12.7.1

Passive Voice: Present & Perfect

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Present Passive Voice

To form the present passive, use the present tense of 'être' followed by a past participle. The passive is usually only used in the 'il/elle' and the 'ils/elles' forms.

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1) Present tense of 'être'

  • This tense is only usually used with the il/elle/on or ils/elles form of 'être'.
    • Il/elle/on est - he/she/one is
    • Ils/elles sont - they are
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2) Add past participle

  • Le foot est joué - Football is played.
  • La police est avertie - The police are warned.
  • Les livres sont lus - The books are read.
  • Les tartes sont faites - The tarts are made.
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Examples of passive sentences

  • Le livre est lu par de nombreuses personnes.
    • The book is read by many people.
  • La tarte aux pommes est mangée par moi.
    • The apple pie is eaten by me.
  • Les touristes sont vus comme une source d'espoir pour la population locale.
    • Tourists are seen as a source of hope by the local people.
  • Les pièces sont écrites par William Shakespeare.
    • The plays are written by William Shakespeare.

Perfect Passive Voice

To form the perfect passive, use the pefect tense of 'être' followed by a past participle. The passive is usually only used in the 'il/elle' and the 'ils/elles' forms.

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Step 1 - perfect tense of 'etre'

  • J'ai été - I was.
  • Tu as été - you (singular) were.
  • Il/elle/on a été - he/she/one was.
  • Nous avons été - we were.
  • Vous avez été - you (plural/formal) were.
  • Ils/elles ont été - they were.
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Step 2 - add past participle

  • Le pain a été acheté - the bread was bought.
  • La porte a été ouverte - the door was opened.
  • Les chaussures ont été perdues - the shoes were lost.
  • Ces coûts ont été pris en compte - these costs were taken into account.
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Examples of passive sentences

  • Le match a été gagné par mon équipe.
    • The match was won by my team.
  • La voiture a été vendue à perte.
    • The car was sold at a loss.
  • Les tartes ont été faites par le boulanger.
    • The tarts were made by the baker.
  • Les livres ont été écrits par Charles Dickens.
    • The books were written by Charles Dickens.

Jump to other topics

1The Changing Nature of Family

2The 'cyber-society'

3The Place of Voluntary Work

4Diverse Society

5The Marginalised

6How Criminals Are Treated

7A Culture Proud of its Heritage

8Cinema: the 7th Art Form

9Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power?

10Politics & Immigration

11Conjugation & Use of Tenses

11.1Present Tense

11.2Perfect Tense

11.3Imperfect Tense

11.4Future Tense

11.5Conditional Tense

11.6Future Perfect Tense

11.7Conditional Perfect Tense

11.8Pluperfect Tense

12Extra Grammar

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