The Passive in Spanish
In Spanish, Passive = ser / estar + V3
In English, Passive = be + V3
ACTIVE
|
Actor
|
Action
|
Receiver
|
|
|
Yo
|
escribí
|
estas cartas.
|
|
|
I
|
wrote
|
these letters.
|
|
PASSIVE
|
Receiver
|
ser / be
|
V3
|
Actor
|
|
Estas cartas
|
fueron
|
escritas
|
por mí.
|
|
These
letters
|
were
|
written
|
by me.
|
|
Estas cartas
|
fueron
|
escritas.
|
|
|
These
letters
|
were
|
written.
|
|
be is
in the same tense as the verb in an active sentence:
Mi hermana está cocinando sopa. My
sister is cooking soup.
La sopa está siendo cocinada por mi hermana. The soup is being cooked by my sister.
Yo comerépizza. I will eat pizza.
La pizza será comida por mí. The pizza will be eaten by me.
In
Spanish, V3 changes. In
English, V3 doesn’t change.
La pizza es comida. The
pizza is eaten.
Las pizzas son comidas. The
pizzas are eaten.