📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 14 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 3 · Le travail et l'argent
La voix passive
Module 7 of the free French course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 14 of 30: . On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 14.
The words
French
English
Say it
la voix passive
the passive voice
lah vwah pah-SEEV
l'usine est construite
the factory is built
lew-zeen eh koh(n)-STRWEET
le rapport est écrit
the report is written
luh rah-por eh tay-KREE
par le directeur
by the manager
pahr luh dee-rehk-TUHR
l'usinefeminine — the article elides to l'
the factory
lew-ZEEN
le rapport
the report
luh rah-POR
construire
to build
koh(n)-STRWEER
chaque année
every year
shahk ah-NAY
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 turns the object into the subject: someone built the factory becomes the factory was built. French builds it with être plus the participle, and the participle AGREES: l'usine est construite, les maisons sont construites.
Et aussi · And also
It reads as formal, which is exactly why news and notices use it: le rapport est écrit chaque année — the report is written every year. Par names the doer when you want it: le rapport est écrit par le directeur.
Attention · Watch out
In the passive the participle agrees with the SUBJECT: l'usine est construite (feminine), le rapport est écrit (masculine). par names the doer.
écrire, voix passive — the table
il est écrit · elle est écrite · ils sont écrits · elles sont écrites
écrire — the table
je écris · tu écris · il/elle écrit · nous écrivons · vous écrivez · ils/elles écrivent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with la voix passive.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out écrire, voix passive and écrire in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
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.