Passive voice in French
Online language lessons with native teachers
Skype teachers
Free trial lesson
Flexible appointments
Passive voice in French
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.What is the passive form in French ?
- 2.Recap: what is the active voice in French ?
- 2.1.Formation of the active voice
- 3.Formation of the passive voice
- 3.1.Examples
- 4.Use of the passive voice in French
- 5.Substitutes for the passive
- 6.Exercises
- 6.1.Fill in the blank exercise for the passive voice in French
- 6.2.Fill in the blank exercise for the active voice in French
- 6.3.Fill in the blank exercise for the passive voice using reflexive verbs in French
- 6.4.Drag and drop exercise about the passive voice in French
What is the passive form in French ?
The passive form (French: la forme passive) is a transformation of the active phrase in which the subject of the active voice becomes complement.
In the passive sentence, the subject becomes the agent complement and the direct object of the active voice becomes the subject.
| Examples | Voice | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Le garagiste répare la voiture. | Active | The mechanic repairs the car. |
| La voiture est réparée par le garagiste. | Passive | The car has been repaired by the mechanic. |
Have a question?
Take online language lessons with a professional teacher
- Native & verified teachers
- Free trial lesson
- Learning materials included
Recap: what is the active voice in French ?
The active voice (French: voix active) presents the subject as agent of the action.
Examples
- Le chat boit du lait. (The cat is drinking milk)
- Julien a eu une bonne note. (Julian had a good mark.)
- Maman prépare une belle surprise. (Mom is preparing a beautiful surprise.)
Formation of the active voice
The active voice is formed with the: subject + verb + direct object complement (COD).
| Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|
| Le chat | boit | du lait |
| Julien | a eu | une bonne note |
| Maman | prépare | une belle surprise |
Direct objects are sentence complements that receive the action of a transitive verb, with no intervening prepositions.
Formation of the passive voice
The passive voice (French: voix passive) presents the subject as agent undergoing the action. By changing the voice of the sentence, therefore we present the same action, the same event, but in a different way.
The passive voice is always made up of:
- The auxiliary "être", which is conjugated according to the mote, the tense and agrees with the person and the number.
- The past participle of the verb of the action.
- The subject (agent) is introduced by "par"
| Tense | active voice | passive voice |
|---|---|---|
| indicative | j'aime | je suis aimé(e) |
| imperfect | j'aimais | j'étais aimé(e) |
| past compound | j'ai aimé | j'ai été aimé(e) |
| future simple | j'aimerai | je serai aimé(e) |
| present conditional | j'aimerais | je serais aimé(e) |
| past conditional | j'aurais aimé | j'aurais été aimé(e) |
| imperative | aime | sois aimé(e) |
Examples
- Du lait est bu par le chat. (milk is being drunk by the cat.)
- Une bonne note a été eu par Julien. (a good mark have been got by Julian.)
- Une belle surprise est préparée par maman. (a good surprise is made by mom.)
You use "de" to introduce the subject with verbs like: "aimer", "connaître", "respecter".
Tout le monde aime cette personne → Cette personne est aimée de tous (everyone loves this person)
You cannot form the passive when the subject is a pronoun.
Use of the passive voice in French
You use the passive form to emphasize
- The object of the verb instead of the subject
- An event without mentioning the subject
- Inventions, laws
| Usage | Examples | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| the object of the verb | la télévision a été inventée par John Baird | the television has been invented by John Baird |
| event | le président Kennedy a été assassiné | the president Kennedy has been murdered |
| invention, laws | une loi a été votée | a law just passed |
Therefore the passive transformation is only possible with verbs that accept a direct object complement (transitive verbs).
It cannot be used in the passive voice when:
- The verb of the sentence is an intransitive verb (tomber, courir, sourire, nager)
- The verb of the sentence is built with a indirect complement
Some verbs as conseiller, demander, dire, parler, permettre, répondre, appeler are not used in the passive voice
Substitutes for the passive
- Instead of using the passive, you can create active sentences with "on". Such constructions are very popular in colloquial French.
- Reflexive verbs are often used especially when the agent (subject) is not mentioned and when something is involved.
- A construction with se faire + infinitive can apply only to persons
- The construction être l'objet de is typical of journalese
| use | Examples | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| active sentence with "on" | on a décidé d'augmenter la TVA | we decided to increase the VTA |
| reflexive verbs | le médicament se boit avec de l'eau | the medicine is taken with water |
| se faire + infinitive | elle se fait offrir une bague | she was offered a ring |
| être l'objet de | son arrestation sera l'objet de beaucoup de discussions | his arrest will be the subject of much debate |
Keep your motivation and test your knowledge about the passive form with our exercises!
Exercises
Fill in the blank exercise for the passive voice in French
Fill in the blank exercise for the active voice in French
Fill in the blank exercise for the passive voice using reflexive verbs in French
Drag and drop exercise about the passive voice in French
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
4.8/5 from 1 reviews
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
I speak: English, Spanish, French, Italian I teach: Spanish, French
I’m French, currently living in the Netherlands. I lived in Paris for almost twenty years, and I know very well my country (and of course... my language, French, my mother tongue). I taught French for two years in Spain, conversation class about culture essentially. In Paris, I was Spanish teacher, I have the Agregation degree which is the highest degree for teaching in France, I'm bilingual. I've participated too in several editorial projects about Spanish teaching and DELE preparation. I have a Spanish Studies Master and I'm currently doing a research about the Spanish and Sefardi Judaism. I have a French as foreign language and a Religious Studies Masters too. I enjoy sharing what I know. I’m a very eclectic person and curious about everything. To give you an idea, my interest (and sometimes hobbies) are: philosophy, spirituality and religions in general, meditation, psychology and psychoanalysis, history, geography, literature, writing (in particular creative writing, and I’m used to write everyday), art (painting, photography), sciences (vulgarisation level) and cultural matters in general. I travel a lot (as a backpacker), sometimes by foot, and the places I know well are France, the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia. One of my qualities is my capacity of adaptation, I enjoy preparing documents to help the student to acquire autonomy, but I love speaking too, and it’s the best way to learn a language. I'm waiting for your message, please when contact me, explain quickly who you are, why you want to study French and what you are looking for exactly. See you soon. Read more
Availability: Monday (9-10h), Tuesday (9-10h), Friday (18-20h), Saturday (15-21h), Sunday (15-21h).
Timezone: Europe/Amsterdam (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
23.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours
I speak: English, French, German, Italian I teach: English, French, German
My name is Christina and I provide fun German and French language lesson for children and adult beginners or intermediate who want to... strengthen their language skills, improve the grammar knowledge, enrich the vocabulary and get into the German culture! I can teach in English or French! I had experince in teaching German, English and French to foreign people so I do have a lot of useful learning material I can provide you to make it easier! Read more
Availability: Monday (7-24h), Tuesday (7-24h), Wednesday (7-24h), Thursday (7-24h), Friday (7-24h), Saturday (7-24h), Sunday (7-24h).
Timezone: Europe/Berlin (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
Very experienced teacher!
18.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours
I speak: German, English, French, Italian, Dutch I teach: English, French, Italian, Dutch
Hello,I would love to help you improve your knowledge of English.I adapt the lessons following your wishes : are you a beginner and need to get... some basic knowledge with grammar and easy texts or do you want to improve your conversation skills. I can help you either way.Looking forward to meeting you ! Read more
Availability: Monday (9-14h), Tuesday (9-18h), Wednesday (9-18h), Thursday (9-18h), Friday (9-18h), Saturday (10-12h).
Timezone: Europe/Paris (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
Very experienced teacher!
20.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours