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Spanish: AQA A Level, topic 16.28.1
Ser + participio pasado - Ser + past participle
Forming the passive
- Spanish forms the passive voice with ser (to be) plus a past participle.
- The past participle shows the action done to the subject.
- Regular -ar verbs end in -ado, and -er or -ir verbs end in -ido.
- El coche es reparado.
- The car is repaired.
Agreement of the participle
- The past participle after ser agrees with the subject in gender and number.
- The ending changes to match a masculine, feminine, singular or plural subject.
- El libro es escrito.
- The book is written.
- La novela es escrita.
- The novel is written.
Saying who did the action
- Spanish often adds por (by) to name who did the action.
- The agent is the person or thing that did the action.
- La carta fue enviada por Juan.
- The letter was sent by Juan.
- Los documentos fueron firmados por el director.
- The documents were signed by the director.
Using different tenses
- The verb ser changes tense to show when the action happened.
- The present tense is es, and the preterite is fue.
- La ciudad es visitada por turistas.
- The city is visited by tourists.
- El coche fue reparado ayer.
- The car was repaired yesterday.
Irregular past participles
- Some past participles are irregular, not -ado or -ido.
- Irregular forms still agree with the subject in gender and number.
- Escrito - written.
- Hecho - done or made.
- Dicho - said.
- Visto - seen.
- Puesto - put.
- Abierto - opened.
Test yourself on Coming Soon
Choose the statement that correctly describes forming the passive with ser.
What tense of ser does fue show in the passive voice?
What type of word follows ser to show the action done to the subject in the Spanish passive voice?
Which word correctly completes 'El libro ___ escrito ayer'?