¡Hola! ¿Cómo estáis?

Hoy vamos a practicar las oraciones pasivas. Today we are going to practice making passive sentences in Spanish.

Answers to all tasks involved in this lesson will be given at the end of the post and you can also follow a link with this post to watch the original theory video lesson on the same topic.

To go back and watch the original video lesson please follow this link:

Intermediate theory video lesson 30

1. Let´s practice first some Spanish passive sentences with the verb Ser. Can you understand the following sentences?

Este libro fue escrito por un escritor español.
Esta película ha sido vista por mucha gente.
El incendio fue apagado por los bomberos.
Las noticias son publicadas por la prensa.
El tenor fue aplaudido por el público.

2. Next, I will say a few sentences in the Spanish passive voice. I will repeat each twice: once using the verb Ser and then using the verb Estar. You should repeat the correct one. For example, if I say “La cena es preparada” and “La cena está preparada”. The correct one is the second choice, as the sentence refers to the final result and not to the process and it doesn’t matter who prepared the dinner. We would say “La cena es preparada por Juan todos los días” if we were specifically talking about the process of the dinner being prepared and who has done it:

La cena es hecha / La cena está hecha.
El museo es visitado por mucha gente / El museo está visitado por mucha gente.
El libro es escrito en español/ El libro está escrito en español.
El plato es roto / El plato está roto.
El perro es alimentado por Ana / El perro está alimentado por Ana.

3. Now, can you translate the following sentences from English to Spanish using a passive voice with the verbs Ser or Estar?

Antonio was arrested.
This shop is closed.
The car was bought by him.
Many illnesses are treated here.
We are not ready.

4. Finally, please make a Spanish passive sentence with Se that you could see on a sign or advert in the following situations:

Renting a house.
Looking for teachers.
Selling a car.
Making dresses.

Bueno, pues esto es todo por hoy.

Passive sentences in Spanish take a bit of time to get used to, so make sure you understand what they are and how to make them. I recommend you read newspapers in Spanish and try to find these types of sentences, as news reports and adverts tend to use them quite a lot.

Nos vemos pronto. ¡Adiós!

I hope you are enjoying my weekly interactive Spanish lessons. Follow this link for many more great resources to help you learn and practice Spanish.

Answers:

1.
This book was written by a Spanish writer.
This movie has been watched by many people.
The fire was put out by the fire brigade.
The news is published by the press.
The tenor was applauded by the public.

2.
La cena está hecha.
El museo es visitado por mucha gente.
El libro está escrito en español.
El plato está roto.
El perro es alimentado por Ana.

3.
Antonio fue arrestado.
Esta tienda está cerrada.
El coche fue comprador por él.
Muchas enfermedades son tratadas aquí.
No estamos preparados.

4.
Se alquila casa.
Se buscan profesores.
Se vende coche.
Se hacen vestidos.