Passive Sentences Using Por

Using the verb ser, we can set up a sentence with what is known as a passive construction. It will be required that you know what a past participle is, so research this topic in your Spanish text when you can.

What is a passive sentence, exactly? Great question. Basically, a passive construction is used when we want to place the emphasis of the sentence on something other than the subject. Usually, the focus of attention makes the direct object the subject of the sentence. As there is a passive construction, or "passive voice", there is also an "active voice". When placed by side by side, a sentence in both voices will actually have the exact meaning. Observe both of the following:

Passive Voice: La cena fue cocinada por Adán.
Active Voice: Adán cocinó la cena.

The passive voice sentence says "The dinner was cooked by Adam." The active voice sentence says "Adam cooked the dinner." Although grammatically different, semantically and pragmatically the sentences are equivalent. Notice the ser + por formula used in the passive voice sentence. The preposition por means "by" in Spanish(which is actually only ONE of its meanings).

There is another construction that we can use to create a passive construction using the pronoun se. Look forward to that in Part 2.

Sigue estudiando,

Professor Joel