Passive Voice in Portuguese

In Brief

Portuguese can form the passive with a tense of ser plus a past participle: A casa foi vendida (“The house was sold”). The participle agrees with the passive subject in gender and number, and an agent can be added with por. Portuguese also commonly uses se, especially when the agent is unimportant: Vendem-se casas (“Houses are sold/Houses for sale”).

Overview

The passive voice presents an event from the perspective of the person or thing affected by it, rather than the person or thing performing it. Compare active Camões escreveu o livro (“Camões wrote the book”) with passive O livro foi escrito por Camões (“The book was written by Camões”). The event is the same, but o livro has become the grammatical subject (the word or phrase that the sentence is built around).

At B1, the essential pattern is ser + past participle. A past participle is a verb form such as escrito, vendido, or aberta, used here to describe the completed action. Unlike the English participle in “was written,” the Portuguese participle changes to match the subject: o documento foi assinado, but as cartas foram assinadas.

The passive is useful when the agent is unknown, obvious, unimportant, or deliberately omitted. It is frequent in news, reports, notices, instructions, and formal writing. Everyday Portuguese, however, often prefers an active sentence or a construction with se instead of a long passive with ser.

How It Works

From an active sentence to a passive sentence

A straightforward active sentence has an agent, a verb, and a direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the action):

A empresa publicou o relatório.

agent + verb + direct object

To make it passive:

1. Move the direct object into the subject position: o relatório.
2. Put ser in the same tense as the original verb: publicou → foi.
3. Change the main verb to its past participle: publicar → publicado.
4. Make the participle agree with the new subject.
5. Add the original agent with por only if it matters.

O relatório foi publicado pela empresa.

Portuguese	English	Note
A empresa publicou o relatório.	The company published the report.	Active: focus on the company
O relatório foi publicado pela empresa.	The report was published by the company.	Passive: focus on the report
O relatório foi publicado.	The report was published.	The agent is omitted

Only a verb that can take a direct object normally makes this kind of passive. For example, alguém abriu a porta can become a porta foi aberta. A verb such as chegar (“to arrive”) has no direct object, so a form such as foi chegado is not the ordinary passive equivalent of “arrived.”

Choosing the tense of ser

The tense is carried by ser; the participle remains a participle. The most useful forms are:

Portuguese pattern	English meaning	Typical use
é feito / são feitos	is done / are done	present facts or regular processes
foi feito / foram feitos	was done / were done	completed past events
era feito / eram feitos	was done / used to be done	background or habitual past
será feito / serão feitos	will be done	future events
seria feito / seriam feitos	would be done	hypothetical or conditional events
tem sido feito / têm sido feitos	has been done / have been done	continuing or repeated activity up to now
tinha sido feito / tinham sido feitos	had been done	an event completed before another past point

The English and Portuguese tense choices often correspond, but not mechanically. Choose the Portuguese tense required by the time and viewpoint of the event, then conjugate ser in that tense.

Agreement of the past participle

With ser, the participle behaves like an adjective and agrees with the passive subject. Regular participles usually end in -ado for -ar verbs and -ido for -er and -ir verbs.

Subject	Passive form	Agreement
o contrato	O contrato foi assinado.	masculine singular: assinado
a carta	A carta foi assinada.	feminine singular: assinada
os contratos	Os contratos foram assinados.	masculine plural: assinados
as cartas	As cartas foram assinadas.	feminine plural: assinadas

English learners must pay particular attention here: English keeps “signed” unchanged, while Portuguese marks both gender and number. A mixed-gender plural conventionally takes the masculine plural: O João e a Ana foram convidados.

Many common verbs have irregular participles. Important forms include abrir → aberto, dizer → dito, escrever → escrito, fazer → feito, pôr → posto, ver → visto, and cobrir → coberto.

Naming the agent with por

The person or force responsible for the action is the agent. Introduce it with por, equivalent to “by” in an English passive:

• O romance foi escrito por José Saramago.
• A estrada foi bloqueada pela neve.
• Os jogadores foram recebidos pelos adeptos.

