📖LearnModule 11 · Lesson 16 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 4 · La voix passive — et comment le français l'évite
La voix passive
Module 11 of the free French course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 16 of 30: The passive is built the English way, être plus the participle. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 16.
The words
French
English
Say it
la maison a été construite
the house was built
lah meh-zoh(n) ah ay-tay koh(n)-STRWEET
envoyé
sent
ah(n)-vwah-YAY
écrit par
written by
ay-kree PAHR
l'inconnuefeminine — the article elides to l'
the unknown woman
la(n)-koh-NEW
la voix passive
the passive voice
lah vwah pah-SEEV
bâtir
to build
bah-TEER
détruit
destroyed
day-TRWEE
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
The passive is built the English way — être plus the participle, which AGREES with the subject: la maison a été construite en 1890. Les lettres sont envoyées le lundi.
Et aussi · And also
The doer, when named, arrives with par: le roman a été écrit par une inconnue. French uses this less than English does, which is what the rest of this unit is about.
Attention · Watch out
In the passive the participle agrees with the subject: la maison a été construite. The doer arrives with par: écrit par une inconnue. bâtir and construire both mean to build.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with la maison a été construite.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 16 in Module 11 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.