In Spanish and English the active and passive voice are very commonly used. In the passive voice (voz pasiva), the subject is the recipient of the action, unlike, in the active voice (voz activa), the subject performs the action.
Subject Explanations:
Passive Voice Grammar
Subject Exercises:
Passive Voice Exercise 1
Passive Voice Exercise 2
All Spanish Grammar Exercises
Multiple Choice Exercises:
Spanish Passive Voice Quiz 1
Passive Voice Spanish Practice Test 2
Passive Voice Spanish Practice Quiz 3
PDF Worksheets:
Spanish Passive Voice Worksheet PDF
In passive voice Spanish, the person (or agent) who is performing the action is usually stated by the word POR.
Example:
Pablo Neruda escribió varios poemas. (Voz activa)
Pablo Neruda wrote many poems.
Varios poemas fueron escritos por Pablo Neruda. (Voz pasiva)
Many poems were written by Pablo Neruda.
Forming Passive Voice in Spanish
The subject + a form of ser + past participle + por + the agent
(In some cases the agent can be omitted.)
| subject | form of ser | past participle | por | the agent |
| La tienda | fue | cerrada | por | Rosita a las 7. |
Examples:
Rosita cerró la tienda a las 7:00 pm. (Voz activa)
Rosita closed the store at 7:00 pm.
La tienda fue cerrada por Rosita a las 7:00 pm. (Voz pasiva)
The store was closed by Rosita at 7:00 pm.
Note:
In Spanish, la voz passiva can also be constructed with the pronoun se. This conjugation consists of the pronoun se + the third person of the verb (singular or plural).
Examples:
Se habla español.
Spanish is spoken.
Se venden carros usados.
Used cars are sold here.
No se aceptan tarjetas de crédito.
Credit cards are not accepted.
