active voicevspassive voice with ser
/vohs ahk-TEE-vah/
/vohs pah-SEE-vah/
💡 Quick Rule
Active: Who DID it? Passive: What was DONE to it?
Think: Active = Actor is the star. Passive = Patient (receiver) is the star.
- The passive 'se' (e.g., 'Se venden casas') is often used instead of the 'ser' passive in everyday speech.
- The 'ser' passive can sound overly formal or 'bookish' in casual conversation.
📊 Comparison Table
| Context | active voice | passive voice with ser | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Work | Picasso pintó Guernica. | Guernica fue pintado por Picasso. | Active focuses on the artist. Passive puts the famous artwork first. |
| Historical Event | Los romanos construyeron el acueducto. | El acueducto fue construido por los romanos. | Both are correct. The passive sounds more formal, like it's from a history book. |
| Unknown Doer | Alguien robó mi bicicleta. | Mi bicicleta fue robada. | Active requires a subject ('someone'). Passive is perfect when you don't know who did it. |
| General Process | El cartero entrega las cartas. | Las cartas son entregadas por el cartero. | Active is the normal, everyday way. Passive describes the process more formally. |
✅ When to Use "active voice" / passive voice with ser
active voice
The standard sentence structure, focusing on the person or thing doing the action (the 'actor'). It's clear, direct, and the most common way to speak.
/vohs ahk-TEE-vah/
Standard, direct communication
Gabriel García Márquez escribió Cien años de soledad.
Gabriel García Márquez wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Emphasizing who performed the action
Mi abuela preparó la cena.
My grandmother prepared the dinner.
Clear and simple storytelling
Los niños rompieron la ventana.
The kids broke the window.
passive voice with ser
A sentence structure that focuses on the person or thing receiving the action. Use it when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or you want to sound more formal.
/vohs pah-SEE-vah kohn SEHR/
Focusing on the object/receiver
Cien años de soledad fue escrito por Gabriel García Márquez.
One Hundred Years of Solitude was written by Gabriel García Márquez.
When the doer is unknown or unimportant
La ventana fue rota anoche.
The window was broken last night.
Formal writing (news, history, science)
La ley fue aprobada por el congreso.
The law was approved by the congress.
🔄 Contrast Examples
With "active voice":
Marie Curie descubrió el radio.
Marie Curie discovered radium.
With "passive voice with ser":
El radio fue descubierto por Marie Curie.
Radium was discovered by Marie Curie.
The Difference: The active voice highlights the scientist's achievement. The passive voice puts the scientific discovery itself in the spotlight.
With "active voice":
Un coche golpeó mi moto.
A car hit my motorcycle.
With "passive voice with ser":
Mi moto fue golpeada por un coche.
My motorcycle was hit by a car.
The Difference: The active voice gives a neutral account of the event. The passive voice makes your motorcycle the center of the story, emphasizing what happened to *it*.
With "active voice":
Los arquitectos diseñaron el edificio.
The architects designed the building.
With "passive voice with ser":
El edificio fue diseñado por los arquitectos.
The building was designed by the architects.
The Difference: Use the active voice to talk about what the architects did. Use the passive voice to talk about the building's history or features.
🎨 Visual Comparison
Split screen showing active voice (person doing an action) vs. passive voice (object receiving the action).
Active voice: WHO did it? Passive voice: WHAT was done?
⚠️ Common Mistakes
El libro fue escribido por él.
El libro fue escrito por él.
The passive voice uses the past participle ('escrito'), which can be irregular. Remember the participle must also agree in gender and number with the subject (e.g., 'la carta fue escrita').
La casa es construida el año pasado.
La casa fue construida el año pasado.
The verb 'ser' must be in the correct tense. For completed past actions, use the preterite 'fue' or 'fueron', not the present 'es' or 'son'.
Using 'ser' passive too much in conversation.
Se rompió la ventana. (Instead of 'La ventana fue rota.')
In everyday Spanish, the passive 'se' is much more common and natural than the 'ser + participle' structure, which can sound overly formal.
📚 Related Grammar
Want to understand the grammar behind this pair? Explore these lessons for a deep dive:
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: Active Voice vs Passive Voice with Ser
Question 1 of 2
How would you correctly change 'Los artistas pintaron los murales' to the passive voice?
🏷️ Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between 'La puerta fue cerrada' and 'La puerta estaba cerrada'?
Great question! 'Fue cerrada' is the true passive voice; it describes the action of someone closing the door. 'Estaba cerrada' uses 'estar' to describe the resulting state of the door—it was in a closed position. Think action (ser) vs. state (estar).
Do I always use 'por' to say who did the action in the passive voice?
Almost always, yes. 'Por' is used to introduce the agent (the doer) in a passive sentence. For example, 'El libro fue escrito por el autor.' In some very specific cases with verbs of feeling, 'de' can be used (e.g., 'es conocido de todos'), but 'por' is the rule you should learn and use.