In this French grammar lesson you will learn about how to use the passive voice in French.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- what the passive voice is
- how to use the passive voice in French: simple tenses
- how to use the passive voice in French: compound tenses
- When to use par and de
- how the passive voice is used in sentences in French
- how you can quiz yourself on how to form the passive voice in French
- how to practice with flashcards on how to form the passive voice in French
- how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn French
Please refer to the French C1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about how this fits in the overall structure of French C1.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about how to use the passive voice in French!
Table of Contents
What is the Passive Voice?
You use the passive voice to to take the perspective of the person or object that experiences the action, rather than the person or object that performs the action.
When you do this, the most crucial person or thing will become the subject of the sentence.
Take a look at the following active sentence.
The boy throws the ball.
The boy is the subject.
Throws is the verb.
The ball is the object.
Now can see how the same sentence has been turned into a passive one.
The ball is thrown by the boy.
The ball has now become the subject of the sentence.
How to use the Passive Voice in French: Simple Tenses
You will now see how to use the passive voice in French for simple tenses.
On the left you can see the active sentences.
On the right you can see the passive sentences.
- le présent
Le garçon lance la balle.
The boy throws the ball.
La balle est lancée par le garçon.
The ball is thrown by the boy.
- l’imparfait
Chaque samedi, je faisais le repas.
Every Saturday, I made the meal.
Chaque samedi, le repas était fait par moi.
Every Saturday, the meal was made by me.
- le futur simple
Les étudiants passeront le test la semaine prochaine.
The students will take the test next week.
Le test sera passé par les étudiants la semaine prochaine.
The test will be taken by the students next week.
- le conditionnel présent
Votre décision la rendrait heureuse
Your decision would make her happy
Elle serait heureuse de votre décision.
She would be happy with your decision.
When you look at all of the examples, you can see 4 things.
- The objects become the subject.
- The auxiliary être is conjugated in the simple tenses, followed by the particip passé of the verb.
- The complements are introduced by par and de.
- The particip passé agrees with the subject of the auxiliary être
How to use the Passive Voice in French: Compound Tenses
You will now see how to use the passive voice in French for compound tenses.
On the left you can see the active sentences.
On the right you can see the passive sentences.
- le passé composé
Je l’ai suivi hier.
I was following him yesterday.
Il a été suivi par moi hier.
He was followed by me yesterday.
- le plus-que-parfait
Ma sœur avait entendu mes parents.
My sister had heard my parents.
Mes parents avaient été entendus par ma sœur.
My parents had been heard by my sister.
- le futur antérieur
Mes cousins auront vu le film.
My cousins will have seen the film.
Le film aura été vu par mes cousins.
The film will have been seen by my cousins.
- le conditionnel passé
Le gagnant aurait reçu un prix.
The winner would have received a prize.
Un prix aurait été reçu par le gagnant.
A prize would have been received by the winner.
When you look at all of the examples, you can see 4 things.
- The objects become the subject.
- The auxiliary être is conjugated in the compound tenses, followed by the particip passé of the verb.
- The complements are introduced by par.
- The particip passé agrees with the subject of the auxiliary être
When to use Par and De
| aimé de | loved by |
| connu de | known to |
| craint de | feared by |
| detesté de | hated by |
| étonné de | shocked by |
| ignoré de | ignored by |
| oublié de | forgotten by |
| respecté de | respected by |
| surpris de | suprised by |
Most complements will be introduced with par (by).
Only some complements will be introduced with de (by/to/with).
You will use de, if the passive sentence has a verb of state.
You can see the some of the most used verbs of state in the table.
Example Sentences on How to use the Passive Voice in French
The final section of this lesson on how to use the passive voice in French is about seeing the subjunctive in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding on how to use the passive voice in French through examples.
Le garçon lance la balle.
The boy throws the ball.
La balle est lancée par le garçon.
The ball is thrown by the boy.
Chaque samedi, je faisais le repas.
Every Saturday, I made the meal.
Chaque samedi, le repas était fait par moi.
Every Saturday, the meal was made by me.
Les étudiants passeront le test la semaine prochaine.
The students will take the test next week.
Le test sera passé par les étudiants la semaine prochaine.
The test will be taken by the students next week.
Votre décision la rendrait heureuse
Your decision would make her happy
Elle serait heureuse de votre décision.
She would be happy with your decision.
Je l’ai suivi hier.
I was following him yesterday.
Il a été suivi par moi hier.
He was followed by me yesterday.
Ma sœur avait entendu mes parents.
My sister had heard my parents.
Mes parents avaient été entendus par ma sœur.
My parents had been heard by my sister.
Mes cousins auront vu le film.
My cousins will have seen the film.
Le film aura été vu par mes cousins.
The film will have been seen by my cousins.
Le gagnant aurait reçu un prix.
The winner would have received a prize.
Un prix aurait été reçu par le gagnant.
A prize would have been received by the winner.
Quiz Yourself on How to use the Passive Voice in French
At the end of every lesson you can do a small quiz.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!
How to Practice With Flashcards for This Lesson
Using flashcards is an absolute necessity when it comes to learning a language!
It is the best way to memorize what you learn, you can personalize your progression because it adapts to your actions, and all flashcards have audio to improve your hearing and pronunciation.
Please read our article on how to learn a new language for more information.
There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.
- Anki
- The Flashcards in our Courses
After you have downloaded Anki for free, you can get our French C1 Anki Deck.
This Anki Deck contains 412 flashcards with which you can practice absolutely everything for French C1.
All the flashcards have text, images, explanations, and audio.
You can also use our courses that have flashcards integrated alongside lessons with audio, quizzes and much more!
However, I am sure you are wondering, what are your courses, and why should I take them?
The Courses of Language Atlas
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