentence |
|---|---|
| El estudiante lee el libro. — The student reads the book. | El libro es leído por el estudiante. — The book is read by the student. |
| La maestra enseña la lección. — The teacher teaches the lesson. | La lección es enseñada por la maestra. — The lesson is taught by the teacher. |
The auxiliary ser changes for tense and agrees in number with the subject. The past participle agrees in both gender and number.
| Tense | Form of ser | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present | es / son | El informe es revisado. — The report is reviewed. |
| Preterite | fue / fueron | Las cartas fueron enviadas. — The letters were sent. |
| Imperfect | era / eran | La puerta era cerrada por el guardia. — The door was closed by the guard. |
| Future | será / serán | El proyecto será aprobado. — The project will be approved. |
Regular past participles usually end in -ado for -ar verbs and -ido for -er and -ir verbs. In passive constructions, they agree with the subject:
- Masculine singular: cocinado, leído, enseñado
- Feminine singular: cocinada, leída, enseñada
- Masculine plural: cocinados, leídos, enseñados
- Feminine plural: cocinadas, leídas, enseñadas
When to use passive voice in Spanish?
Spanish passive constructions are used when the action, result, or recipient is more important than the person who performs the action.
- Emphasizing the action or recipient: La casa fue construida por los obreros. — The house was built by the workers. The sentence foregrounds the house and the completed construction.
- Omitting an unknown or irrelevant agent: El informe será revisado mañana. — The report will be reviewed tomorrow. The person who will review it is not specified.
- Creating a formal or impersonal tone: El informe fue aprobado por el comité. — The report was approved by the committee. This style is common in official and academic writing.
- Describing scientific and technical processes: El experimento fue realizado en el laboratorio. — The experiment was conducted in the laboratory.
Spanish also frequently uses the passive se construction, especially when the agent is not mentioned. This is different in form from the ser passive but serves a similar purpose:
Se ha tomado una decisión. — A decision has been made.
Here is a comparison of active and passive sentences:
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| Los niños rompieron la ventana. — The children broke the window. | La ventana fue rota por los niños. — The window was broken by the children. |
| María escribió el libro. — María wrote the book. | El libro fue escrito por María. — The book was written by María. |
Subject and agent in passive voice sentences
In a passive sentence, the subject is the person or thing that receives the action. The agent is the person or thing that performs the action, if it is mentioned.
- The subject: The passive subject controls agreement with both ser and the past participle. In La carta fue escrita por María. — The letter was written by María., la carta is the subject and receives the action.
- The agent: The agent is usually introduced by por. In El libro fue leído por Juan. — The book was read by Juan., Juan is the agent.
- Omitted agent: The agent may be left out when it is unknown, irrelevant, obvious, or recoverable from context. In El proyecto fue aprobado. — The project was approved., the sentence focuses on the project's approval without identifying who approved it.
This structure shifts emphasis from the doer to the receiver or the result of the action. For example, La canción fue escuchada por millones. — The song was listened to by millions. emphasizes the song and the large number of listeners.
What are common mistakes in forming Spanish passive voice sentences
When forming Spanish passive sentences, learners often make mistakes with the auxiliary verb, agreement, the agent, and tense.
1. Mismatching the auxiliary verb with the subject
The form of ser must agree with the passive subject in number.
Incorrect: La carta fueron enviadas. — Incorrect: The letter were sent.
Correct: La carta fue enviada. — Correct: The letter was sent.
2. Incorrect past-participle agreement
The past participle must agree with the passive subject in gender and number.
Incorrect: Las casas son construido por los obreros. — Incorrect: The houses are built by the workers.
Correct: Las casas son construidas por los obreros. — Correct: The houses are built by the workers.
3. Treating an omitted agent as an error
Omitting the agent is grammatical when the agent is unknown, irrelevant, obvious, or intentionally not stated. Add the agent only when the context requires that information.
Complete without an agent: El cuadro fue pintado. — The painting was painted.
With an agent: El cuadro fue pintado por el artista. — The painting was painted by the artist.
4. Using the wrong preposition
When the agent is included, introduce it with por, not de.
Incorrect: El libro fue escrito de Miguel. — Incorrect: The book was written of Miguel.
Correct: El libro fue escrito por Miguel. — Correct: The book was written by Miguel.
5. Ignoring tense consistency
Use the same time reference in the auxiliary verb and the time marker. The past participle itself does not carry tense; ser does.
Incorrect: La puerta es abierta por Juan la semana pasada. — Incorrect: The door is opened by Juan last week.
Correct: La puerta fue abierta por Juan la semana pasada. — Correct: The door was opened by Juan last week.
