La regla principal
Passive = be + past participle. El sujeto es lo que recibe la acción: The letter was sent. Presente: am / is / are + participio; pasado: was / were + participio. Quién hizo la acción se añade con by, solo si importa: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.
Formas
| Tiempo y forma | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| presente, afirmativa | The room is cleaned every day. | The rooms are cleaned every day. |
| presente, negativa | The room isn't cleaned on Sundays. | The rooms aren't cleaned on Sundays. |
| presente, pregunta | Is the room cleaned every day? | Are the rooms cleaned every day? |
| pasado, afirmativa | The bridge was built in 1890. | The bridges were built in 1890. |
| pasado, negativa | The bridge wasn't built in 1890. | The bridges weren't built in 1890. |
| pasado, pregunta | Was the bridge built in 1890? | Were the bridges built in 1890? |
Con I en presente se usa am: I am paid every month, I am not paid in cash. Con un sustantivo singular o incontable (money, bread, information) va is / was; con un plural, are / were: Bread is sold here, The tickets are sold here.
En español la pasiva refleja con «se» es muy habitual: «Se vende pan», «Se habla inglés», «Se vendieron las entradas». El inglés no tiene ese «se», y la frase siempre necesita sujeto y el verbo be: no *Sells bread here ni *Speaks English here, sino Bread is sold here y English is spoken here. La concordancia con «se» ya la haces bien («se venden» = are sold). «Fue construido por» sí se parece mucho: was built by. Pero by es «por» solo con agente: no digas *written for Cervantes, porque for es «para». Hay otra diferencia: el participio español cambia («construida», «construidos»), mientras que el inglés no: The houses were built, nunca *builts. Y «nací» en inglés es una pasiva: I was born (no *I born ni *I am born).
El participio (past participle)
En los verbos regulares el participio es igual que el pasado: clean - cleaned - cleaned, paint - painted - painted. En los irregulares hay que aprenderlo. No pongas el pasado si es distinto: no *was wrote, sino was written.
| Forma base | Past simple | Participio |
|---|---|---|
| build | built | built |
| make | made | made |
| send | sent | sent |
| sell | sold | sold |
| find | found | found |
| write | wrote | written |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| give | gave | given |
| take | took | taken |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| grow | grew | grown |
| do | did | done |
Ejemplos
- English is spoken in Canada. En Canadá se habla inglés.
- The rooms are cleaned every day. Las habitaciones se limpian todos los días.
- Coffee is grown in Brazil. El café se cultiva en Brasil.
- I am paid every month. Me pagan cada mes.
- The bridge was built in 1890. El puente se construyó en 1890.
- My bike was stolen yesterday. Me robaron la bici ayer.
- The letters were sent last week. Las cartas se enviaron la semana pasada.
- Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. Hamlet fue escrito por Shakespeare.
- The cake was made by my aunt. El pastel lo hizo mi tía.
- I was born in 2001. Nací en 2001.
De activa a pasiva
Son cuatro pasos. El objeto de la frase activa pasa a ser el sujeto. Se pone be en el mismo tiempo que el verbo activo. Después va el participio. El antiguo sujeto, si importa, se coloca al final con by. Ejemplo: They built the school in 1975 → The school was built in 1975. En presente: They grow rice in Asia → Rice is grown in Asia. Las dos frases son correctas: depende de si hablas de la escuela y del arroz, o de quienes los construyeron y cultivan.
Cuándo es natural la pasiva
Se usa cuando lo importante es lo que pasó y no quién lo hizo. El autor es desconocido: My phone was stolen. O es obvio: Bread is sold here. O no importa: The rooms are cleaned every day. Es típica de noticias, historia, producción y normas: The bridge was built in 1890. Coffee is grown in Brazil.
By y el agente
Se pone by cuando el agente es información nueva o importante: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. The cake was made by my aunt. Si el agente es desconocido, obvio o irrelevante, no hay by. No añadas *by someone* ni *by people*: no es incorrecto, pero suena torpe; mejor omite el agente: My phone was stolen.
Negativas, preguntas y respuestas cortas
Negativa: isn't / aren't (con I: am not), wasn't / weren't + participio: The windows weren't cleaned. En la pregunta, be va primero: Was your bike found? Con palabra interrogativa: Where was it made? When were these photos taken? Para preguntar por el agente: Who was it written by? (by va al final). «¿Quién lo escribió?» también es correcto en activa: Who wrote it? Las respuestas cortas repiten be: Yes, it was. / No, they weren't. / Yes, it is. No hace falta do / did.
Be born
«Nacer» en inglés es siempre pasiva: I was born in 2001. Where were you born? Para el presente: Many babies are born in this hospital every year. Son incorrectas *I born*, *I am born in 2001* y *I was borned*.
Consejo
Solo hay pasiva con un verbo que en activa tiene objeto: alguien construye ¿qué? Los verbos sin objeto (happen, arrive, die, come, stay) no tienen pasiva: no *It was happened* ni *He was died*, sino It happened y He died. Las demás formas de la pasiva (otros tiempos y verbos modales) las verás más adelante, en el nivel B2.
Errores típicos
Speaks English here.English is spoken here. el inglés no tiene «se»: hace falta sujeto y be.Don Quixote was written for Cervantes.Don Quixote was written by Cervantes. el agente se introduce con by; for es «para».The house was build in 1990.The house was built in 1990. tras be va el participio, no la forma base.The letter was wrote last week.The letter was written last week. el participio de write no es wrote.The car didn't stolen.The car wasn't stolen. la negativa la forma be, no did.When the bridge was built?When was the bridge built? en la pregunta, be va antes del sujeto.The accident was happened at night.The accident happened at night. happen no tiene pasiva.I born in 1995.I was born in 1995. «nacer» es be born.
Preguntas y respuestas
¿Cómo se forma la voz pasiva en inglés?
Con be en el tiempo correcto y el participio: is / are / am + participio en presente y was / were + participio en pasado. El sujeto es lo que recibe la acción: The letters were sent.
¿Cuándo se usa by en la pasiva?
Cuando el agente es importante o información nueva: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. Si es desconocido, obvio o irrelevante, no se pone: My phone was stolen.
¿Cómo se distingue la pasiva de presente y la de pasado?
Por la forma de be: is / are para el presente, was / were para el pasado. Ayuda la expresión de tiempo: every day indica presente; in 1890 o yesterday, pasado.
¿Cómo se dice «se vende» en inglés?
No existe «se». Se usa la pasiva con sujeto: Bread is sold here, Tickets are sold here. En un cartel de una casa se pone House for sale.
¿Cómo se dice «nací» en inglés?
I was born in 2001. Es una pasiva: *I born* y *I am born* no existen. La pregunta es Where were you born?