B2 (Upper Intermediate)Lesson 3: Passive Constructions & Alternatives
Portuguese uses analytic passives with ser + participle, passives with se, and active or impersonal constructions. Brazilian Portuguese offers alternatives such as unspecified third-person plural, a gente and active reformulations; the choice depends on context, focus and the information to retain.
Analytic passive (ser + agreeing participle) is also natural in everyday Brazilian Portuguese
Se-passive is another passive construction: "Vende-se casa" (House for sale)
3rd person plural with an unspecified subject is active and can express related information: "Roubaram meu celular" (My phone was stolen)
"A gente" for general statements: "A gente nunca sabe" (One never knows)
Active restructuring changes focus: "O livro que João escreveu" is a noun phrase with a relative clause; "O livro foi escrito por João" is a complete passive sentence
Estar/ficar + participle or adjective for states: "A porta está fechada" (The door is closed)
Passive with "se" requires agreement with subject in formal writing
Passive se and impersonal se are different; "Come-se bem" is impersonal
ser + agreeing participle (+ optional por-agent) · passive se + agreeing verb · impersonal se + singular verb · unspecified 3rd-person plural · a gente + singular verb · active reformulation
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These alternatives help you choose what to foreground and whether to name the agent. "foi feito", "fizeram" and "se fez" can all be useful, but they have different grammatical structures and may need different contexts. Passive "pelo/pela" phrases identify the agent; they are ordinary constructions, not something to avoid automatically. Choosing between these patterns helps you preserve the intended information in conversation, WhatsApp messages and business emails.
The passive voice is natural in Brazilian Portuguese, including everyday conversation. Active and impersonal alternatives can express related information with a different focus. Choose the construction for the context rather than treating passive voice as inappropriate.
The analytic passive uses ser + agreeing past participle. An agent introduced by por is optional:
Active: "João escreveu o livro" (João wrote the book)
Passive: "O livro foi escrito por João" (The book was written by João)
| Active Element | Passive Transformation |
|---|---|
| Subject (João) | Agent with "por" (por João) |
| Verb (escreveu) | ser + participle (foi escrito) |
TV News: "O suspeito foi detido pela polícia"
WhatsApp: "Prenderam o cara" / "O cara foi preso"
Newspaper: "As medidas serão implementadas em janeiro"
Coffee chat: "Vão implementar as medidas em janeiro"
"Aceita-se vale-refeição" (Meal vouchers accepted)
"Não se devolve dinheiro" (No refunds / Money is not returned)
"Aqui se come bem e barato" (Here one eats well and cheap)
"Fazem entrega?" (Do they deliver?)
The analytic passive can be natural in conversation as well as formal contexts:
A completed event:
"Já foi pago" (It's already been paid)
"Tá feito" describes a resulting state; "foi feito" describes an event, not a higher degree of certainty.
Announcements:
"O voo foi cancelado" (The flight has been cancelled)
The passive foregrounds the flight and cancellation; it does not inherently add gravity.
An unknown or irrelevant agent:
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