Download AP Spanish Study Sheet: The Passive Voice

Page 1 of 6
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: The Passive Voice
Figure It Out!
Vendieron muchos vestidos en esta tienda.
Muchos vestidos fueron vendidos en esta tienda.
Se vendieron muchos vestidos en esta tienda.
En esta tienda vendieron muchos vestidos.
Read the four sentences above. Do they all say the same thing? Do they all really mean
exactly the same thing? If you feel that there is a difference between the message that they
convey, try to determine just what that difference is.
Introduction
It's a good thing there's more than one way to say something! It's part of what makes
language interesting and fun to use. But when we say "the same thing," are we really
always giving exactly the same message? Suppose a historical tour guide were to tell you
that "this bed was slept in by George Washington." Is that the same as if she told you that
"George Washington slept in this bed?" The two statements mean the same thing in the
sense that they have the same REFERENCE; they refer to the same bare facts. But isn't there
a difference in EMPHASIS? In one case we're talking about the bed, and in the other case
we're talking about the first President of the United States.
One method that both English and Spanish offer us for changing the emphasis or focus of a
statement is the PASSIVE VOICE. Basically, this language structure lets us take what is the
logical receiver of an action and make it the subject of the sentence. It lets us focus on who
or what is acted upon, rather than who or what acts.
Spanish is even richer than English in the variety of methods it offers to change focus and
emphasis in this way. There are four different methods for changing sentence focus:
•
•
•
•
structural passive
"se" passive'
impersonal "se"
word order
Structural Passive
In Spanish, you can form a passive sentence with the verb ser and a past participle, just as
you can form one in English with the verb “to be” and a past participle. The person or thing
acted upon is the subject of the sentence, and the performer of the action, if you want to
mention him, her, or it, shows up in a phrase usually with “por” in Spanish, or “by” in
English. Here is an example:
Las leyes fueron establecidas por el Congreso.
The laws were established by the Congress.
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Page 2 of 6
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: The Passive Voice
Notice the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The
The
You
The
Congress established the laws, so it is mentioned in the por ("by") phrase.
laws were the things established, so they appear as the subject of the sentence.
could rephrase the meaning as El Congreso estableció las leyes.
past participle establecidas agrees in number and gender with the subject leyes.
Here are two more examples:
Estos repuestos fueron hechos en Corea.
These parts were made in Korea. (no logical subject mentioned)
Los autos serán reparados por mecánicos expertos.
The cars will be repaired by expert mechanics.
So far, it might appear that Spanish forms passive statements exactly like English. In fact,
many Spanish students try to do just that, translating (or attempting to translate) English
passive sentences straight into Spanish. The results are often clumsy or even
ungrammatical, because there are a number of important differences between the English
and Spanish passive voice, as described in the following table:
CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGLISH PASSIVE VOICE COMPARED TO SPANISH
ENGLISH
SPANISH
Common in all types of writing and
Much more limited in relaxed, informal
speech. Since the structural passive voice
speech. Spanish provides several other
(be + past participle) is the most common
options for changing sentence focus, and in
fact does not even allow the passive voice in
way (and sometimes the only way) to
certain grammatical constructions. As a
change the focus, English speakers and
writers use it constantly, in everything from
result, it is not very common in spontaneous
casual conversation to formal writing.
speech and is used mostly in formal writing,
especially official, journalistic, scientific, or
bureaucratic communications.
Can be used to focus on different
sentence elements. English allows
sentences such as the following:
This bed was slept in by Washington.
She was given a pass to the movies.
Smoking is believed to be dangerous.
These sentences bring into focus subjects
that are logically 1) an object of a
preposition, 2) an indirect object, and 3) the
subject of a subordinate noun clause.
Can focus only on the logical direct
object of the verb. It's ungrammatical (in
fact, it's downright unintelligible) in Spanish
to say things like the following: (remember
the * means that it's wrong)
*Esta cama fue dormida en por Washington.
*Ella fue dada un pase para ir al cine.
*Fumar es creído ser peligroso.
In all of these cases, you must use a
different method to change the focus.
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Page 3 of 6
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: The Passive Voice
Used equally in all tenses. Virtually any
verb tense in English can sound totally
natural in the structural passive. For
example:
Quite unusual in some tenses. The
structural passive, while grammatically
"correct," often sounds strange in the
present, imperfect, and progressive tenses.
The food is being prepared now.
The shop windows are cleaned daily.
The floors were polished each winter.
The English examples at the left could all be
expressed in Spanish with the passive voice,
but could sound awkward that way.
The se Passive – An Alternative to the Structural Passive
English speakers tend to use the structural passive (ser + past participle) excessively when
speaking and writing Spanish. But what alternatives are there? By far the most common
one, and probably the most frequent method for forming "passive" statements in Spanish, is
the use of the passive se. This se looks just like the se of reflexive verbs, except that it
means that the subject, rather than acting upon itself, is acted upon by something or
someone else:
La comida se está preparando ahora.
The food is being prepared now.
Se limpian las vitrinas todos los días.
The shop windows are cleaned daily.
Los pisos se lustraban todos los inviernos.
The floors were polished every winter.
