📖LearnModule 11 · Lesson 16 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 4 · La voz pasiva — y cómo el español la evita
La voz pasiva con ser
Module 11 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 16 of 30: The passive is built the English way, ser plus the participle. 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 QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
la casa fue construida
the house was built
lah KAH-sah fweh kohns-TRWEE-dah
enviado
sent
ehn-BYAH-doh
escrito por
written by
ehs-KREE-toh pohr
la desconocida
the unknown woman
lah dehs-koh-noh-SEE-dah
la voz pasiva
the passive voice
lah bohs pah-SEE-bah
edificar
to build
eh-dee-fee-KAR
destruido
destroyed
dehs-TRWEE-doh
la novela fue publicada ayer
the novel was published yesterday
lah noh-BEH-lah fweh poo-blee-KAH-dah ah-YEHR
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.
La regla · The rule
The passive is built the English way — ser plus the participle, which AGREES with the subject: la casa fue construida en 1890. Las cartas son enviadas los lunes.
Y también · And also
The doer, when named, arrives with por: la novela fue escrita por una desconocida. Spanish uses this far less than English does — mostly in the press and in formal writing — which is what the rest of this unit is about.
Ojo · Watch out
In the passive the participle agrees like an adjective: la casa fue construida, las cartas fueron enviadas. The doer takes por, never de: escrita por una desconocida. edificar and construir both mean to build.
construir, voz pasiva — the table
él es construido · ella es construida · ellos son construidos · ellas son construidas
publicar, voz pasiva en pretérito — the table
él fue publicado · ella fue publicada · ellos fueron publicados · ellas fueron publicadas
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with la casa fue construida.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out construir, voz pasiva and publicar, voz pasiva en pretérito 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 Spanish 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.