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How to use the passive voice in Italian?

By: Silvia Giorgini Althoen Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Verbs

In Italian, as in English, we use the passive voice when we want to shift the focus of the action ( verb) on to the object and away from the “doer/performer” (the agent). This construction is especially useful when the “doer” of the action is unknown or irrelevant.

All verbs have an active form, but only transitive verbs (those that can have a direct object), have a passive voice. Here’s an example of an active versus a passive sentence in Italian:

Active
Passive

La ragazza ha calciato la palla.

The girl kicked the ball.

La palla è stata calciata (dalla ragazza).

The ball was kicked (by the girl).

In this post, we’ll talk first about what the passive voice is, then we’ll talk about how to form passive verbs and sentences in Italian. Did you know that there are different ways to express the passive voice in Italian? No?! Then, let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

    What is the passive voice in Italian?

    In a few words, in Italian, as in English, the passive voice is a sentence structure that is different from an active (“normal”) sentence in three ways:

    • The object of the action becomes the subject

    • The agent (do-er) of the action becomes optional

    • The verb changes form

    Let’s consider this example of an active sentence:

    agent / subjectundergoer / object

    L’insegnante spiega le regole.

    The instructor explains the rules.

    • L’insegnante(the instructor) is the subject of the sentence and is the agent (“performer”) of the action

    • Spiegare is a transitive verb (takes a direct object)

    • Le regole(the rules) is the direct object of the transitive verb and undergoes the action

    In a passive sentence, though, we change the focus of the sentence from the “performer” to the “receiver” of the action, let’s see what happens:

    undergoer / subjectagent

    Le regole sono spiegate (dall’insegnante.)

    The rules are explained (by the instructor.)

    • The “new” subject of the sentence, le regole(the rules), is acted upon and this is where the focus goes.

    • The performer of the action, “the agent,” (when mentioned) is introduced by the preposition da(by).

    You can see this difference most clearly when you look at the sentences side-by-side:

    L’insegnante spiega le regole.

    The instructor explains the rules.

    Le regole sono spiegate (dall’insegnante).

    The rules are explained (by the instructor).

    The passive is used when you want to focus on the object, or when the agent is not important, or if we don’t know who, or what, did something. For this reason the agent becomes optional in the passive, so keep in mind that there are sentences that simply don't have one.

    La mia casa è stata costruita nel 2001.

    My house was built in 2001.

    I don't know who built it!

    Remember that in Italian you can create a passive sentence ONLY if you have a transitive verb, so that the direct object becomes the “new” subject of the passive sentence.

    Important

    In Italian, the passive voice is less frequent than in English, because the passive voice is less restrictive in English.

    In English, you can make a direct object or an indirect object the subject of your passive sentence:

    Active:

    • indirect objectdirect object

      The teacher promised the children candy.

    Passive (2 options):

    • indirect object → subjectdirect object

      The children were promised candy.

    • direct object → subjectindirect object

      Candy was promised to the children.

    In Italian, though only the direct object can be made the subject of the passive sentence:

    direct object → subjectindirect object

    Le caramelle sono state promesse ai bambini.

    Candy was promised to the children.

    How to make the passive voice in Italian?

    To make the passive voice use the auxiliary essere(to be) + past participle of the verb, which agrees in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the subject.

    Essere (to be)

    Past Participle

    Let’s look at an example:

    subjectverbdirect object

    Il cane prende la palla.

    The dog catches the ball.

    A golden retriever is chasing a ball that's midair

    Now let’s see how to make it passive.

    • Find the object = la palla → This object will now become the new subject.

    • What is the tense of the verb prende? → It’s in the present (indicative).

    • Add the form of essere in that tense (present) → è(is)

    • Add the past participle of prendere(to take), matching the gender and number of the new subject pallapresa(taken (f. sg)).

    • If you want to indicate the agent (cane(the dog)), use the preposition da(by): dal cane

    And you have your passive voice!

    subjectauxiliary verbpast participleagent

    La palla è presa dal cane.

    The ball is caught by the dog.

    A closeup of a dog with a tennis ball in its mouth
    REMINDER

    Use the articulated forms of the preposition (e.g. da + il = dal) when necessary.

    Important

    The essere in a passive can be in any tense or mood, including compound ones!

    Let’s look at a few examples for the indicative mood. For more examples, check out our chart of passive conjugations in Italian!

    Tense
    Active Voice
    Passive Voice

    imperfetto

    Il cane prendeva la palla.

    The dog was catching the ball.

    La palla era presa dal cane.

    The ball was being caught by the dog.

    era= essere in the imperfetto

    futuro

    Il cane prenderà la palla.

    The dog will catch the ball.

    La palla sarà presa dal cane.

    The ball will be caught by the dog.

    sarà = essere in the futuro

    passato prossimo

    Il cane ha preso la palla.

    The dog has caught the ball.

    La palla è stata presa dal cane.

    The ball has been caught by the dog.

    è stata = essere in the passato prossimo
    Important

    In the passive voice, the modal verbs dovere(to have to), potere(to be able to), and volere(to want) go before the auxiliary essere and the past participle:

    dovere / potere / volere
    essere

    past participle

    L’uva doveva essere raccolta.

    Grapes had to be picked.

    Il formaggio potrà essere servito.

    Cheese could be served.

    Le mamme hanno voluto essere chiamate.

    Mothers wanted to be called.

    Passives with ‘andare’ and ‘venire’: How and when to use them?

    The past participle in the passive voice may be introduced by andare(to go) or venire(to come) instead of essere(to be), but only in simple tenses like present, imperfect, future, etc. These verbs lend a slightly different meaning in the passive construction:

    • Andare often indicates an obligation:

      La pasta va cotta al dente.

      Pasta must be cooked al dente.

    • Venire often spikes up the formality, like in rules and laws:

      La legge verrà pubblicata presto.

      The law will soon be published.

    Important

    Notice that when you use andare or venire to form the passive, the past participle still agrees with the subject of the sentence, just like if you were using essere as the auxiliary!

    This was fascinating and intriguing, right? Well, the fun is not over yet!! Continue the adventure and check out this cool and unique way to use the passive voice in Italian, the famousItalian si passivante!

    To sum up

    In Italian, like in English, the passive voice is more common in writing than in speaking. Often it is used when we don’t need to mention an “agent/doer,” or if it’s irrelevant. So to wrap it all up, here are some of the key elements we covered:

    • The passive voice uses essere(to be) with the past participle.

    • The past participle MUST agree with the subject.

    • There are alternatives to the passive that are often used in Italian, like the si passivante, or the auxiliaries andare, and/or venire instead of essere.

    Ready to practice the Italian passive voice? Let’s go!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    How does the Italian passive voice work?~TableHow does the Italian passive voice work?~Activities

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