Passive Voice in Italian

In Brief

Italian forms the passive mainly with a form of essere plus a past participle (a verb form such as fatto or scritta): La porta è chiusa means “The door is closed.” The participle agrees with the passive subject, and the person or thing performing the action can be introduced by da. Venire can highlight an action, while andare often expresses that something must be done.

Overview

The passive voice presents an event from the viewpoint of the person or thing affected by it. In Gli studenti leggono il libro (“The students read the book”), the sentence is active: the subject, gli studenti, performs the action. In Il libro è letto dagli studenti (“The book is read by the students”), il libro becomes the grammatical subject, while the readers can be omitted or added after da.

This structure is introduced fully around B2 because it combines several familiar skills: conjugating essere, choosing a tense, forming a past participle, and making that participle agree. You will meet it often in news reports, historical accounts, instructions, academic prose, and formal announcements. Everyday Italian also uses it, although speakers frequently prefer an active sentence or a construction with si.

English and Italian passives often correspond closely, but not word for word. Italian visibly marks gender and number on the participle: English “was chosen” may be è stato scelto, è stata scelta, sono stati scelti, or sono state scelte. Italian also has the useful alternatives venire and andare, whose meanings cannot always be copied with English “be” or “get.”

How It Works

From active to passive

Only a verb used transitively—that is, with a direct object (the person or thing directly affected)—can normally form a passive. The direct object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

Step	Active	Passive
Subject/action	Il tecnico ripara…	The original subject may follow da
Affected object	…la macchina.	La macchina… becomes the subject
Verb	ripara	è riparata
Complete sentence	Il tecnico ripara la macchina.	La macchina è riparata dal tecnico.

The basic pattern is:

passive subject + conjugated essere + agreeing past participle + optional da + agent

An agent is whoever or whatever performs the action. It is often left out when it is unknown, obvious, or unimportant: La strada è stata chiusa (“The road was closed”).

Agreement of the past participle

With the passive, the participle behaves like an adjective and agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Subject	Agreement	Example	English
masculine singular	-o	Il modulo è stato firmato.	The form was signed.
feminine singular	-a	La lettera è stata firmata.	The letter was signed.
masculine or mixed plural	-i	I documenti sono stati firmati.	The documents were signed.
feminine plural	-e	Le copie sono state firmate.	The copies were signed.

Irregular participles still agree: il candidato è stato scelto, la candidata è stata scelta; i negozi sono stati aperti, le finestre sono state aperte.

Essere: the neutral, complete passive

Essere + past participle is the standard passive and can be used in all tenses and moods. The tense is carried by essere; the lexical verb remains a past participle.

Time or mood	Italian	English
present	La sala è pulita ogni mattina.	The room is cleaned every morning.
imperfect	La sala era pulita ogni mattina.	The room used to be cleaned every morning.
present perfect	La sala è stata pulita.	The room has been cleaned.
pluperfect	La sala era stata pulita.	The room had been cleaned.
future	La sala sarà pulita domani.	The room will be cleaned tomorrow.
conditional	La sala sarebbe pulita più spesso.	The room would be cleaned more often.
subjunctive	Penso che la sala sia stata pulita.	I think the room has been cleaned.

Compound forms can look repetitive because essere itself takes essere: è stato approvato, era stata scelta, sarebbero stati informati. Here stato/stata/stati/state is the participle of essere, and the final participle carries the meaning of the main verb. In practice, both participles agree with the passive subject: Le proposte sono state approvate.

A present-tense form with essere can sometimes describe either an action or a resulting state. La porta è chiusa may mean “The door is closed” (state) or, with suitable context, “The door is closed [by someone].” If the action itself matters, venire can remove some of this ambiguity.

The agent with da

Introduce the performer with da, equivalent to “by” in an English passive:

• Il romanzo è stato scritto da Natalia Ginzburg.
• La decisione è stata approvata dal consiglio.
• Le visite sono guidate dagli studenti.

