Forma passiva
Verbs can have an active and a passive form or voice: in Italian, voce or forma attiva and voce or forma passiva. In the active construction the subject of the verb (person or thing) performs the action; in the passive construction the subject of the verb is acted upon (= receives the action of the verb).
- Active: il gatto insegue i topi (the cat chases the mice)
- Passive: i topi sono inseguiti dal gatto (the mice are chased by the cat)
When the active construction is changed to a passive construction, the direct object of the active verb (“i topi” = acted upon) becomes the subject of the passive verb. If expressed, the subject of the active verb becomes the agent and is preceded by da. The Italian da (with or without article) is the equivalent of the English by.
How To Change a Sentence from ACTIVE to PASSIVE
1. What is the direct object of the sentence? [i topi]
2. What tense is the main verb? [insegue = present tense]
3. What is the past participle of the main verb? [inseguire → inseguito]
4. What is the subject of the sentence? [il gatto]
1. The direct object becomes the subject [i topi]
2. The aux. essere is in the tense of the main verb and agrees with the subject [sono]
3. The past participle of the main verb follows the aux. and agrees with the subject [mangiati]
4. The subject becomes the agent preceded by the preposition da (+ article if the subject in the active sentence has an article) [dal gatto]
Key Points
- The passive is always made using the auxiliary essere and the past participle, which must agree with the subject of essere. Here are some examples of how ESSERE is used in different modes and tenses:
Presente indicativo
il gatto insegue i topi → i topi sono inseguiti dal gatto
Passato prossimo
il gatto ha inseguito i topi → i topi sono stati inseguiti dal gatto
Imperfetto indicativo
il gatto inseguiva i topi → i topi erano inseguiti dal gatto
Futuro
il gatto inseguirà i topi → i topi saranno inseguiti dal gatto
Passato remoto
il gatto inseguì i topi → i topi furono inseguiti dal gatto
Presente congiuntivo
credo che il gatto insegua i topi → credo che i topi siano inseguiti dal gatto
Congiuntivo passato
credo che il gatto abbia inseguito i topi → credo che i topi siano stati inseguiti dal gatto
Infinito
Il gatto potrebbe inseguire i topi → I topi potrebbero essere inseguiti dal gatto*
*NOTE: when you change the active infinitive to a passive infinitive (as in the example above) the conjugated verb must agree with the new subject and the auxiliary ESSERE is in the infinitive, followed by the past participle of the infinitive verb of the active sentence.
- VENIRE and ANDARE can be used instead of ESSERE to make the passive:
- “essere” (in any mode and tense) + participio passato
Il bambino è amato dai genitori. The child is loved by his parents.
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- “venire” (in simple tenses only) + participio passato
Se parli verrai (= sarai) ascoltato. If you speak you will be listened to.
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- “andare” (= dovere; in simple tenses only) + participio passato
I consigli vanno seguiti (= devono essere seguiti). Advice must be followed.
Uso del passivo
- The passive is generally used when the focus is on the person or thing affected by the action or when the person or thing performing the action is not known.
Il mio motorino è stato rubato. My scooter was stolen (I don’t know who did it). La partita sarà rinviata. The match will be postponed (it is not important to state who will be responsible).
- Only the direct object of a sentence can be made the subject of a passive construction. Unlike English, an indirect object cannot become the subject of a passive verb in Italian, as shown in the third and fourth case below:
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Geppetto ha dato il libro a Pinocchio = Geppetto gave the book to P.
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Il libro è stato dato a P. da G. = The book was given to P. by G.
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(No Italian equivalent) P. was given the book by G.
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(No Italian equivalent)* P. was given a book.
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*NOTE that in cases like this, in which the agent is not known, you can use an active construction with the unexpressed subject loro:
Hanno dato un libro a Pinocchio. They gave a book to P. (P. was given a book)
