Passive Voice in Romanian

Overview

The passive voice in Romanian allows speakers to shift focus from the doer of an action to the receiver. Instead of "The architect built the house," the passive says "The house was built (by the architect)." Romanian offers two main strategies for forming the passive: an analytical construction with the verb a fi (to be) plus the past participle, and a reflexive passive using the particle se.

At the B1 level, understanding the passive is important for reading news articles, formal documents, and academic texts, where it appears frequently. It also enables learners to vary their sentence structure and shift emphasis in more sophisticated ways.

Romanian passive constructions are broadly similar to those in other Romance languages but have some distinctive characteristics, particularly in the agreement patterns of the past participle and the widespread use of the reflexive passive in everyday speech.

How It Works

Analytical Passive (a fi + Past Participle)

The standard passive is formed with the verb a fi conjugated for tense, followed by the past participle, which agrees in gender and number with the subject.

Tense	Example	Translation
Present	Casa este construita.	The house is built.
Past (compound)	Casa a fost construita.	The house was built.
Imperfect	Casa era construita.	The house was being built.
Future	Casa va fi construita.	The house will be built.

Past Participle Agreement:

Subject	Participle Form	Example
Masculine singular	construit	Blocul este construit.
Feminine singular	construita	Casa este construita.
Masculine plural	construiti	Blocurile sunt construite.
Feminine plural	construite	Casele sunt construite.

Agent Introduction

The agent (doer) is introduced with de or de catre:

• Casa a fost construita de catre un arhitect. (The house was built by an architect.)
• Este apreciat de toti. (He is appreciated by everyone.)

De catre is more formal and explicit; de alone is common in everyday use.

Reflexive Passive (se + Verb)

The reflexive passive uses se with the third person of the active verb. It is common when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or generic.

Example	Translation	Note
Se vinde aceasta casa.	This house is being sold.	Agent unknown
Se vorbeste romaneste aici.	Romanian is spoken here.	Generic agent
Se construiesc blocuri noi.	New buildings are being built.	Plural subject
Nu se accepta carduri.	Cards are not accepted.	Negative reflexive passive

Examples in Context

Romanian	English	Note
Este vazut de toti.	He is seen by everyone.	Analytical passive, present
A fost scris de un poet celebru.	It was written by a famous poet.	Analytical passive, past
Se vinde bine cartea asta.	This book sells well.	Reflexive passive
Casa a fost construita in 1900.	The house was built in 1900.	Analytical passive with date
Drumul va fi reparat anul viitor.	The road will be repaired next year.	Future passive
Se vorbesc multe limbi aici.	Many languages are spoken here.	Reflexive passive, plural
A fost invitat la conferinta.	He was invited to the conference.	Past passive, masculine
Regulile au fost stabilite de directie.	The rules were established by management.	Past passive with agent
Se cauta un programator.	A programmer is being sought.	Reflexive passive; job posting
Nu a fost gasit niciodata.	It was never found.	Negated past passive
Painea se coace in cuptor.	Bread is baked in the oven.	Reflexive passive; generic process
Rezultatele vor fi anuntate maine.	The results will be announced tomorrow.	Future passive

Common Mistakes

Wrong: Casa este construit. Right: Casa este construita. Why: The past participle in the analytical passive must agree with the subject in gender and number. Casa is feminine singular, so the participle takes the feminine form construita.

Wrong: Se vinde casele. Right: Se vand casele. Why: In the reflexive passive, the verb must agree with the subject in number. Casele (the houses) is plural, so the verb must be se vand, not the singular se vinde.

Wrong: El a fost vazut de la Maria. Right: El a fost vazut de Maria. / El a fost vazut de catre Maria. Why: The agent in the passive is introduced with de or de catre, not de la (which indicates origin/source).

Wrong: Cartea se a scris de poet. Right: Cartea a fost scrisa de poet. Why: The reflexive passive does not combine with an explicit agent. When you need to mention who performed the action, use the analytical passive with a fi + past participle.

Wrong: Ea este invitat la petrecere. Right: Ea este invitata la petrecere. Why: Remember that the participle agrees with the subject. For a feminine subject, use the feminine participle form.

Usage Notes

The reflexive passive is far more common in spoken Romanian than the analytical passive. Romanians naturally default to se constructions when the agent is not specified. The analytical passive sounds more formal and is characteristic of news reporting, legal documents, and academic writing.

In everyday speech, Romanians often avoid the passive entirely, preferring active constructions with an impersonal subject or restructured sentences. For instance, instead of "The door was opened," a Romanian speaker might say "Someone opened the door" (Cineva a deschis usa).

Both passive constructions are used across all dialects without significant regional variation. The reflexive passive is particularly productive and can be found on signs, in instructions, and in idiomatic expressions throughout the language.

Practice Tips

• Practice converting active sentences to passive and back. Start with simple sentences in the present tense, then work up to compound tenses. Pay special attention to participle agreement.
• Collect examples of the reflexive passive from Romanian signs, advertisements, and news headlines. Notice how se + verb is used when the agent is irrelevant or obvious.
• When reading Romanian news articles, identify each passive construction and determine whether it is analytical or reflexive. This develops your ability to process both forms quickly.

Related Concepts

• Parent: Compound Past Tense -- the passive frequently uses compound tense forms, building on knowledge of a fi and past participles.