B1 · The passive
The passive with ser
The participle agrees like an adjective, which English participles never do.
At a glance
- Remember
- After ser the participle agrees, after ter never.
- Form
- a casa é vendidathe house is sold
- Signal words
- foi
- foram
- será
- por
- pelo
- pela
- Trap
- Wrong:As cartas foram enviado ontem.Right:As cartas foram enviadas ontem.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker auxiliary verb
| the house is sold | a casa é vendida |
| the house was sold | a casa foi vendida |
| the houses were sold | as casas foram vendidas |
| the book was read | o livro foi lido |
| by the director | pelo diretor |
| by the company | pela empresa |
| I get invited (present) | (eu) sou convidado |
| you get invited | (tu) és convidado |
| he gets invited, you get invited (você) | (ele, você) é convidado |
| we get invited | (nós) somos convidados |
| you get invited, plural (elevated) | (vós) sois convidados |
| they get invited, you get invited (vocês) | (eles, vocês) são convidados |
| I was invited (preterite) | (eu) fui convidado |
| you were invited | (tu) foste convidado |
| he was invited, you were invited (você) | (ele, você) foi convidado |
| we were invited | (nós) fomos convidados |
| you were invited, plural (elevated) | (vós) fostes convidados |
| they were invited, you were invited (vocês) | (eles, vocês) foram convidados |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
ser carries the tense, the participle the form.
A carta será enviada amanhã.The letter will be sent tomorrow.
The participle agrees with the subject.
As portas foram fechadas às seis.The doors were closed at six.
The agent takes por.
O quadro foi pintado por um aluno.The picture was painted by a pupil.
por fuses into pelo and pela.
A lei foi aprovada pelo parlamento.The law was passed by parliament.
Example sentences
A ponte foi construída há duzentos anos.The bridge was built two hundred years ago.
As cartas foram enviadas na segunda-feira.The letters were sent on Monday.
O resultado será anunciado amanhã de manhã.The result will be announced tomorrow morning.
Esta obra foi escrita por uma mulher.This work was written by a woman.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The participle does not stay put here. In the perfect with ter it never changes — ela tem lido — and in the passive it always does: a carta foi lida. Same word, two rules, and the auxiliary decides: unchanged after ter, agreeing after ser.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Ser in the tense you want, then the participle: a casa é vendida, a casa foi vendida, a casa será vendida. The tense sits in ser, never in the participle.
And the participle agrees in gender and number with the subject, exactly like an adjective: o livro foi lido, a carta foi lida, os livros foram lidos. English has nothing comparable — « the book was read » and « the books were read » carry the same participle — so this is a habit to build rather than a rule to translate.
Whoever did the deed takes por, and por fuses with the article: pelo, pela. A ponte foi construída pelos romanos.
Where nobody is named, they are left out — and that is usually the whole reason for using a passive in the first place.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: ser · haver · pintar · anunciar