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Advanced Spanish Grammer > 7. Impersonal sentences and the passive > Flashcards

7. Impersonal sentences and the passive Flashcards

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1
Q

I have been told that . . . (3rd person plural

A

Me han dicho que

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2
Q

They say that . . . (3rd person plural)

A

Dicen que . . .

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3
Q

I’m going to be invited to a party. (3rd person plural)

A

Me van a invitar a una fiesta.

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4
Q

We are being called. (3rd person plural)

A

Nos están llamando.

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5
Q

They have been arrested. (3rd person plural)

A

Les han arrestado.

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6
Q

I have been sent this letter. (3rd person plural)

A

Me han enviado esta carta.

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7
Q

It’s raining.

A

Llueve

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8
Q

It isn’t windy.

A

No hace viento.

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9
Q

It’s very hot.

A

Hace mucho calor.

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10
Q

It seems that she doesn’t know anything.

A

Parece que ella no sabe nada.

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11
Q

It’s obvious that he isn’t the owner.

A

Es obvio que él no es el dueño.

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12
Q

It’s getting dark.

A

Está oscureciendo.

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13
Q

A bridge is being built. (se)

Two bridges are being built. (se)

A

Se está construyendo un puente.

Se están construyendo dos puentes.

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14
Q

When object pronouns are used after the reflexive pronoun ‘se’, the verb is always singular as long as there is no reference to plural nouns:

They have been invited.

A

Se les ha invitado.

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15
Q

When object pronouns are used after the reflexive pronoun ‘se’, the verb is always singular as long as there is no reference to plural nouns:

You have been told that …

A

Se te ha dicho que . . .

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16
Q

If there is a reference to a plural noun, the verb is plural:

They have been given the tickets.

A

Se les han dado las entradas.

Les han dado las entradas.

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17
Q

They are going to be called.

A

Ellos van a ser llamados. (the past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject)

18
Q

The bike was stolen.

A

La bici fue robada. (the past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject)

19
Q

That will have to be translated.

A

Eso tendrá que ser traducido. (the past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject)

20
Q

Which are correct in Spanish?

a. Le han dado las llaves (a ella)- They have given her the keys)
b. Ella ha sido dada las llaves. (She has been given the keys)
c. Las llaves le han sido dadas (a ella). (The keys have been given to her)

A

a. and c. are correct.

The past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject. Another difference from the English construction is that in Spanish an indirect object cannot be the subject of a passive sentence. The subject in a Spanish passive sentence must always be the direct object of the active sentence.

21
Q

They’ve sent me a letter. (this is an active construction)

A

Me han enviado una carta. . . . me is the indirect object and ‘una carta’ is the direct object.

22
Q

They’ve sent me a letter. (this is an active construction). turn it into a passive construction:

A

Una carta me ha sido enviada.

23
Q

Los profesores van a cancelar los exámenes. (active construction)

(from) Steps to make a correct passive sentence:
* Use only the direct object as a subject.

In the above sentence, what is the direct object?

A

los exámenes.

24
Q

Los profesores van a cancelar los exámenes. (active construction)

From before: the direct object is ‘los exámenes’ and must be the subject of the passive construction.

(from) Steps to make a correct passive sentence:
* Copy the verb sequence except the last verb (cancelar) and leave a space between the last verb of the active sentence and the preceding one.

What does this give us?

A

Los exámenes van a _____ (different form for cancelar)

25
Q

Los profesores van a cancelar los exámenes. (active construction)

From before: Los exámenes van a _____ (different form for cancelar).

(from) Steps to make a correct passive sentence:
* Change the last verb of the active sentence into a past participle and place it after the space.
* Fill in the blank with the verb ser in the same form or tense as the last verb of the active sentence (cancelar).

What does the sentence look like now?

A

Los exámenes van a ser cancelados.

Van a ser cancelados los exámenes.

26
Q

The exams are going to be canceled by the teachers.

A

Los exámenes van a ser cancelados por los profesores.

The active sentence is then: “Los profesores van a cancelar los exámenes.

27
Q

Put this sentence into the passive:

Le acaban de traer a Juan un piano. (They just delivered a piano to Juan).

A

Un piano le acaba de ser traido a Juan. (a Juan can go different places, but it’s advisable to leave it where it was in the active sentence.

28
Q

Le acaban de traer a Juan un piano. (They just delivered a piano to Juan).

Answer the following:

  1. What is the direct object?
  2. What is the indirect object?
  3. What is the indirect object phrase?
  4. Should the verb acabar be plural or singular in the passive construction?
  5. What form will ser be in passive?
  6. Form for traer in the passive?
A
  1. Un piano
  2. Le
  3. A juan
  4. Singular, it needs to match the direct object.
  5. Ser- since it’s after de
  6. Traído
29
Q

The thief is being interrogated by the police. (is and being are different forms of the verb to be).

A

El ladrón está siendo interrogado por la policia.

30
Q

‘I’m having a house built.’ (this English construction does not have an equivalent model in Spanish, change it to an impersonal construction or active sentence: 2 ways to translate the sentence into Spanish)).

A

Impersonal: Me están contruyendo una casa.

Active: Estoy construyendo una casa.

31
Q

Juan está pintando la cochera (garage).

Is Juan himself painting the garage?

A

Maybe. It depends on context, but maybe Juan ‘is having’ the garage painted for him.

32
Q

I’m having my car repaired. (2 ways to translate this sentence into Spanish).

A

Impersonal: Me están arreglando el coche.

Active: Estoy arreglando el coche.

33
Q

I’m going to have an antenna installed. (2 ways to translate this sentence into Spanish).

A

Impersonal: Me van a instalar una antena.

Active: Voy a instalar una antena.

34
Q

It is said that he is rich. (impersonal sentence in English).

A

Se dice que él es rico. (impersonal sentence in Spanish).

35
Q

It is known that she is innocent. (passive sentence in English).

A

Se sabe que ella es inocente (impersonal sentence in Spanish).

36
Q

They don’t want to invite me.

A

No me quieren invitar.

37
Q

Someone wants to fire him. (se) - when se is used, the verb is usually singular.

A

Se le quiere despedir.

38
Q

They want to fire him.

A

Le quieren despedir.

39
Q

The verb estar can be used with past participles to emphasize the result of an action (a semi-passive).

‘La cocina está pintada’

Is this a passive sentence?

A

No. In this case, pintada functions as an adjective that says something about the looks of the kitchen.

40
Q

The radio was off.

The radio was turned off.

A

La radio estaba apagada.

La radio fue apagada.

41
Q

The verb ‘get’ is translated using ser when it has a passive function.

He got fired.

A

Él fue despedido.

Advanced Spanish Grammer (13 decks)

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