Passive Voice: Priorit

Most of the time, we use the active voice. This is the "who-did-what" pattern. For example, O cozinheiro preparou o jantar (The chef prepared the dinner). The chef is the star. But what if the dinner is more important? Or what if the chef is a secret? We flip the sentence. The dinner becomes the subject. The verb changes its shape. The chef moves to the end or disappears entirely. In Portuguese, we have two main ways to do this. There is the "Analytic" way (with the verb ser) and the "Synthetic" way (with the little word se). The analytic version feels very similar to English. The synthetic version is the one that really makes you sound like a local. It is punchy and direct. Using both correctly shows you understand the rhythm of the language. It is like choosing between a suit and a casual blazer. Both are great, but the context matters.

1. 1Creating the analytic passive voice follows a clear recipe. It is like building a sandwich. You need specific layers.
2. 2Move the object of the active sentence to the front. This is your new subject.
3. 3Add the verb ser. You must conjugate it in the same tense as the original action.
4. 4Add the Past Participle of the main verb.
5. 5Crucial step: Make the participle agree with your new subject. If the subject is feminine and plural, the participle must be feminine and plural (e.g., feitas).
6. 6Optional: Add por (by) followed by the person who did it.
7. 7Example: O mecânico consertou a mota becomes A mota foi consertada pelo mecânico.
8. 8For the synthetic passive, the pattern is even shorter:
9. 9Start with the verb in the 3rd person (singular or plural).
10. 10Attach the particle se with a hyphen.
11. 11Add the subject. The verb must agree with this subject.
12. 12Example: Vende-se uma casa or Vendem-se casas. Yes, even native speakers forget to pluralize the verb here sometimes! Don't be that person.

You will use the passive voice when the result is the headline. Think about news reports. A ponte foi inaugurada ontem (The bridge was inaugurated yesterday). We don't care about the specific worker who cut the ribbon. We care about the bridge. It is also perfect for scientific reports or formal business updates. O contrato foi assinado (The contract was signed). It sounds much more official than saying "We signed the contract." Use it when you want to be humble. Or use it when the actor is obvious. If you are ordering food and say O prato é servido com batatas, everyone knows the waiter serves it. You don't need to say it. It is also great for general rules or signs. You will see Proíbe-se fumar (Smoking is prohibited) everywhere. It is the language of authority and objectivity. Use it to sound like an expert.

Don't overdo it! If you use the passive voice in every sentence, you will sound like a legal document. In casual conversation with friends, the active voice is king. If you say O café foi bebido por mim at a cafe, your friends might look at you funny. It is too clunky. Just say Eu bebi o café. Also, avoid the passive voice with verbs that don't take a direct object. You can't really make "I went to the park" passive. It just doesn't work. Some verbs like ter or querer also hate being passive. O livro foi tido por mim is a total disaster. Stick to actions that have a clear impact on an object. Keep the passive voice for when you need to be formal, descriptive, or slightly mysterious. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Green for formal writing, yellow for storytelling, and red for a casual chat over a beer.

The biggest trap is agreement. This is where most B2 learners stumble. In the analytic passive, the past participle is like an adjective. It must match the subject. As cartas foram escritas (The letters were written). If you say escrito, you lose points. Another classic mistake is the "Passive Se" pluralization. People say Aluga-se apartamentos because they think the subject is hidden. But apartamentos is the subject! It must be Alugam-se apartamentos. Also, watch your prepositions. We use por to indicate the agent. Remember that por combines with articles. Por + o = pelo. Por + a = pela. O livro foi escrito pelo autor. Don't just say por o autor. It sounds amateur. Finally, don't confuse the passive se with the reflexive se. Ele lavou-se (He washed himself) is not the same as Lavou-se o carro (The car was washed).

You might confuse the passive voice with the "Impersonal Se". They look almost the same. Fala-se português (Passive) vs Precisa-se de empregados (Impersonal). How do you tell them apart? Look for a preposition. If there is a de or em after the se, it is impersonal. In impersonal sentences, the verb is *always* singular. Precisa-se de médicos. Even if there are many doctors, the verb stays singular. In the passive voice, the verb moves with the subject. Vendem-se carros. Another contrast is the verb estar + participle. A janela está aberta describes a state (the window is open now). A janela foi aberta describes the action (someone opened it). One is a photo, the other is a movie clip.