Être - Imperfect Passive Voice
French: Cambridge International GCSE, topic 6.3.8
Imperfect Passive Voice
To form the passive, use the imperfect tense of 'être' followed by a past participle. The passive is usually only used in the 'il/elle' and the 'ils/elles' forms.
1) Present tense of 'être'
- J'étais - I was/used to be.
- Tu étais - you were/used to be.
- Il/elle/on était - he/she/one was/used to be.
- Nous étions - we were/used to be.
- Vous étiez - you were/used to be.
- Ils/elles étaient - they were/used to be.
2) Add past participle
- Le devoir était fait - the homework was being done.
- La plage était appréciée - the beach used to be well-liked.
- Les tartes étaient faites - the tarts were being made.
- Les lettres étaient écrites - the letters were being written.
Examples of passive sentences
- James Bond était inteprété par Sean Connery.
- James Bond was being played by Sean Connery.
- La viande était cuisinée par mon père.
- The meat was being cooked by my dad.
- Les tartes étaient détestées de tout le monde
- The tarts were being hated by everyone.
- Les gâteaux étaient préparés par lui.
- The cakes were being prepared by him.
Test yourself on Être - Imperfect Passive Voice
Complete the following sentence:
Les pommes [...] par lui.How do you say 'you were' in French?
How do you say 'my homework used to be finished by 6pm'?
Complete the sentence: Les biscuits [...] dans la boulangerie.
Complete the sentence:
La plage [...] par les touristes