Understanding the Active and Passive Voice in French

1. Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle

3. Le passif • The passive voice is the same in French and in English. So, if you understand it in English, you will understand in French too! • Active voice means that the subject of the sentence is performing the action. • Passive voice, the subject does nothing! Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle

4. Le passif • Charlotte reads the book:. “Charlotte” is the subject and she is the one doing the reading: the sentence is active. • The book is read by Charlotte: the sentence is doing nothing: the sentence is passive. The book, the subject of • Ask “Who?” to easily know if the sentence is active or not. • Charlotte lit le livre becomes le livre est lu par Charlotte. • Remember: with the verb “to be” in French, the past participle agrees with the subject. Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle

5. Le passif 1. The passive is used to describe things that are done to someone or something. 2. It is formed with ‘être’ + past participle. 3. The past participle agrees with the subject. Active voice: Johnny Depp joue le rôle de Barnabas Collins. Johnny Depp plays the part of Barnabas Collins. Passive voice: Le rôle de Barnabas Collins est joué par Johnny Depp. The part of Barnabas Collins is played by Johnny Depp. Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle

6. Le participe passé -er verbs Remove ‘-er’, then add ‘é’ réaliser  réalisé to direct  directed Le film est réalisé par Tim Burton. The movie is directed by Tim Burton. -ir verbs Remove ‘-r’ choisir To choose  choisi  chosen L’acteur est choisi par le réalisateur. The actor is chosen by the director. -re verbs Remove ‘-re’, then add ‘u’ attendre  attendu to (a)wait  (a)waited Le film est attendu avec impatience. The movie is eagerly awaited. Some verbs are irregular!!! Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle

7. Les accords (agreements) Singular Plural - -e Masculine Feminine -s -es • Les comédies françaises sont sous-titrées dans les cinémas anglais. • Les films sont maintenant téléchargés sur Internet. • Angelina Jolie est accompagnée de Brad Pitt sur le tapis rouge. • Le réalisateur est aidé par des assistants. Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle

8. • Le film (projeter) dans beaucoup de villes. • Le film est projeté dans beaucoup de villes. • Le pop-corn (vendre) à l’entrée du cinéma. • Le pop-corn est vendu à l’entrée du cinéma. • Bella Swan (mordre) par un vampire. • Bella Swan est mordue par un vampire. • Les Avengers (aimer) de tous. • Les Avengers sont aimés de tous. • La critique (écrire) par le journaliste. • La critique est écrite par le journaliste.

9. Le participe passé In French, we can sometimes avoid the passive using: 1. “C’est … qui” 2. The pronoun “on” 3. Reflexive verbs Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle

10. C’est … qui This movie is directed by Spielberg: Ce film est réalisé par Spielberg.  C’est Spielberg qui réalise ce film.  The pronoun “on” Pop-corn is eaten at the cinema: Le pop-corn est mangé au cinéma.   On mange du pop-corn au cinéma. Reflexive verbs Pop-corn is sold with a fizzy drink: Le popcorn est vendu avec une boisson gazeuse.  Le pop-corn se vend avec une boisson gazeuse.  Grade A*-A To be able to avoid the passive voice in French Grade C To know all the forms of ‘être’ and how to make a past participle