Être + participle, in every tense
Only être changes tense. The participle always agrees with the subject: add -e for feminine and -s for plural, as in adjective agreement. In the compound tenses, été (the participle of être) never changes.
| Tense | La décision … | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | ▶ la décision est prise | The decision is (being) made.lah day-see-ZYON ay PREEZ |
| Passé composé | ▶ la décision a été prise | The decision was made / has been made.lah day-see-ZYON ah ay-TAY PREEZ |
| Imparfait | ▶ la décision était prise | The decision was (already) made.lah day-see-ZYON ay-TEH PREEZ |
| Future | ▶ la décision sera prise | The decision will be made.lah day-see-ZYON suh-RAH PREEZ |
| Conditional | ▶ la décision serait prise | The decision would be made.lah day-see-ZYON suh-REH PREEZ |
The red -e is there because la décision is feminine. With prendre, you can hear it: pris (pree) becomes prise (preez).
Par or de: naming the doer
parfor an action and its doer: the usual choice
deafter verbs of feeling and state
Three ways French says it without the passive
These are what you will hear most often. Each card shows the formal passive, then the alternative.
On + active verbOn means “one, people, someone”. It is the most common substitute for the passive in speech.
Reflexive passive (se + verb)For general facts, habits and how things are done. The verb agrees with the thing.
Se faire + infinitiveFor something that happens to a person, often something unpleasant: “to get …”.
The same news, written and spoken
A news report uses the passive; a friend telling you the same story uses on. Passive verbs are in red. Every word has its English meaning underneath.
Written · the news
uhn noo-VOH mü-ZAY ah ay-TAY ee-noh-gü-RAY YAIR ah LEEL“A new museum was opened in Lille yesterday.”
eel ah ay-TAY kon-SÜ par uhn-nar-shee-TEKT zhah-poh-NEH“It was designed by a Japanese architect.”
lay trah-VOH on ay-TAY fee-nahn-SAY par lah ray-ZHYON“The work was funded by the region.”
UnanouveaunewmuséemuseumahasétébeeninauguréopenedhieryesterdayàinLille.Lille
Ilitahasétébeenconçudesignedparbyunanarchitectearchitectjaponais.Japanese
Lesthetravauxworksonthaveétébeenfinancésfundedparbylatherégion.region
Spoken · a friend
eel-zon oo-VAIR uhn noo-VOH mü-ZAY ah LEEL“They’ve opened a new museum in Lille.”
say-tuhn-nar-shee-TEKT zhah-poh-NEH kee LAH FEH“It was a Japanese architect who did it.”
ay say lah ray-ZHYON kee ah peh-YAY“And the region paid for it.”
IlstheyonthaveouvertopenedunanouveaunewmuséemuseumàinLille.Lille
C’estit-isunanarchitectearchitectjaponaisJapanesequiwhol’ait-hasfait.made
Etandc’estit-islatherégionregionquiwhoahaspayé.paid