1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
12111
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40
41111
15
Passive
constructions
178
The use of ser and estar with the past participle1 For further clarification, compare the following examples of
passive actions and states:
Passive action StateFui detenido. Estaba detenido.
I was detained (i.e. placed I was detained (i.e. under arrest).
under arrest).El informe fue preparado El informe está preparado.
por mí.
The report was prepared by The report is prepared (i.e. is
me. ready).
2 In common with other past participles, sidoand estadoare
invariable when dependent on any form of haber. However, past
participles alwaysagree in number and gender when dependent
upon seror estar. This results in patterns such as the following.
Agreements are underlined:
La lección había sido The lesson had been well
explicadabien. explained.Los textos han sido The texts have been
discutidos. discussed.
3 All tenses of serare possible in passive constructions,although
the present and imperfect tenses are rare except for sustained
and repeated actions: Las cuentas son pagadas diariamente ‘The
accounts are paid every day’. This use is, however, growing for
comments and photo captions in newspapers, e.g. La capa (de
petróleo) es avistada desde el avión‘The (oil) slick is sighted
from the plane’.
4 The agent or ‘doer’ of the passive voice (i.e. the person or thing
‘by whom’ or ‘by which’ something is done) is nowadays usually
introduced by por. However, deis found after certain past
participles, particularly when they have an adjectival function:
rodeado de‘surrounded by’, seguido de ‘followed by’,
acompañado de‘accompanied by’, cubierto de ‘covered with’,
forrado de ‘lined with’, adornado de‘adorned with’: Enviar el
artículo acompañado de su CV‘Send the article with your CV’.