Note that all of the sentences above are completely identical to regular "reflexive"
sentences, and they can even be interpreted that way if you don't mind suspending
common knowledge and logic. But the reality is that food does not prepare itself, windows
can't clean themselves, and floors aren't self-polishing. Therefore, the reader or hearer is
forced to accept the "passive" meaning.
While this structure is extremely useful in forming passive-like sentences in Spanish, keep
in mind that certain limitations apply:
1.
2.
3.
4.
It's only used with third-person verbs.
The verb must be transitive.
Normally the subject is a non-human noun.
It doesn't allow you to specify the agent, meaning the one performing the action.
Handling Unusual Passives. The se passive construction often comes in handy for
conveying concepts that are expressed in English with complex passives that just don't
"carry over" into Spanish. For example:
Se considera que es peligroso fumar.
Smoking is believed to be dangerous.
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No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
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Page 4 of 6
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: The Passive Voice
El Presidente se tiene en alta estima en esta región.
The President is highly thought of in this area.
Passive se with Auxiliary Verbs. If the verb that you want to make "passive" with se has
an auxiliary verb with it like poder, deber, or querer, then it’s the auxiliary verb that agrees
with the subject, rather than the main verb. Also, you have the option of placing se before
the string of verbs or appending it to the infinitive. You can also change the subjectpredicate order. Study the following examples to learn the various alternatives for word
order and the placement of the passive se:
Se puede cambiar el cheque en el banco.
Puede cambiarse el cheque en el banco.
El cheque se puede cambiar en el banco.
El cheque puede cambiarse en el banco.
The check can be cashed at the bank.
"
"
"
No se deben lustrar esos zapatos.
No deben lustrarse esos zapatos.
Esos zapatos no se deben lustrar.
Esos zapatos no deben lustrarse.
Those shoes shouldn't be polished.
"
"
"
Impersonal se
When you want to make a statement using an intransitive verb without mentioning the
logical subject (performer of the action), you can use the impersonal se structure, which
looks a lot like a se-type passive but is not truly passive at all. It is mentioned here because
of its similarity to passive se and because of its somewhat similar function; it allows you to
refer to an action without focusing on the performer of the action. However, in this case you
don't focus on the receiver of the action, either. The focus is entirely on the verb itself.
To form an impersonal statement of this type, just put se before an intransitive verb (a verb
with no object), or before an auxiliary verb preceding an intransitive verb. The verb must be
third person singular. For example:
No se habla en voz alta en la biblioteca.
One doesn't speak out loud in the library.
Se puede vivir bien en este país.
One can (it's possible to) live well in this country.
Ser and estar. It's even possible to use the impersonal se with the verbs ser and estar,
which may sound very strange to the ears of English-speakers but is acceptable in Spanish,
though not very common.
¿Cómo se sabe si se es borracho?
How can you know if you're drunk?
Cuando se está perdido, lo primero que uno hace es buscar un punto de referencia.
When you're lost, the first thing you do is look for a point of reference.
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No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
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Page 5 of 6
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: The Passive Voice
The "you" in the translation of these examples doesn't really mean "you" of course, but is
the generic "you" that we use to mean "somebody".
Transitive verbs. You can use the impersonal se with transitive verbs as well, as long as
you don't mention the object of the verb. Here are two examples:
Dicen que se come muy bien en Buenos Aires.
They say that people eat well in Buenos Aires.
Se predica mucho pero se hace muy poco.
There's a lot of preaching but not much action.
Use of Word Order to Change Focus
There will be times when you really want to change the focus of the sentence, but can't use
the structural passive because it's awkward in Spanish, and can't use the se passive
because what you want to say doesn't fall within its restrictions. In these cases, Spanish
often offers you a way out through flexible word order. Consider the following examples:
En esta cama durmió George Washington.
This bed was slept in by George Washington.
[Literally: In this bed slept George Washington.]
Al soldado le otorgaron una medalla de honor.
The soldier was presented (with) a medal of honor.
La vitrina la limpiaron los dueños ayer.
The shop window was cleaned by the owners yesterday.
A María la conoce medio mundo.
Maria is known by just about everybody.
Remember that, if you move the direct object to the front of the sentence for focus, you
must reflect it with a redundant object pronoun, as shown by the word la in the last two
examples and the indirect object le in the example before them. These word order "tricks"
do not create true passives, but they do allow you to shift the focus and give a passive
"feel" to the sentence where it might not be possible any other way.
Summary
Passive voice and similar techniques are used in English and Spanish to shift the focus of a
sentence away from the actor or performer of a verb, and toward the thing acted upon.
Spanish provides you with several passive or passive-like structures, including the following:
•
Structural passive (ser + past participle), which works in a way very similar to
English passives, but is much less common.
•
Passive se, which allows you to make transitive, third-person verbs passive,
especially when the subject is not human.
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No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK12.
Page 6 of 6
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: The Passive Voice
•
Impersonal se which, while not really a passive, allows you to leave out the subject
of intransitive verbs, or transitive verbs where the object is not mentioned.
•
Flexible word order, allowing you to simply move the focus to the beginning of the
sentence.
© 2008 powerspeaK12. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK12.