Before an article, da combines with it: dal, dallo, dalla, dai, dagli, dalle. Do not use di merely because English has “of,” and do not add an agent when it contributes no useful information.

Venire: focusing on the action

In simple tenses, venire + past participle can replace passive essere and often highlights the event or procedure rather than the resulting state:

• Le richieste vengono controllate ogni giorno. — The applications are checked every day.
• Il ponte venne costruito nel 1965. — The bridge was built in 1965.
• I dati verranno pubblicati domani. — The data will be published tomorrow.

Venire is especially common for repeated procedures, rules, and descriptions of how something happens. It does not normally form this passive in compound tenses: use è stato controllato, not è venuto controllato. English “get” is only an occasional translation; do not assume that every English “get-passive” should use venire.

Andare: necessity or recommendation

Andare + past participle commonly means that something must, should, or needs to be done. The person responsible is normally not expressed as an agent.

• Il modulo va firmato. — The form must be signed.
• Queste regole vanno rispettate. — These rules must be followed.
• Il problema andrebbe discusso con calma. — The issue should be discussed calmly.

The conditional andrebbe/andrebbero softens the force from obligation to advice or recommendation. Context determines whether English prefers “must,” “should,” or “needs to.”

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
La pizza è stata inventata a Napoli.	Pizza was invented in Naples.	Essere, compound past; feminine agreement
Il libro viene letto da molti studenti.	The book is read by many students.	Venire emphasizes the recurring action
Questo lavoro va fatto subito.	This work must be done immediately.	Andare expresses necessity
Sarà premiato dal presidente.	He will be awarded by the president.	Future passive; the masculine subject is understood
Le chiavi sono state trovate sotto il divano.	The keys were found under the sofa.	Feminine plural agreement in a compound passive
Tutti gli ospiti erano stati avvisati in anticipo.	All the guests had been notified in advance.	Pluperfect passive
La riunione è stata rinviata a lunedì.	The meeting was postponed until Monday.	The agent is irrelevant and omitted
Ogni domanda viene esaminata con attenzione.	Every application is examined carefully.	Procedure described with venire
I risultati verranno comunicati via email.	The results will be communicated by email.	Future of venire
Le medicine vanno conservate in un luogo fresco.	Medicines must be stored in a cool place.	Instruction with andare
La proposta andrebbe valutata senza fretta.	The proposal should be evaluated without rushing.	Conditional makes the advice less forceful
Non credo che il contratto sia stato firmato.	I do not think the contract has been signed.	Subjunctive compound passive
Il museo fu inaugurato nel 1998.	The museum was inaugurated in 1998.	Passato remoto, common in historical writing
La strada era bloccata dalla neve.	The road was blocked by snow.	Da can introduce a cause or nonhuman agent

Common Mistakes

Leaving the participle in the masculine singular

• Wrong: Le finestre sono stato chiuso.
• Right: Le finestre sono state chiuse.
• Why: In a passive construction, the participles agree with the subject. Finestre is feminine plural, so both state and chiuse are feminine plural.

Copying the active tense instead of conjugating essere

• Wrong: Hanno stato cancellato il volo.
• Right: Il volo è stato cancellato.
• Why: The passive subject is il volo. Use the required tense of essere plus the participle: active hanno cancellato becomes passive è stato cancellato.

Making an intransitive verb passive

• Wrong: Roma è arrivata da Marco. (intended: “Rome was arrived at by Marco.”)
• Right: Marco è arrivato a Roma.
• Why: Arrivare has no direct object, so it cannot normally be made passive. Not every English sentence with “be” is a passive either.

Using di for the agent

• Wrong: Il quadro è stato dipinto di Caravaggio.
• Right: Il quadro è stato dipinto da Caravaggio.
• Why: The agent of a passive is introduced by da. With an article, use a combined form such as dal or dagli.

Using venire in a compound passive

• Wrong: La richiesta è venuta approvata ieri.
• Right: La richiesta è stata approvata ieri.
• Why: Passive venire is normally limited to simple tenses. Use essere for compound forms.

