Many of our readers are often confused about the passive voice in Italian and how to use it correctly. Much of this confusion probably stems from the fact that many people are unfamiliar with what passive voice is. In this article, our goal is to explain the passive voice and its use in Italian. let's start!
What is “passive voice”?
To answer this question, we need to follow a few steps.
Let's start with a very simple sentence:
Snow white eats apple.
Snow white eats apple.
The sentence above is an example of active voice because snow White / snow White Perform the action of eating an apple.For this reason, the verb eat / go to eat is the third person singular conjugate, technically we can refer to snow White / snow White as the subject of a sentence and Mela / apple as an object.
Now, let's see what happens if we reverse the same sentence this way:
The apple was eaten by Snow White.
The apple was eaten by Snow White.
In this reformulation, the theme is Mela / apple Apparently it takes the consequences of the verb eat / go to eat instead of executing it.When action acts on the subject, we are faced with a passive voice.
In the latter example snow White / snow White Be the technically defined agent, the person who causes the action (in this case); the agent is introduced by the preposition “by”.
The purpose of passive voice
Passive voice is used to place more emphasis on the person or object affected by the verb rather than who or what performed the action.
In the example below, we can observe how the focus shifts from the single word priest / Father to this word song /songjust convert the active voice into the passive voice.
Active voice:
My dad likes this song very much.
My dad likes this song very much.
passive voice:
This is my father's favorite song.
This is my dad's favorite song.
We can further change the emphasis and even ignore the performer of the action. This may occur in a number of circumstances, such as:
1. The perpetrator is unknown:
Package has been collected.
Package has been collected.
2. The actor is implicit or irrelevant:
Results have been announced.
Results have been announced.
3. The actor is an ordinary member of the public:
Pizza is popular all over the world.
Pizza is loved by people all over the world.
4. We deliberately avoid citing perpetrators to hide their responsibility
The vase was broken.
The vase was broken.
How to construct passive voice
As we already saw in the first paragraph, changing an active sentence into a passive sentence can be relatively simple.
What you need to do is conjugate the verb become / become Active voice verbs have the same tense and person, and their past participle will be used in passive sentences.
However, more complex tenses can cause some confusion. For this reason, I thought it would be a good idea to list the most common verb tenses that transition from active to passive. snow White / snow White with her Mela / apple It can still help us in this regard.
simple present:
snow white eating apple. → apple She was eaten by Snow White.
Snow White eats an apple. → The apple was eaten by Snow White.
Present perfect:
Snow White ate apple. → apple She was eaten by Snow White.
Snow White ate the apple. →The apple has been eaten by Snow White.
imperfect:
Snow White ate apple. → apple She was eaten by Snow White.
Snow White ate the apple. → The apple was eaten by Snow White.
future:
Snow White can eat apple. → apple She will be eaten by Snow White.
Snow White will eat the apple. → The apple will be eaten by Snow White.
Present subjunctive mood:
I think Snow White eats apple. → I think Apple Eaten by Snow White.
I think Snow White ate the apple. → I think the apple was eaten by Snow White.
Past subjunctive mood:
I think Snow White ate it apple. → I think Apple Eaten by Snow White.
I think Snow White ate the apple. →I think the apple was eaten by Snow White.
passive voice of modal verbs
When you reverse a sentence to create the passive voice of a modal verb responsibility, candythey need to be followed by the infinitive of the verb become / become and the past participle of the main verb.
you need to do This matter is until tomorrow. → this thing Must be completed by tomorrow.
You have to finish this before tomorrow. → This must be done before tomorrow.
Available to guests swimming pool. → swimming pool Available for guests.
Guests have access to the swimming pool. → Swimming pool is available for guests to use.
In Italian, there are also two modal verbs, think and Know, but for both of these we can't actually talk about inverting the sentences because the action means the opposite of what we actually want to say. That's why it's a good idea to look at a few examples of passive voice.
I want to be alone! → I want to be alone!
In sports you have to know how to get beat. → In sports you have to know how to get beat.
This is the active form of the paradigm think and Know Will completely subvert the meaning of passive voice.
I want to leave you alone. → I want to leave [somebody] Alone.
In sports you have to know how to beat. → In sports you have to know how to beat.
Passive Voice and VENIRE / Come instead of ESSERE/ become
verbs are not uncommon Come / Come replace verb become / become Use Italian passive voice.But this is only true if the verb become / become Made up of one single word.
In the following example, the verb become / become Only one single word appears (“and“) therefore can be replaced by a verb Come / Come:
Chianti wine is Produced in Tuscany. → Chianti wine It is produced in Tuscany.
Chianti wine is produced in Tuscany.
In another example, the verb become / become Occurs with two words (“sono state”) and therefore cannot be replaced by a verb Come / Come.
at the bottom of the sea they are Many Roman coins found.
at the bottom of the sea they were recovered many roman coins.
Many Roman coins found at the bottom of the sea.
If possible, choose become / become and Come / Come Often it's just a matter of style, but in some cases it can express nuances related to the repetitive nature of action over time.
1. The program airs at 8 p.m..
2. The program airs at 8pm.
The show airs at 8 p.m..
Without any other context, in Example 1 become / become, I was led to believe that the show only airs once, tonight at 8pm.In example 2 Come / ComeI can assume that the show airs every night at 8pm.
Passive voice with the verb ANDARE / go
Similar to the case with verbs Come / Comeyou can use passive voice and verbs go / go. However, this is uncommon and has the specific function of expressing rules or obligations to comply with.
Requests must be sent by December 31st.
Requests must be sent by December 31st.
All laws must be respected.
All laws must be respected.
Intransitive verbs do not have passive voice
Not all verbs can have passive voice. In particular, it is defined as an intransitive verb, which does not require a direct object. Among these verbs, for example, sleep / sleep because you can't get some sleep. Without a direct object, there is no one or thing to act on, so it is impossible to invert an action into the passive voice.
Other examples of intransitive verbs that therefore cannot have passive voice are:
Francesca smiled.
Francesca smiled.
boys run.
boys run.
My face turned red with embarrassment. *
I'm so embarrassed that my face is red.
Past tense verbs with auxiliary verbs can be misleading become (become) and misunderstood it as passive voice.In this case we have present perfect tense of blush / blush: “I blush” corresponding to “I blush” or “I'm already blushing”.
Impersonal passive voice: SI PASSIVANTE
In Italian, a very common way of expressing collective habits, shared ways of doing things, and even rules is through the impersonal passive voice.
The structure is very similar to the normal impersonal form, but technically you have what is called “Is passivation” Only if the verb is not intransitive (see previous paragraph) and a direct object is stated.
The construction follows the following two formulas:
si + third person verb Odd number + one Purpose
si + third person verb plural + two or more object
“Transposition ofIs passivation” will encounter difficulties in translation into English because there is no equivalent structure. Therefore, the following example provides a non-literal translation. The numbers refer to the two formulas above.
Italian is also spoken in Switzerland.
Italian is also spoken in Switzerland.
Many cheeses are produced in France.
Many cheeses are produced in France.
Niccolò Curini Since February 2016, he has been teaching Italian at the Language Center of the University of Göttingen, Germany. During this time he led courses from A1 to B2 levels. To qualify for this position, he obtained the DITALS certification, which enables him to teach Italian as a foreign language to college students. Social media: Instagram – Facebook – Twitter
