This lesson is part of the Intermediate Spanish Course (143 lessons)
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In this free Spanish lesson we will see more about how to construct Spanish passive sentences using The Passive Voice in Spanish – La voz pasiva. This is the final part in a series of two Spanish video lessons on the subject. The Passive Voice is less common in Spanish than it is in English. In Spanish we often use reflexive verbs where in English you would use The Passive Voice. The English Passive Voice is formed by using a form of the verb “To be” followed by a past participle. The same rule applies in Spanish, where a form of El verbo Ser is followed by a Spanish past participle which is modified if necessary to agree in number and gender with the subject of the sentence. One of the best ways of understanding passive sentences is to contrast them with “active” sentences. For example: “El niño comió la pizza” (The boy ate the pizza) is an active sentence where “the boy” is the subject of the sentence (the one who does the action of the verb, i.e. the eating). To express this situation using The Passive Voice we would say: “La pizza fue comida por el niño” (The pizza was eaten by the boy) where “the pizza” is the subject of the sentence instead of the boy.
Lesson notes:
Spanish Passive Sentences: Verbo ser/estar + participio:
When we refer to the final result and are not interested in the process: Verbo estar + participio:
La nueva ley está mal redactada: The new law is badly written
Los ciudadanos estaban expectantes por la llegada del nuevo presidente: The citizens were expectant for the arrival of the new president
Los problemas están resueltos: The problems are resolved
Durante el embarazo está permitido viajar por avión: During the pregnancy it is permitted to travel by plane
Activity:
Translate the following Spanish Passive Sentences…
The job is done
The food was reheated
The windows are broken
The city is destroyed
Here are the answers to the last activity:
“El Guernica” fue pintado por Picasso
El partido es ganado por el equipo que se esfuerza más
Un policía ha sido herido por una bomba
El bicho fue comido por el pájaro
