La voix passive
The passive voice (la voix passive) puts the receiver of an action in the subject slot: the patient becomes the topic, and the agent — if mentioned — moves to the end with par or de. French builds the passive exactly like English: a form of être + past participle. But French speakers reach for the passive much less often than English speakers do. They prefer active voice with on, or reflexive constructions, especially in everyday speech.
Formation — être + participe passé
The passive in French is être + past participle, in any tense. The participle ALWAYS agrees with the SUBJECT (the receiver of the action). La maison est construite. = The house is being built / is built. Les livres sont lus. = The books are read. La porte a été ouverte. = The door was opened. (passé composé passive: être in passé composé + participle.) The original direct object becomes the subject; the verb's tense moves into the être.
Tense ladder — être does the time-traveling
Whatever tense the original active verb was in, just put être in that tense. Active mange (présent) → passive est mangé. Active a mangé (passé composé) → passive a été mangé. Active mangeait (imparfait) → passive était mangé. Active mangera (futur) → passive sera mangé. Active mangerait (conditionnel) → passive serait mangé. The participle of the main verb stays put; only être moves. Le gâteau a été mangé par les enfants. = The cake was eaten by the children.
par vs de — who introduces the agent
When the agent is mentioned, French uses par for most action verbs and de for verbs of feeling or state. par (by — for active processes): Le livre a été écrit par Hugo. = The book was written by Hugo. La porte a été ouverte par Marie. = The door was opened by Marie. de (by/with — for emotional or stative verbs like aimer, respecter, connaître, suivre, couvrir): Elle est aimée de tous. = She is loved by everyone. La table est couverte de neige. = The table is covered with snow. The default is par; learn de as the special case.
Agreement — the participle matches the subject
Unlike the passé composé with avoir (where agreement depends on a preceding object), the passive participle ALWAYS agrees with the subject — because être is the auxiliary. La lettre est écrite. (feminine singular) Les lettres sont écrites. (feminine plural) Les livres sont lus. (masculine plural) Les portes ont été fermées. (feminine plural in passé composé passive). Same rule as passé composé with être verbs (lesson 17).
Why French avoids the passive — the on alternative
French often replaces the passive with on + active verb, especially when there's no specific agent. English: 'French is spoken in Quebec.' French prefers: On parle français au Québec. Literally 'one speaks French in Quebec.' Passive: Le français est parlé au Québec. is grammatical but feels stiff. On = 'one' / 'people' / 'they' / 'we' (informal) — a generic subject that lets you skip the passive entirely. On m'a dit que… = I was told that… (rather than j'ai été dit, which doesn't work in French anyway).
The reflexive passive — for things, not people
Another common dodge: a reflexive verb used passively, when the subject is a thing. Ça se dit en français. = That's said in French / People say that in French. Le vin se boit frais. = Wine is drunk chilled. Ce livre se vend bien. = This book sells well. The thing 'does' the action to itself in form, but the meaning is passive. This is much more natural than Le vin est bu frais, which sounds bookish. Use this when describing how something is generally done.
Quick recap — three ways to say the same thing
English: 'French is spoken here.' Three French translations, in order of how natural they feel in speech: (1) On parle français ici. — most natural, uses on. (2) Le français se parle ici. — also natural, reflexive passive. (3) Le français est parlé ici. — grammatically fine but feels formal/written. The passive isn't wrong; it's just one tool among three, and not the default. Use it when the agent matters (a été écrit par Hugo) or in formal/written contexts.
