FHUHS Spanish

Passive Voice

The passive voice is a structure more commonly used in Spanish than in English. In this structure, unlike the active voice, the subject of the main verb of the sentence is not the ‘doer’ of the action of the verb, but rather, the ‘receiver’ of the action.

The True Passive

An example:

• The house was painted by my brother last summer.
• La casa fue pintada por mi hermano el verano pasado.

The above examples are called the true passive in that the agent (ie. the ‘doer’ of the action) is expressed — in this case the brother. The formula for the true passive, then, is always as follows:

Subject (receiver) + Ser + Perfect participle + Por + Agent (doer).

Example: El presidente fue matado por los revolucionarios.

Passive with SE

Sometimes the agent is not expressed, particularly in spoken Spanish, and in that case, Spanish uses a different construction with ‘Se’.

Examples:

• Se pintaron las casas. (The houses were painted)
• Se habla español aquí. (Spanish is spoken here.)
• Se destruyó la universidad. (The university was destroyed)
• Se tomaron los exámenes. (The exams were taken)

In the above examples, the agents are not expressed. You should also note that the verb agrees in number with the number of the receiver, and that in each of these cases, the receivers are animate.

If the receiver is animate, the verb will always be third person singular regardless of the number of the receiver.

Examples:

• Se casó a los novios. (The lovers were married)
• Se mató a los senadores. (The senators were killed)
• Se ayuda a los estudiantes. (The students are helped)

Formula:

1. Is agent expressed? — True passive
2. Is receiver animate? — Se + 3rd singular +a + receiver(s)
3. receiver inanimate?
   • Singular? — Se + 3rd sing. + receiver
   • Plural? — Se + 3rd plural + receivers