In grammar the term ‘passive’ is used to refer to verb forms in which the subject is not the ‘doer’ (agent) of the verb. The more usual verb form is described as ‘active’.
Active: I love you. (I’m the subject of the verb, and the agent, the one ‘doing’ the loving.
Passive: You are loved. (You are the subject, but not the agent. That’s still me!)
There are three constructions in Italian that express passive meanings. Here are examples of each one, all three of which mean ‘The company’s annual report is presented to investors.’ Note how different grammar forms express this:
‘essere’ + past participle
Il bilancio dell’azienda è presentato ogni anno ai finanziatori.
‘si’ + 3rd person of singular or plural
Si presenta il bilancio dell’azienda ogni anno ai finanziatori.
‘andare’ + past participle
Va presentato il bilancio dell’azienda ogni anno ai finanziatori.
Here are some further sets of examples for you to study:
[Cars must be parked outside of the pedestrian area.]
Le automobili devono essere parcheggiate fuori dalla zona pedonale.
Le automobili si devono parcheggiare fuori dalla zona pedonale.
Le automobili vanno parcheggiate fuori dalla zona pedonale.
[Spaghetti must be eaten with a fork.]
Gli spaghetti devono essere mangiati con la forchetta.
Gli spaghetti si mangiano con la forchetta.
Gli spaghetti vanno mangiati con la forchetta.
In a passive form there’s no need to mention the agent. In all of the above examples, the agent is implicit. You can guess who or what is doing the action, but it’s usually irrelevant to the meaning.
However, when the agent IS specified, it’s introduced (passive form!) with the preposition ‘da’ (‘by’ in English. ‘You are loved – by me.’) For example:
La mela è stata mangiata dal bambino.
[The apple was eaten by the child.]
Il pranzo è stato preparato dalla mamma.
[Lunch was prepared by the mother.]
I premi Nobel per la chimica e per la fisica sono decisi dalla Reale Accademia Svedese delle Scienze.
[The Nobel prizes for chemistry and physics are decided by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.]
Back to Italian lesson on: Passive
