Passive Voice in Compound Tenses

In a simple passive sentence, you use ser plus a participle. In compound tenses, we add an extra auxiliary verb. This is usually the verb ter. Sometimes, in very formal writing, you might see haver. But for your daily life, stick with ter. This verb carries the tense and the person. It tells us *when* things happened and *who* we are talking about. The middle verb is always sido. This is the past participle of ser. It never changes. It is the glue of the sentence. Finally, you have the main action verb. This verb is also a participle. Unlike sido, this one must change. It must match the subject in gender and number. If you are talking about as casas, the participle must be vendidas. It is a bit like a dance. Everyone has to stay in sync. If one part is off, the whole sentence feels wobbly.

1. 1Creating these sentences follows a strict three-step recipe. Do not skip a step, or the "grammar cake" will collapse.
2. 2Start with the auxiliary verb ter. Conjugate it to match your subject and desired tense. For example, use tem for the present perfect or tinha for the pluperfect.
3. 3Add the word sido. This stays exactly as it is. It never becomes sida or sidos. It is the rock of the structure.
4. 4Add the past participle of your main action verb. This is the part where you must be careful. You must check the gender and number of your subject.
5. 5Let's look at a quick example. Subject: A lição (feminine, singular). Tense: Pretérito Perfeito Composto.
6. 6Result: A lição + tem + sido + estudada.
7. 7It is like building with Lego blocks. Once you have the pieces, you just snap them together.

You use this structure when the action is more important than the person doing it. It is very common in journalism. Reporters love it because it sounds objective. "The laws have been changed" sounds more official than "The politicians changed the laws." You also use it when you want to be vague. Maybe you don't know who did the action. Or maybe you are being polite and don't want to point fingers. In a job interview, you might say, Muitos projetos têm sido liderados por mim. This sounds more impressive than a simple active sentence. It puts the focus on the projetos. It is also great for describing ongoing processes. If a bridge has been under construction for years, you say it tem sido construída. It captures that feeling of a long, drawn-out process.

Do not use this in a casual chat at a bar. If you tell your friend, A cerveja tem sido bebida por mim, they will look at you strangely. It is too heavy for informal settings. In daily life, Portuguese speakers prefer the active voice. They also love the "reflexive passive" with the word se. Instead of saying O carro tinha sido consertado, a local might say Consertou-se o carro. Use the compound passive when you want to sound formal, academic, or professional. If you use it while ordering a pizza, you might sound like a 19th-century lawyer. Keep it for your essays, reports, and formal presentations. Also, avoid it if the sentence becomes too long. If you have five verbs in a row, your listener might lose the thread. Simplicity is still a virtue, even at C1.

The biggest trap is the agreement of the main participle. Many people leave it in the masculine singular by habit. If the subject is as propostas, you cannot say sido aceito. It must be sido aceitas. Another common slip is using estado instead of sido. Remember, the passive voice always uses ser, never estar. You are describing a state that resulted from an action, but the formula requires sido. Some people also get confused with the auxiliary. They might try to use ser twice. A porta foi sido aberta is incorrect and will make a native speaker's ears ring. Stick to the ter + sido + participle formula. Finally, watch out for irregular participles. Verbs like fazer become feito, not fazido. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes when they are tired!

You might confuse this with the simple passive (foi feito). The simple passive is a snapshot. It happened once. The compound passive (tem sido feito) is a movie. It suggests a duration or a connection to the present. You might also compare it to the active compound tense (tenho feito). In the active version, *you* are the star. In the passive version, the *object* is the star.

Active: Eu tenho feito o trabalho.

Passive: O trabalho tem sido feito.

Notice how the focus shifts. It is like moving the camera from the actor to the scenery. There is also the passive with se. Vendem-se casas is much more common for signs and advertisements. The compound passive is more specific about the timeframe.