LA VOIX PASSIVE (PASSIVE VOICE)

LA VOIX PASSIVE (PASSIVE VOICE)
The passive voice describes an event without necessarily mentioning who is responsible for it:
She was attacked.
That car has been sold.
The building had been closed.
To specify who or what the action has been done by, add par in French:
J’ai été attaqué par un voleur.
PAR + NOM = COMPLEMENT D’AGENT
Verbs in the passive voice contrast with verbs in the active voice, where the subject carries out the action in
the verb:
He attacked the lady.
They have sold that car.
Someone had closed the building.
The formation of the passive voice in French is very straightforward: use an appropriate form of être +past
participle.
sujet + être (conjugué) + participe passé [+ par + complément d’agent]
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Être can be used in any tense
The past participle agrees, like an adjective in gender and number, with the subject of the sentence
Voix active
Voix passive
Présent
Le chat mange la souris
La souris est mangée par le chat
Passé-composé
(perfect tense)
Le chat a mangé la souris
La souris a été mangée par le chat
Imparfait
(imperfect tense)
Le chat mangeait la souris
La souris était mangée par le chat
Plus-que-parfait
(pluperfect tense)
Le chat avait mangé la souris
La souris avait été mangée par le chat
Futur simple
Le chat mangera la souris
La souris sera mangée par le chat
Avoiding the passive.
The passive is used less often in French than in English.
• Use an expression with “on” or a reflexive verb.
→ on m’a agressé (I was attacked)
→ on avait exclu des candidats (Candidates had been excluded)
→ les produits se vendent sur Internet (products are sold on the internet)
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The passive cannot be used to translate English phrases like “I was asked”, “I was told”, “I was
given” or “I was promised”. Use the pronoun “on”: on m’a demandé, on m’a dit, on m’a donné, on
m’a promis.