Por contracts with a definite article: por + o = pelo, por + a = pela, por + os = pelos, and por + as = pelas. Do not add the agent merely because the active sentence had one. If it is already obvious or irrelevant, omitting it usually sounds cleaner.

The passive with se

Portuguese also uses se to avoid naming an agent. In the passive se construction, the affected thing is still the grammatical subject, so the verb agrees with it:

• Vende-se uma casa. — “A house is for sale.”
• Vendem-se casas. — “Houses are for sale.”
• Publicaram-se os resultados. — “The results were published.”

The subject often comes after the verb, which can hide the agreement from English-speaking learners. Find the thing being sold, published, or discussed, then make the verb singular or plural accordingly.

Portuguese	English	Number agreement
Fala-se português aqui.	Portuguese is spoken here.	português is singular
Falam-se várias línguas aqui.	Several languages are spoken here.	várias línguas is plural
Aluga-se este apartamento.	This apartment is for rent.	singular
Alugam-se apartamentos.	Apartments are for rent.	plural

Do not confuse this with impersonal se, where no passive subject is present. With an intransitive verb or a verb followed by a required preposition, the verb normally stays in the third-person singular: Vive-se bem aqui (“People live well here”) and Precisa-se de funcionários (“Staff are needed”). In precisar de, funcionários follows the preposition de and is not a direct object promoted to passive subject.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
O livro foi escrito por Camões.	The book was written by Camões.	Completed event; named agent
A casa foi vendida na semana passada.	The house was sold last week.	Feminine singular agreement
Os bilhetes serão enviados amanhã.	The tickets will be sent tomorrow.	Future passive
As janelas eram fechadas todas as noites.	The windows were closed every night.	Habitual past
A decisão foi tomada depois da reunião.	The decision was made after the meeting.	Irregular participle tomada agrees
O museu é visitado por milhares de pessoas todos os anos.	The museum is visited by thousands of people every year.	Regular present event
A proposta ainda não foi aprovada.	The proposal has not yet been approved.	Agent omitted
Quando chegámos, a sala já tinha sido limpa.	When we arrived, the room had already been cleaned.	Earlier past event
Fala-se português aqui.	Portuguese is spoken here.	Passive se, singular subject
Vendem-se casas junto ao mar.	Houses are for sale by the sea.	Passive se, plural agreement
Publicaram-se os resultados esta manhã.	The results were published this morning.	Post-verbal plural subject
Precisa-se de um técnico com experiência.	An experienced technician is needed.	Impersonal se with de; verb stays singular

“Houses for sale” is the idiomatic English translation of Vendem-se casas, even though its grammatical structure is closer to “Houses are sold.” A good translation communicates the real use of the sign or advertisement rather than copying each word.

Common Mistakes

Leaving the participle in the masculine singular

• Wrong: As cartas foram enviado ontem.
• Right: As cartas foram enviadas ontem.
• Why: With ser, the participle agrees with the subject. As cartas is feminine plural, so use enviadas.

Making ser agree with the original agent

• Wrong: O relatório foram publicado pelos especialistas.
• Right: O relatório foi publicado pelos especialistas.
• Why: Both ser and the participle agree with the passive subject, o relatório, not with os especialistas.

Using por without the required contraction

• Wrong: A ponte foi construída por os engenheiros.
• Right: A ponte foi construída pelos engenheiros.
• Why: Por combines with os to form pelos.

Forgetting agreement in a passive se sentence

• Wrong: Vende-se apartamentos no centro.
• Right: Vendem-se apartamentos no centro.
• Why: In the standard passive analysis, apartamentos is a plural subject, even though it follows the verb.

Treating every se construction as a passive

• Wrong: Precisam-se de funcionários.
• Right: Precisa-se de funcionários.
• Why: Precisar de requires the preposition de. This is an impersonal construction, not a passive with funcionários as its subject, so standard usage keeps the verb singular.

