B2 · The passive
The agent: par or de
«covered with» is already de; «loved by» is not par.
At a glance
- Remember
- par for what happens, de for what is the case.
- Form
- construit par un architectebuilt by an architect
- Signal words
- par
- de
- aimé de
- couvert de
- connu de
- Trap
- Wrong:La table était couverte par papiers.Right:La table était couverte de papiers.
Your turn
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The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in French.
| built by an architect | construit par un architecte |
| loved by everyone | aimé de tous |
| known to everyone | connu de tout le monde |
| covered with flowers | couvert de fleurs |
| followed by the police | suivi par la police |
| with his dog behind him | suivi de son chien |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
An action takes par.
La lettre a été écrite par un ami.The letter was written by a friend.
A feeling takes de, where English says «by».
Ce professeur est respecté de ses élèves.This teacher is respected by his pupils.
A state takes de, as «covered with» already does.
La table était couverte de papiers.The table was covered with papers.
Where both are possible, the meaning differs.
Il est arrivé suivi de ses enfants.He arrived, followed by his children.
Example sentences
Ce roman est lu par des milliers de personnes.This novel is read by thousands of people.
Elle est appréciée de tous ses collègues.She is appreciated by all her colleagues.
Le jardin est entouré d’un mur en pierre.The garden is surrounded by a stone wall.
La décision a été prise par le directeur.The decision was taken by the director.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
With a feeling, de is the more careful choice: Il est aimé par tous is not wrong and is often heard today, but it leans towards the action; aimé de tous describes how he stands with people, and in written French that is the expected form. With a state, par is no help at all: whatever covers or fills something takes de, and in front of a bare noun the article drops out — couverte de papiers, never couverte par papiers. English «covered with» and «covered by» give no warning either way.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The agent in a passive usually goes with par: la maison a été construite par un architecte. That is the normal case, and always choosing par is rarely wrong.
But with verbs of feeling, knowing and accompanying it is de: il est aimé de tous, elle est connue de tout le monde, il était accompagné de sa sœur, la table était couverte de fleurs.
English marks the same distinction, and it does so in one of these cases and not the other. «The table was covered *with* flowers» and «the garden was surrounded *by* a wall» already use two different prepositions, and «covered with» maps neatly onto couvert de. So that half is free.
The half that is not free is the feelings. English says «loved *by* everyone», «respected *by* his pupils», «known *to* everyone» — with «by», like any other agent. French wants de there: aimé de tous, respecté de ses élèves. The line to hold is that par is for something that happens and de for something that is the case. And a few verbs take both with different meanings: suivi par la policeis followed by policesuivi de son chienis accompanied by a dog
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