Treating andare as a neutral substitute for essere

• Wrong: Il pacco va consegnato ieri.
• Right: Il pacco è stato consegnato ieri.
• Why: Va consegnato normally means “must be delivered,” not “was delivered.” Use essere to report a completed fact.

Usage Notes

The passive is useful when the affected person or thing is the topic, or when the performer is unknown: Sono stati rubati due computer (“Two computers were stolen”). It is also natural when a process matters more than its operator: I campioni vengono analizzati in laboratorio (“The samples are analyzed in the laboratory”).

Formal Italian uses passives readily in administration, journalism, research, and regulations. Too many passives, however, can sound heavy or evasive, just as they can in English. If the agent matters, an active sentence is often shorter and clearer: Il consiglio ha approvato la proposta rather than La proposta è stata approvata dal consiglio.

Word order is flexible. The passive subject often follows the verb when introducing new information: Sono stati arrestati tre uomini. Agreement still follows tre uomini, even though it appears later. This order is especially common in news reports and announcements.

Be careful with essere + participle when it describes a state rather than an event. Il negozio è chiuso usually tells you its current condition; Il negozio viene chiuso alle otto describes the act or routine of closing it. The surrounding words—such as ogni sera, già, or an agent—often make the intended reading clear.

Beyond the Basics

The passive with si

Italian often avoids a full passive by using si passivante, a construction with si in which the verb agrees with the affected noun:

• Qui si vende il pane. — Bread is sold here.
• Qui si vendono prodotti locali. — Local products are sold here.

This is especially natural in signs, advertisements, general rules, and situations where the agent is generic. Compare Le domande vengono accettate fino a venerdì with Si accettano domande fino a venerdì: both are possible, but the si version is compact and impersonal. Do not confuse this with an impersonal singular: when a plural noun functions as the passive subject, the verb is plural (si vendono libri).

Accidental loss with andare

Besides obligation, andare + past participle can indicate that something was lost, destroyed, or wasted, often beyond recovery:

• Molti documenti andarono perduti durante l’incendio. — Many documents were lost during the fire.
• Tutto il lavoro è andato distrutto. — All the work was destroyed.

This is a separate meaning from obligation and occurs with a limited group of participles, notably perduto/perso, distrutto, and sprecato. Context and tense usually make the distinction clear: I documenti vanno conservati expresses necessity; i documenti andarono perduti reports what happened.

Modal verbs and the passive

A modal verb such as dovere or potere can govern a passive infinitive:

• La domanda deve essere firmata. — The application must be signed.
• Il biglietto può essere rimborsato. — The ticket can be refunded.

This pattern is often clearer when you need to express possibility or explicit obligation. Deve essere fatto and va fatto may both mean “must be done,” but the latter is more compact and can sound like an instruction or established requirement.

Agent, cause, and instrument

Da typically introduces an agent or an effective cause: scritto da Elena, danneggiato dalla grandine. An instrument is more often introduced by con: La porta è stata aperta con una chiave. The dividing line is semantic: ask whether the phrase names what brought about the event as an acting cause, or merely the tool used.

Practice Tips

1. Transform complete sentences in both directions. Start with I dipendenti preparano i documenti, then produce I documenti sono preparati dai dipendenti. Check the new subject, the tense of essere, agreement, and da separately.
2. Build a four-form agreement drill. Take one participle—approvato, for example—and use it with il piano, la legge, i piani, le leggi. Say the full forms aloud: è stato approvato, è stata approvata, sono stati approvati, sono state approvate.
3. Sort authentic examples by purpose. While reading news or instructions, mark each passive as neutral essere, action-focused venire, obligation andare, or passive si. This trains meaning and register, not just form.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Essere (to be) — its forms provide the tense and mood of the standard passive.
• Next step: Formal Register — explores the styles in which passive and impersonal constructions are especially frequent.