Passive Voice - Formation

To understand the passive voice, look at an active sentence first. Le chat mange la souris (The cat eats the mouse). Here, the cat is doing the eating. He is the boss. To make it passive, we flip the script. The mouse becomes the subject. La souris est mangée par le chat (The mouse is eaten by the cat). Now, the mouse is the focus. Notice what happened? We added the verb être. We added the preposition par. And we matched the past participle to the new subject. It is like a grammar dance where everyone swaps partners. You move the object to the front. You push the subject to the back. You stick a conjugated version of être in the middle. It is a bit like a traffic light. The active voice is green; it moves forward. The passive voice is yellow; it slows down and focuses on the state of things. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes! They might forget to agree the verb. Or they might use it too much. Use it sparingly to sound natural.

1. 1Creating the passive voice is a step-by-step process. Follow these five steps to get it right every time:
2. 2Find your active sentence object. This becomes your new passive subject.
3. 3Choose the tense of the active verb. You must conjugate être in this exact same tense.
4. 4Add the past participle of the main verb. For example, mangé, fini, or vendu.
5. 5CRITICAL STEP: Make the past participle agree with the new subject. If the subject is feminine, add an e. If it is plural, add an s.
6. 6Add the word par followed by the original subject (the agent). This part is optional.
7. 7Imagine you are talking about a cake. Le boulanger a préparé le gâteau. To make it passive: Le gâteau a été préparé par le boulanger. Notice a été? That is être in the passé composé. Since gâteau is masculine singular, préparé stays as it is. If it were la tarte, we would say la tarte a été préparée. See that extra e? That is your agreement. It is like a secret handshake between the subject and the verb.

When should you actually use this? French people love the active voice. But the passive has its moments. Use it when the result is more important than the doer. Think about a job interview. You might say, Le projet a été terminé en avance (The project was finished early). It sounds professional. It focuses on the achievement. Use it in news headlines too. Une banque a été cambriolée (A bank was robbed). Often, we don't know who the thief is. So, we focus on the bank. It is also great for scientific facts. L'eau est chauffée à 100 degrés. The person heating the water doesn't matter. The temperature does. You can also use it to avoid blame. Le vase a été cassé (The vase was broken). It sounds much softer than saying "I broke the vase." It is the ultimate "it wasn't me" grammar tool!

French is pickier than English. In English, we use the passive voice all the time. In French, it can feel heavy or clunky. If you can use on, do it! On a mangé la pizza is usually better than La pizza a été mangée. Especially when chatting with friends. Also, you cannot use the passive with verbs that take an indirect object. Verbs like parler à or téléphoner à are off-limits. You cannot say "I was phoned by him" in French. It just doesn't work. It is a total grammar dead end. If the sentence feels like a mouthful, try a different structure. Stick to the active voice for energy. Use the passive only for clarity or formality. Think of it like a tuxedo. Great for a wedding, but maybe too much for buying a baguette.

The biggest trap is the agreement. Always look at your new subject. Is it a girl? Add an e. Is there a group? Add an s. Another mistake is picking the wrong preposition. Usually, we use par. But for verbs of emotion or state, we use de. For example, être aimé de or être entouré de. Saying aimé par sounds a bit robotic. Also, watch your tenses. If the active is in the futur proche, être must be in the futur proche. Le gâteau va être mangé. Do not just default to the present tense. It is a common slip-up. Finally, don't forget that être is the auxiliary. It always uses itself! Il a été is correct. Il est été is a nightmare. Avoid it like a rainy day in Paris.

You might confuse the passive with reflexive verbs. Some reflexive verbs have a passive meaning. Ça se dit (That is said). This is very common in spoken French. It is shorter and punchier. You might also confuse it with the on construction. On vend des fleurs ici (Flowers are sold here). This is the most "French" way to express a passive idea. The true passive Des fleurs sont vendues ici is correct, but less common. Think of the passive as the formal cousin. The reflexive se and the pronoun on are the casual siblings. They all live in the same house. But they attend different parties. Use on for the street. Use la voix passive for the office.