Passive Voice of the Present SystemChapter 18

What is the passive voice?

So far, all the verbs that we have been working with have been used in the active voice. In the active voice, the subject performs the action.

In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action of the verb.

Therefore, only transitive verbs (i.e. ones that take a direct object) can be used in the passive voice.

The boy reads the book.

The book is read by the boy.

What is the passive voice?

In English, we form the passive voice by combining an inflected form of the verb “to be” with a passive participle.

I am loved.

I will be seen.

He was being praised.

Which voice?

• I hid the book under my bed.

• The exam was graded by the teacher.

• The portrait was painted by an unknown artist.

• The motor propelled the boat across the lake.

The personal endings for verbs which we learned in chapter 1 were for the active voice.

For the present system of the passive voice, we have a new set.

Sg Pl

1st -r -mur

2nd -ris -minī

3rd -tur -ntur

But we still conjugate the verbs in the same way, by adding the personal endings to the verb stem.

laudantur monentur

laudāminī monēmini

laudāmur monēmur

laudātur monētur

laudāris monēris laudāre monēre laudā monē laudor moneor laudor moneor

Present Tense of 1st and 2nd Conjugations

laudā monē

laudā monē

laudā monē

laudā monē

laudā monē

Imperfect Tense

present stem + imperfect infix + passive endings

laudābar monēbar

laudābāris monēbāris

laudābātur monēbātur

laudābāmur monēbāmur

laudābāminī monēbāminī

laudābantur monēbantur

Future of 1st and 2nd Conjugations

amābor monēbor

amāberis monēberis

amābitur monēbitur

amābimur monēbimur

amābiminī monēbiminī

amābuntur monēbuntur

present stem + bo/bi/bu + passive endings

NB alternate 2nd Sg: amābere and monēbere

Infinitives

The infinitive we learned in chapter 1 is the present active infinitive.

ex: amare – to love

Now we’ll learn how to form the present passive infinitive.

Infinitives

For conjugations 1 and 2, just change the final –e of the active infinitive into –ī.

amāre → amārī

monēre → monērī

amāre → amārī

monēre → monērī

amāre → amārī

monēre → monērī

The person by whom the action of a passive verb is performed is indicated by using ā or ab with the ablative case.

We ingeniously call this the ablative of agent.

If the performer of the verb not a person, the means by which it is done is indicated using the ablative of means (Ch 14).

Agent

Puer ā patre necātur.

Puer tempestāte necātur.