Copying the English passive when Portuguese prefers an active sentence

• Awkward: Foi-me dito que a loja estava fechada.
• Often more natural: Disseram-me que a loja estava fechada.
• Why: The passive is possible, especially in formal contexts, but Portuguese frequently uses an unspecified third-person-plural active verb where English uses “I was told.”

Usage Notes

The ser passive is fully normal Portuguese, but register matters. It is especially at home in formal announcements, journalism, academic prose, and descriptions of procedures: Os dados foram analisados (“The data were analyzed”). In casual conversation, speakers often choose an active clause with an unspecified subject: Roubaram-me o telemóvel (“My phone was stolen,” literally “They stole my phone”).

The se passive is concise and common in notices, advertisements, general statements, and institutional language: Aceitam-se cartões (“Cards accepted”), Proíbem-se animais (“Animals are prohibited”), and Alugam-se quartos (“Rooms for rent”). Because English signs often use a shortened passive or noun phrase, translate according to context rather than word for word.

European and Brazilian Portuguese both use these resources, though actual preferences vary by region, register, and sentence type. In informal Brazilian speech, you may hear singular verbs before plural noun phrases in constructions such as vende-se casas. In careful standard writing, use plural agreement: vendem-se casas. This distinction is useful for understanding real speech, but the agreeing form is the safest model for your own formal Portuguese.

The agent phrase normally uses por. A phrase with de occurs in a few established or literary combinations, but learners should not generalize from them. For productive modern passives, choose por: foi escrito pelo autor.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Ser describes the event; estar often describes the resulting state

A useful contrast is between an action and its result:

Portuguese	English	Focus
A porta foi fechada pelo segurança às dez.	The door was closed by the security guard at ten.	the event of closing
Às onze, a porta estava fechada.	At eleven, the door was closed.	the resulting state
Os documentos foram assinados ontem.	The documents were signed yesterday.	the act of signing
Os documentos estão assinados.	The documents are signed.	their current condition

English “was closed” can express either meaning, so do not choose between foi fechada and estava fechada by translation alone. Ask whether you are reporting what happened or describing the state that existed.

Compound and modal passives

A passive can appear after a modal verb or inside a compound tense:

• O formulário deve ser preenchido em letras maiúsculas. — “The form must be completed in capital letters.”
• A reunião pode ser adiada. — “The meeting may be postponed.”
• As regras têm sido alteradas com frequência. — “The rules have been changed frequently.”
• O problema já tinha sido resolvido. — “The problem had already been solved.”

The agreement rule does not change: preenchido matches o formulário, adiada matches a reunião, and alteradas matches as regras.

Personal pronouns and indirect objects

Not every English passive has a neat Portuguese passive equivalent. English can promote an indirect object in “Maria was given a prize.” Portuguese normally reorganizes the sentence instead of saying a literal equivalent with Maria as the passive subject:

• Deram um prémio à Maria. — “They gave Maria a prize.”
• Foi atribuído um prémio à Maria. — “A prize was awarded to Maria.”

This is one reason active sentences with an unspecified “they” are so useful in Portuguese. First identify the direct object before attempting to transform a sentence into the passive.

Passive wording can hide responsibility

As in English, a passive without an agent can sound neutral or deliberately avoid naming who acted: Foram cometidos erros (“Mistakes were made”). This is grammatically correct, but style matters. If responsibility is important, an active sentence may be clearer: A direção cometeu erros (“Management made mistakes”). Choosing active or passive voice is therefore not only a grammar decision; it also controls emphasis and accountability.

Practice Tips

1. Transform sentences in both directions. Start with five active sentences, underline each direct object, and turn it into the passive subject. Then reverse the process. Check the tense of ser and the participle agreement separately.
2. Build a four-box agreement drill. Take one participle, such as publicado, and write forms with o artigo, a notícia, os artigos, and as notícias. Repeat with common irregular participles such as feito, escrito, and aberto.
3. Collect real examples by type. In news articles and public notices, label each example ser passive, passive se, impersonal se, or state with estar. This trains you to notice meaning and agreement rather than relying on the English translation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Preterite (Pretérito Perfeito) — helps you understand completed past forms such as foi and foram in the most common past passive pattern.