Kilo Lingo
French grammar Part of Chapter 23

CEFR B2

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Test yourself (22 questions)

Avoiding the Passive in French: on, se and the Active Recast

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

French can build a passive, but it uses it far less than English. Where English hides the doer, French reaches for one of three lighter structures. All of these mean my bag was stolen, from everyday speech to the news:

Everyday speechFormal writing
  1. On m’a volé mon sac.on + active verb
  2. Je me suis fait voler mon sac.se faire + infinitive
  3. Mon sac a été volé.the être passive
on + active verbse passivese faire + infinitiveWhat do the colours mean?
StructureUse it forExample
onno doer, any event .
a general truth about a thing .
something done to a person .
passivenaming the doer, formal prose Marie.

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Read the English, then choose the everyday French.

  1. My bag was stolen.

  2. That isn't said.

  3. I was told the truth.

The glosses: The concert has been cancelled. That isn't said. He had his bike stolen. The letter was written by Marie. How the true passive is built is on the passive voice.

On + an active verb

on + active verbse passivese faire + infinitiveWhat do the colours mean?

means someone, people or they, and takes an ordinary active verb. It is the commonest way French says an English passive with no doer:

  • , . - French is spoken here.
  • . - My bag was stolen. (literally, someone stole my bag from me)
  • . - The shop has been closed.

always takes the / form of the verb, however many people it stands for: , , .

cannot take a doer. The moment you want by whom, use an active sentence or the true passive:

VersionFrenchVerdict
on + Marie.not French
activeMarie .everyday
passive Marie.names the doer

The se passive: ça ne se dit pas

on + active verbse passivese faire + infinitiveWhat do the colours mean?

Make the verb reflexive with , and the thing acted on becomes the subject. It says how something is generally done:

White wine is drunk chilled
  • . - That isn't said. / You don't say that.
  • . - That word is spelt with two 's.
  • . - Tickets are sold online.

The verb agrees with its subject: , plural. No doer can be named.

When se does not work

on + active verbse passivese faire + infinitiveWhat do the colours mean?

Two limits, and English speakers trip on both.

LimitTrapSay instead
a person . .
a doer . .

With a person as subject, reads as a real reflexive: the children wash themselves, not are washed; so say on , the children are washed. And has no room for by whom: name the doer as the subject of an active verb, the French drink wine.

With a thing as subject, also works for what is happening now: . - Houses are selling well at the moment.

Se faire + infinitive

on + active verbse passivese faire + infinitiveWhat do the colours mean?

plus an infinitive puts the person it happened to in the subject slot, as an English passive does. It is usually something unwelcome, and unlike it can name the doer with :

  • . - He had his bike stolen.
  • . - She was knocked down by a car.
  • . - I've been had.

never agrees here, because an infinitive follows: , not faite.

Formal writing has a cousin, + infinitive: . - He was offered a job. In conversation, say .

No passive on an indirect object

on + active verbse passivese faire + infinitivethe person, as an indirect objectWhat do the colours mean?

Only a direct object can become the subject of a French passive. In , the person comes after : it is the indirect object. So English I was told has no French passive. Use , and the person becomes an indirect object pronoun:

VerbEveryday FrenchEnglish
.I was told the truth.
.He or she was offered a job.
.We were asked to wait.
.They were promised an answer.

In the third person, the pronoun is or , never , or : ., not on l'a offert un poste.

The thing given can still be the subject, in formal French: . - A book was given to me.

A few verbs with à, such as , désobéir and , are old exceptions that do make a passive: . - You are forgiven.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
.the person is indirect: on
. à:
.for are washed: + person reads as reflexive
. never agrees here
.on takes the form

What to do next

  1. Take three English passives from today's news and say them with .
  2. Say how one dish from your country .
  3. Then read the passive voice for when the passive is the right choice.

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/6

Can each subject take the se passive?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/6

Read the English, then choose the everyday French.

  1. My bag was stolen.

  2. That isn't said.

  3. I was told the truth.

  4. The children are washed every evening.

  5. He had his bike stolen.

  6. She was offered a job.

Spot the mistake

0/4

Tap the mistake.

Complete the story

0/4

Choose the right form for each gap.

The stolen bike

Hier, je me suis voler mon vélo devant la gare. À la police, on a demandé d'attendre. Un policier m'a dit : « Ce genre de vélo vend partout. » Enfin, on a promis une réponse.

Gap 1 of 4

Put the words in order

0/2

Put the words in order.

  1. My bag was stolen.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. He had his bike stolen.

    Your sentence is empty.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'my bag was stolen' in French?
On 'a : literally, someone stole my bag from me. a is correct French, and you will read it in a police report or a newspaper, but in conversation the on version is what people say. The same pattern gives on a (the concert has been cancelled) and on (French is spoken here).
When can you use the passive, and when does it not work?
It works for a general truth, a custom or a property of a thing: (that isn't said), (white wine is drunk chilled). It fails with a person or animal as subject, because then reads as a real reflexive: means the children wash themselves. Say on . And it never names a doer: for by whom, use an active verb or the passive.
Why can't French say 'I was told' as a passive?
Because takes its person with à: on . Only a direct object can become the subject of a French passive, and the person here is indirect. So is not French. Say on 'a . The same holds for , , , , and the other verbs that put à before the person; and are old exceptions.
What does + infinitive mean?
Something happened to the subject, usually something unwelcome: (he had his bike stolen), (she was knocked down by a car). The person affected is the subject, as in an English passive, and the doer can come in with . The participle never agrees in this structure.
Is the passive wrong in French?
No. It is correct and normal when you name the doer ( a Marie), in formal writing and in the news ( a douzième ). The point is frequency: where English uses a passive only to leave the doer out, everyday French says on.