The Passive Voice: ser Flashcards
When is the passive voice used?
When the subject of the verb is the person or thing that is affected by the action.
______
Active voice: Everyone likes Mary
Subject: Mary
Action: liked
Passive voice: Mary is liked by everyone
How is the passive voice formed? (3)
- Ser + past participle
- past participle agrees with subject, same as an adj
- Who action is / was done by: por
Why can you not use estar instead of ser in the passive?
ESTAR
Estar is a description of the state of the object.
e.g. La comida está preparada.
The food is prepared (describes the state of the food)
SER
When ser is used in passive, it describes how the subject is effected by the action
e.g. La comida es preparada por la criada.
The meal is prepared by the maid
Here ‘meal’ is the subject, affected by the action (‘preparada’)
How do Spanish speakers avoid using the passive voice? (4)
– using the active construction instead of the passive
e.g. The suspect was interrogated by the police.
La policía interrogó al sospechoso.
– using an active verb in the third person plural
e.g. Too many adverts are shown on television.
Ponen demasiados anuncios en la televisión.
– using the Passive Se → only when not naming the agent → mostly about inanimate nouns e.g. The house was built in 1956. La casa se construyó en 1956.
– using an impersonal se construction
e.g. It is thought he will die.
Se cree que va a morir.
When can an indirect object be the subject of a passive verb in Spanish?
e.g.
He gave me (indirect object) a book (direct object)
to
I was given a book.
An indirect object can never become the subject of a passive verb.
Instead use third person plural of the active verb or by using a reflexive construction
Me dieron un libro
He was sent to jail by the judge
Fue enviado(a) a la cárcel por el juez
We were sent to jail by the judge
Fuimos enviados(as) a la cárcel por el juez
They were sent to jail by the judge
Fueron enviados(as) a la cárcel por el juez
You (pl.) were sent to jail by the judge
Ustedes fueron enviados(as) a la cárcel por el juez
They will be sent to jail by the judge
Serán enviados(as) a la cárcel por el juez
They have been sent to jail by the judge
Han sido enviados(as) a la cárcel por el juez
You should have been sent to the jail by the judge
Deberías haber sido enviado(a) a la cárcel por el juez
I was sent to jail by the judge
Fui enviado(a) a la cárcel por el juez
She should have been sent to the jail by the judge
Debería haber sido enviada a la cárcel por el juez.
You were sent to jail by the judge
Fuiste enviado(a) a la cárcel por el juez
The suspect was interrogated by the police
avoiding passive
La policía interrogó al sospechoso.
He was given a book by his mother.
avoiding passive
Su madre le regaló un libro.
Too many adverts are shown on television.
avoiding passive
Ponen demasiados anuncios en la televisión.
They’re made in Spain.
avoiding passive
Se fabrican en España.
It’s made by hand.
avoiding passive
Se hace a mano.
The house was built in 1956.
avoiding passive
La casa se construyó en 1956.
All the books have been sold.
avoiding passive
Todos los libros se han vendido.
It is thought he will die.
avoiding passive
Se cree que va a morir.
Coffee is sold here.
avoiding passive
Aquí se vende café.
