Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to form the true passive voice with “essere” and use the far more common “si” impersonal/passive construction.
Lesson Explanation
The true passive voice, formed with essere + past participle + da (by), exists in Italian but is genuinely used less often than in English, and requires the participle to agree with the subject, following the agreement rules from Part 3, Lesson 4: Il libro è stato scritto da Dante. (The book was written by Dante.)
Far more common in everyday Italian is the si construction, structurally identical to Spanish’s se passive (covered in an earlier-built Gabal course): it sidesteps naming who performed the action: Si parla italiano qui. (Italian is spoken here.) Si vendono case. (Houses are sold.) The verb agrees in number with the noun that follows (si parla singular, si vendono plural).
A genuinely important, related use is the impersonal si, equivalent to English “one” or generic “you/they”: Come si dice “hello” in italiano? (How do you say “hello” in Italian?) A genuinely distinctive detail with no Spanish equivalent: when the impersonal si combines with a reflexive verb, it becomes ci si to avoid repeating “si” twice: Ci si alza presto qui. (One gets up early here.)
Practice Questions
1. How is the true Italian passive voice formed?
View Answer
Essere + past participle + da.
2. Write “The book was written by Dante.”
View Answer
Il libro è stato scritto da Dante.
3. Which earlier lesson’s agreement rules apply to the participle in the true passive?
View Answer
Part 3, Lesson 4.
4. What construction is far more common in everyday Italian than the true passive?
View Answer
The “si” construction.
5. Which earlier-covered language has a structurally identical construction?
View Answer
Spanish’s se passive.
6. Write “Italian is spoken here,” using the “si” construction.
View Answer
Si parla italiano qui.
7. In “si vendono case,” does the verb agree with “si” or “case”?
View Answer
With “case” (the following noun), which is plural.
8. What does the impersonal “si” correspond to in English?
View Answer
“One” or generic “you/they.”
9. Write “How do you say ‘hello’ in Italian?” using the impersonal “si.”
View Answer
Come si dice “hello” in italiano?
10. What genuinely distinctive change happens when the impersonal “si” combines with a reflexive verb?
View Answer
It becomes “ci si,” to avoid repeating “si” twice.
11. Write “One gets up early here,” using “ci si.”
View Answer
Ci si alza presto qui.
12. Does the “si” passive construction name who performed the action?
View Answer
No.