In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action:
L'étudiant achète un
livre.
(The student buys a book.)
The use of the active voice construction is similar to its use in English:
subject + verb + direct object
In the passive voice, the subject is acted upon:
Le livre est acheté par l'étudiant.
(The book is bought by the student.)
The the use of the passive voice construction is similar to its use in English:
subject + form of être + past participle.
Since the past participle is conjugated with être, it agrees in gender and number with the subject.
Nos ouvriers sont
très respectés.
(Our workers are well respected.)
An active construction with the pronoun on followed by the third person singular of the verb is often used in French as a substitute for a passive construction:
Ici on parle anglais. (English is spoken
here.)
On vendra la maison. (The house will be sold.)
For the complete table of passive conjugation see
Passive Conjugation.
See Also: