Let's talk about the passive voice in Spanish!
Let's start by understanding the concept of voz (voice) in a sentence- in English or Spanish. This refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verb. A sentence's voice can be active or passive. But what's the difference?
In the active voice, the subject performs a verb's action onto an object and is thus considered the sentence's actor or agent (the person or thing that carries out the action). Let's see some examples:
Pedro come galletas.
"Pedro come galletas" [Pedro eats cookies].
Caption 21, Carlos explica La concordancia gramatical - Part 2
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In this caption, Pedro is the subject/agent who executes the action of "eating" the object (the cookies).
eh... pintábamos muchísimos fondos oscuros
um... we painted a ton of dark backgrounds
Caption 99, María Marí Su pasión por su arte - Part 1
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In this example, "we" is the subject/agent who carried out the action of "painting" the object, "a ton of dark backgrounds."
Gabriel García Márquez escribió muchos libros.
Gabriel García Márquez wrote a lot of books.
Caption 50, Carlos explica El pretérito Cap. 1: Perfecto simple o Indefinido
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And finally, here, Gabriel García Márquez is the subject, and agent, who performed the action of "writing" the object (a lot of books).
The Passive Voice
In the passive voice, on the other hand, what was previously the object in the active voice actually becomes the subject, but, this time, receives the action of the verb. At the same time, the previous subject becomes a "passive agent" who may or may not be mentioned at the end of the sentence. That said, before finding out how to convey sentences in the passive voice in Spanish, let's convert our previous English examples of the active voice to the passive voice:
Active: Pedro eats cookies
Passive: Cookies are eaten by Pedro
um... we painted a ton of dark backgrounds
um... a ton of dark backgrounds were painted by us
Active: Gabriel García Márquez wrote a lot of books.
Passive: A lot of books were written by Gabriel García Márquez.
Now that we have a better concept of the passive voice, how do we express it in Spanish? Let's learn two different formulas for doing so.
In this first formula, the verb ser (to be) is conjugated in accordance with the subject of the sentence and followed by a past participle (you may wish to consult this lesson that covers conjugating the past participle). In this construction, the participle (the equivalent of English words like "spoken," "eaten," "gone," etc.) must agree with the subject in terms of number and gender. Subsequently, por plus an agent may be optionally added to explain who or what completed the action. Let's take a look at some examples of this formula in Spanish:
y es escrito por mí personalmente.
and is personally written by me.
Caption 46, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 7
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En el Siglo dieciocho, las costas de San José en Almería eran asaltadas frecuentemente por piratas
In the eighteenth century, the coasts of San José in Almería were assaulted frequently by pirates
Captions 32-33, Club de las ideas Batería de breves - Part 1
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Las tarjetas fueron usadas
The cards were used
Caption 32, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 12
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Note that in accordance with las tarjetas, the third person plural of ser, fueron, is used along with the feminine plural participle usadas. However, in contrast to the other two examples where por is used to identify the person or people who carried out the action, here, the agent is unknown and thus unmentioned. Let's move on to our second formula.
This construction is formed with se and a verb in third person singular or plural, depending upon whether what is being spoken about (the subject) is singular or plural. Let's see a few examples:
Este vino se hace con una de las uvas más populares
This wine is made with one of the most popular grapes
Caption 21, Amaya Cata de vinos
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las corridas se celebraban en la Plaza Mayor.
bullfights were held in the Plaza Mayor.
Caption 5, El Trip Madrid
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"Garr", no entiendo para qué se hicieron esos uniformes.
Garr, I don't understand why those uniforms were made.
Caption 53, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 2
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In the first caption, the verb hacer is conjugated in the third person singular to agree with el vino, while celebrar and hacer in the second and third examples are plural in agreement with las corridas and los uniformes. Notice that there is no mention of the entity who performed the action in any of these sentences since this second formula rarely mentions the action's agent.
The passive voice is more commonly encountered in the media or literature or when the agent that carried out the action is unknown or considered less relevant. It can only be used with transitive verbs, or verbs that are capable of transmitting some action onto a direct object. In terms of tenses, you may have noticed that our examples have included the present, imperfect, and preterite. While the passive voice formulas contain particular grammatical specifications, there is no mention of any of the specific Spanish verb tenses because active Spanish sentences in any verb tense can be converted to the passive voice. With this in mind, let's conclude this lesson with a present perfect tense example of the verb descubrir (to discover) in the active as well as both formats of the passive voice:
Active:
Científicos han descubierto que cuando un abrazo dura más de veinte segundos se produce un efecto terapéutico
Scientists have discovered that when a hug lasts more than twenty seconds, a therapeutic effect is produced
Captions 5-7, Aprendiendo con Silvia El abrazo
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Passive 1:
Ya que ellos, pues, han sido descubiertos en Inglaterra
Since they, well, have been discovered in England
Caption 40, Hugo Rodríguez Duendes artesanales
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Passive 2:
porque se han descubierto muchas virtudes
because many virtues have been discovered
Caption 9, Cómetelo Crema de brócoli - Part 1
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That's all for today. For more information on the passive voice in Spanish, check out this four-part video series on La voz pasiva as well as this lesson on the passive vs. impersonal se constructions. And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
Do you know how to say years in Spanish? In English, we know that 1985 is written nineteen eighty-five. What about in Spanish? Let's take a look at some of the rules you need to know for writing years in Spanish correctly. In addition, make sure you listen carefully to the clips in this lesson so you know how to pronounce years in Spanish as well.
If you want to know how to say years in Spanish, you will need to know how to say the cardinal numbers in Spanish from 1 to 1,000. There's just no way around this.
Do you want to refresh the numbers from 1 to 100? If you do, please check out the following lesson:
Now, let's recall the hundreds. For the numbers from 1 to 199, you will need to use the word "ciento." Let's check out some examples:
Madrid AB ciento treinta y cinco con destino Nueva York, John F. Kennedy.
Madrid AB one hundred thirty-five to New York, John F. Kennedy."
Captions 32-33, Raquel Avisos de Megafonía
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Cuenta con una vista privilegiada de toda la ciudad de alrededor de ciento ochenta grados.
It has an extraordinary one-hundred-eighty-degree view of the whole city.
Caption 65, Quito El Panecillo
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For the numbers from 200 to 999, you will need to use the multiples of 100. Let's review them:
doscientos (two hundred)
trescientos (three hundred)
cuatrocientos (four hundred)
quinientos (five hundred)
seiscientos (six hundred)
setecientos (seven hundred)
ochocientos (eight hundred)
novecientos (nine hundred)
And, of course, let's not forget about mil (one thousand)!
Now that we have reviewed these numbers, let's see how to write and pronounce some historical years in Spanish.
Cristóbal Colón descubrió América en mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos.
Christopher Columbus discovered America in fourteen ninety-two.
Caption 34, Carlos explica El pretérito Cap. 1: Perfecto simple o Indefinido
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Mil seiscientos noventa y siete, invasión francesa a Cartagena,
Sixteen ninety-seven, French invasion of Cartagena,
Caption 12, Cartagena de Indias Fuerte de San Felipe de Barajas
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El ingenio más antiguo de Europa, que data del año mil setecientos veintiocho,
The oldest factory in Europe, which dates back to the year seventeen hundred twenty-eight,
Captions 36-37, Viajando con Fermín Frigiliana, Málaga
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The twentieth century was one of the most defining centuries in the history of humankind. For this reason, we often refer to years that belong to that century. If you want to write and pronounce those years in Spanish, you will need to use the following formula:
mil + novecientos + the number
Let's take a look at some of them.
y fue construida en el año mil novecientos.
and was built in nineteen hundred.
Caption 77, Viajando con Fermín Mijas Pueblo
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Fue realizado en mil novecientos veintidós
It was made in nineteen twenty-two
Caption 37, Marisa en Madrid Parque de El Retiro
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En mil novecientos ochenta y cinco, sucedieron muchas cosas buenas.
In nineteen eighty-five, many good things happened.
Caption 2, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 1 - Part 2
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If you want to know how to write years in Spanish after the year 2000, you need to use the following simple formula:
dos + mil + the number
Let's look at some nore examples to see just how easy it is to say these years in Spanish.
y murió hace algunos años en el dos mil dos.
and died some years ago in two thousand two.
Caption 9, San Sebastián Peine del viento
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En dos mil trece, recibió más de cuatro millones de visitantes,
In two thousand thirteen, it received more than four million visitors,
Captions 6-7, Marisa en Madrid Parque de El Retiro
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Y este dos mil veinte, que es un año bisiesto,
And this two thousand twenty, which is a leap year,
Caption 7, El coronavirus Introducción y vocabulario
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As you can see, it is not too difficult to say years in Spanish, right? We hope you enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
Let's talk about the Spanish conjugation of regular verbs. In particular, let's see how to form the preterite conjugation of regular verbs ending in -ar, -er, and -ir. But first, let's review the main idea behind the preterite tense in Spanish.
In very simple terms, when we talk about the Spanish preterite tense, we are talking about the simple past, in other words, a completed action that took place at a determined point in the past. Let's look at an example from the series where our friend Carlos talks about this tense:
Ayer trabajé hasta las ocho de la noche.
Yesterday I worked until eight at night.
Caption 30, Carlos explica - El pretérito Cap. 1: Perfecto simple o Indefinido
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In this example, trabajé is the preterite conjugation of the regular verb trabajar for the first-person singular yo (I). Note that the only change necessary to form the preterite in this example is removing the -ar ending of the infinitive verb and replacing it with the ending -é.
There are a couple of things we want to mention about the conjugations you will find throughout this tutorial.
1. While usted (the formal, second-person singular "you") does not appear in our conjugation lists, keep in mind that when using that pronoun, the verb is conjugated in the exact same way as verbs in the third-person singular forms with él (he) and ella (she). Let's take a look at this in action with the preterite conjugation of the verb hablar (to speak/talk):
Usted habló de Fabio Sirenio.
You talked about Fabio Sirenio.
Caption 83, Yago - 7 Encuentros - Part 14
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Entonces él habló con...
So, he spoke with...
con los pescadores y los pescadores aceptaron.
with the fishermen and the fishermen accepted.
Caption 17, Instinto de conservación - Parque Tayrona
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2. In order to offer a more simplistic verb conjugation snapshot, in this article, we only employ the masculine versions of the plural forms nosotros (we), vosotros (you), and ellos (they). That said, keep in mind that the conjugations are the same for the feminine forms nosotras, vosotras, and ellas.
3. Just like usted, ustedes (the standard second person plural "you" in Latin America and the formal second person plural in Spain) does not appear among the conjugations shared here. However, keep in mind that the conjugations of verbs with "ustedes" are the exact same as the third-person plural forms utilized with ellos and ellas (they). Let's look at an example of this with the preterite conjugation of the verb cantar (to sing):
Ustedes cantaron muy bien (You guys sang very well).
Ellos/Ellas cantaron muy bien (They sang very well).
Having said all this, let's explore the preterite conjugations of some regular verbs in Spanish.
Let's take a look at the preterite conjugation of the verb hablar (to speak).
Yo hablé (I spoke).
Tú hablaste (You spoke).
Él/Ella habló (He/She spoke).
Nosotros hablamos (We spoke).*
Vosotros hablasteis (You spoke).
Ellos hablaron (They spoke).
* It's important to note that because the verb conjugation for the first person plural "nosotros" (we) is the same for both the simple present and simple past tenses, the speaker's intention must be determined by context as follows:
Nosotros estudiamos mucho todos los días (We study a lot every day).
Ayer nosotros estudiamos mucho (Yesterday, we studied a lot).
Example 1.: The verb comprar (to buy)
¡Y compraste melones en vez de limones!*
And you bought melons instead of lemons!
Caption 16, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 2: Sam va de compras
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* Remember that pronouns are frequently omitted in Spanish. Thus, in the example above and without changing the meaning, one could say: "¡Y tú compraste melones en vez de limones!" However, despite the fact that the speaker does not use the pronoun here, the -aste verb ending lets the listener know that the person referred to is "tú" (you).
Example 2.: The verb escuchar (to listen/hear)
La canción que escuchamos
The song that we heard
introduce la quinta parte del primer episodio.
introduces the fifth part of the first episode.
Caption 54, Carlos comenta - Los Años Maravillosos - La década de los 80 y música
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Let's take a look at the preterite conjugation of the regular verb comer (to eat).
Yo comí (I ate).
Tú comiste (You ate).
Él/Ella comió (He/She ate).
Nosotros comimos (We ate).
Vosotros comisteis (You ate).
Ellos comieron (They ate).
Example 1.: The verb aprender (to learn)
...y aprendí que los pulpos pueden cambiar de color.
