B1 · The passive
Passive with être
The participle agrees — and «he was told» cannot be built.
At a glance
- Remember
- «He was told» cannot be built: it becomes on lui a dit.
- Form
- la lettre est envoyéethe letter is sent
- Signal words
- est
- sont
- a été
- sera
- par
- Trap
- Wrong:Les portes sont fermé à vingt heures.Right:Les portes sont fermées à vingt heures.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker auxiliary verb
| the letter is sent | la lettre est envoyée |
| the letters are sent | les lettres sont envoyées |
| the letter was sent | la lettre a été envoyée |
| the letter will be sent | la lettre sera envoyée |
| written by an author | écrit par un auteur |
| respected by everyone | respecté de tous |
| I am invited | je suis invité(e) |
| you are invited | tu es invité(e) |
| he, she is invited | il, elle est invité(e) |
| we are invited | nous sommes invité(e)s |
| you are invited (plural, polite) | vous êtes invité(e)(s) |
| they are invited | ils, elles sont invité(e)s |
| I was invited | j’ai été invité(e) |
| you were invited | tu as été invité(e) |
| he, she was invited | il, elle a été invité(e) |
| we were invited | nous avons été invité(e)s |
| you were invited (plural, polite) | vous avez été invité(e)(s) |
| they were invited | ils, elles ont été invité(e)s |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The passive is être plus the participle, in any tense.
Le pont a été construit en 1890.The bridge was built in 1890.
The participle agrees with the subject.
Les portes sont fermées à vingt heures.The doors are closed at eight.
The agent goes with par.
Ce tableau a été peint par un inconnu.This picture was painted by an unknown artist.
Only a direct object can become a passive subject.
On lui a téléphoné hier.He was phoned yesterday.
Example sentences
La salle est nettoyée tous les soirs.The hall is cleaned every evening.
Les résultats seront publiés lundi.The results will be published on Monday.
Cette église a été détruite pendant la guerre.This church was destroyed during the war.
Le musée est connu de tous les habitants.The museum is known to all the residents.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English lets almost anything become a passive subject, and that freedom does not travel. «I was given the address» and «she was asked to come» promote an indirect object, which French forbids: they become on m'a donné l'adresse and on lui a demandé de venir. The sentence has to be rebuilt around on, not translated.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Conjugate être in whatever tense you need and add the participle: la lettre est envoyée, la lettre a été envoyée, la lettre sera envoyée. That is «is sent», «was sent», «will be sent», and the shape maps straight across.
The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: les lettres sont envoyées. English participles never change for anybody — «the letters are sent» — so this is a letter you have to add deliberately, and it is silent, which does not help.
The larger difference is which sentences can be turned round at all. English is unusually free here: it can promote an indirect object («he was told the truth», «she was given a prize»), and even the object of a preposition («the bed was slept in», «this chair has been sat on»). French can do none of that. Only a direct object may become a passive subject.
So «he was told» has to be rebuilt as on lui a dit, and «she was given a prize» as on lui a donné un prix. Verbs taking à — téléphoner à, obéir à — have no passive whatsoever. The agent goes with par: écrit par un auteur.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: être · avoir · connaître · porter · construire