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12D La gramática: La voz pasiva
from ¡Venga!
by Edco Ireland
D. La gramática: La voz pasiva
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In the many texts you have read in Spanish, you will have come across the passive voice. You may already be using it yourself in Spanish, but have not formally studied it until now. Sentences can be formed in the active voice or the passive voice. In the active voice the subject of the sentence is doing an action, but in the passive voice the subject is the receiver of the action. Consider the following sentences: Active: Cervantes wrote the book. Passive: The book was written by Cervantes. Active: Niamh makes those strawberry tarts. Passive: Those strawberry tarts are made by Niamh. In Spanish, there are two ways to form the passive voice: 1. Ser + past participle of the verb (+ por) and 2. Se + third person (singular/plural)
La voz pasiva con ser
Ser + past participle (+ por)
Consider the following examples:
El miedo fue difundido por los medios..................... Fear was spread by the media.
La revista fue leída por mi madre.............................. The magazine was read by my mother.
Los edificios han sido destruidos por la bomba..... The buildings have been destroyed by the bomb.
Las casas serán pintadas por mis tíos. .................... The houses will be painted by my uncles. • The passive voice with ser is less common in spoken Spanish, but more often used in formal written Spanish such as in journalistic texts. • This passive can be used in any tense: simply change the verb ser to whatever tense is required. • The past participle should agree in number and gender with the subject of the sentence.
D.1 Escribe las frases en la voz pasiva con el verbo ser.
Ejemplo: Cervantes escribió Don Quijote. Don Quijote fue escrito por Cervantes. 1. Laura sacó las fotos de la familia. 2. Mi hermano escribirá un ensayo. 3. Los terroristas amenazan a la gente. 4. El gobierno hizo muchas promesas. 5. Las chicas entregarán los deberes mañana. 6. Chris Hemsworth interpreta el papel de Thor. 7. Los niños leyeron la novela. 8. Mi padre vio la película. 9. He invitado a mis amigos a la fiesta. 10. La policía liberó a los rehenes.
D.2 Escribe las frases en español.
1. That play was written by William Shakespeare. 2. Guernica was painted by Pablo Picasso. 3. The concert will take place in the central stadium. 4. The glasses were broken during his party. 5. That law was introduced ten years ago. 6. King Felipe was welcomed by the President of Ireland. 7. Rafael Nadal will be interviewed tonight. 8. The terrorists have been arrested by the police. 9. Many young people are influenced by images online. 10. Some neighbourhoods are exclusively made up of refugees.
La voz pasiva con se Se + third person of the verb (singular/plural)
Consider the following examples: Se estableció la ciudad hace 800 años.................The city was established 800 years ago. Se hicieron estos pasteles con almendras...........These cakes were made with almonds. • The verb is used in the third person singular when followed by a singular noun or an infinitive, but it is used in the third person plural if it is followed by a plural noun. Se come paella en Valencia.....................................Paella is eaten in Valencia. Se puede ver la ciudad desde la torre...................The city can be seen from the tower. Se comen muchas patatas en Irlanda. .................Lots of potatoes are eaten in Ireland. • This passive cannot be used when the subject is overtly named. For example, both of the following sentences are correct because the subject isn’t named: Se destruyó el castillo en 1542................................The castle was destroyed in 1542. El castillo fue destruido en 1542. ...........................The castle was destroyed in 1542. • However, if you want to say who destroyed the castle, you can only use the passive with ser. El castillo fue destruido por los Árabes en 1542. .... The castle was destroyed by the Arabs in 1542.
D.3 Rellena los espacios con la forma correcta del presente del verbo con se.
Ejemplo: Se venden (vender) sellos aquí. 1. ¿Cómo ___________________ (decir) hola en inglés? 2. En aquel restaurante ___________________ (servir) platos típicos. 3. Creo que ___________________ (poder) aparcar cerca del teatro. 4. ¿Cómo ___________________ (escribir) tu apellido? 5. ___________________ (vender) agua aquí. 6. ___________________ (comer) muchas verduras en España. 7. ¿Cómo ___________________ (llegar) al parque? 8. ___________________ (cultivar) aceitunas en España. 9. En Galicia ___________________ (comer) mucho pulpo. 10. ¿A qué hora ___________________ (abrir) la oficina?
1. Petrol is sold here. 2. The water park can be seen from the roundabout. 3. Fear is spread through videos online. 4. You can’t drink alcohol and drive. 5. Guns are used to commit crimes. 6. Red wine is drunk with steak. 7. Those toys are made in factories in China. 8. Lots of eggs are used in a Spanish omelette. 9. Dinner is served at 9:00pm in the restaurant. 10. Grapes are grown in La Rioja.