...and I learned that octopi can change color.
Caption 45, Guillermina y Candelario - La Señora Pulpo
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Example 2.: The verb vender (to sell)
Creo que vendimos unos quinientos dólares en unas...
I think we sold about five hundred dollars (worth) in about...
tres horas, dos horas.
three hours, two hours.
Captions 25-26, Un café con Julia - Año nuevo
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Let's take a look at the preterite conjugation of the verb vivir (to live).
Yo viví (I lived).
Tú viviste (You lived).
Él/Ella vivió (He/She lived).
Nosotros vivimos (We lived).
Vosotros vivisteis (You lived).
Ellos vivieron (They lived).
Example 1.: The verb escribir (to write)
¿Por qué dices eso?
Why do you say that?
Porque una vez me escribiste
Because once you wrote to me
contándome que te casabas en Nueva York.
telling me that you were getting married in New York.
Captions 61-62, Yago - 6 Mentiras - Part 5
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Example 2.: The verb abrir (to open)
Primero, Lisa Bernal abrió la herida.
First, Lisa Bernal opened the wound.
Caption 61, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 6 - Part 4
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And with this example, we have reached the end of this lesson. But before we go, a little homework for you: go ahead and choose some other regular verbs and practice the Spanish conjugation of the preterite tense. Sooner or later, you will be able to master those preterite endings! We hope you enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to leave us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
How many regular '-ir' verbs do you know in Spanish? Now that we have already talked about verbs ending in ‘-ar’ and verbs ending in '-er', it's time to take a look at the last main group of regular verbs. Again, keep in mind that we form regular verbs when we put together a verb stem and an infinitive ending. For example, the verb describir (to describe) is made with the verb stem 'describ' plus the infinitive ending '-ir'. With that being said, let's take a look at the following regular verbs ending in '-ir':
We know we have a regular verb when the verb stem doesn't change once it is conjugated. Do you want to see how that works in the simple present? Let’s use the verb abrir (to open) for this:
Abres el rombo, y el pico superior lo doblas hacia abajo.
You open the diamond, and the top point you fold downwards.
Captions 46-47, Manos a la obra - Separadores de libros: Charmander
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Now, let’s see how to conjugate a regular '-ir' verb in the simple past. Let's take the verb escribir (to write):
Gabriel García Márquez escribió muchos libros.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote a lot of books.
Caption 50, Carlos explica - El pretérito Cap. 1: Perfecto simple o Indefinido
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It is worth noting that for the first person plural (nosotros), the conjugation of the verb is exactly the same in both the simple present and the simple past:
...pero cuando escribimos estas dos palabras.
...but when we write these two words.
Caption 45, Lecciones con Carolina - Haber vs. A Ver / Si vs. Sí
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Now, let’s take one of the most common verbs in Spanish in order to see the conjugation of a regular ‘ir’ verb in the simple future:
...y que viviremos en un hogar agradable.
...and that we will live in a nice home.
Caption 55, Negocios - La solicitud de empleo
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Unlike the simple present and past, the conjugation in the simple future leaves the verb as it is (vivir) only adding a different ending.
Let’s learn some more regular -ir verbs with the following sentences:
1. Aplaudir (to clap)
...o por ejemplo, en el flamenco se aplaude así.
...or for example, in flamenco one claps like this.
Caption 46, Marta de Madrid - El cuerpo - El tronco
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2. Decidir (to decide)
De un momento a otro, decidió quedarse en Bogotá.
From one minute to another, she decided to stay in Bogota.
Caption 22, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capitulo 4
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3. Discutir (to discuss/argue)
Chica, sabes que yo no discuto con novatas después del mediodía.
Girl, you know that I don't argue with rookies after noon.
Caption 57, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso
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4. Subir (to climb/go up/increase)
Subimos la temperatura del depósito a ochenta grados.
We increase the temperature of the tank to eighty degrees.
Caption 25, Club de las ideas - Biodiesel
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5. Sufrir (to suffer)
Sufres, gritas, nadie te da nada
You suffer, you scream, nobody gives you anything
Caption 21, Club de las ideas - La motivación
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That’s it for this lesson. Now that we have covered all the three groups of regular verbs, go ahead and try to write some sentences with verbs ending in -ar, -er and -ir. And don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
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