Kilo Lingo
Spanish grammar Part of Chapter 24

CEFR B1-B2

3 min read

Test yourself (22 questions)

Spanish Passive Voice with ser: fue escrito por

By Michael McGettrick and Sergio Linares-HernandesUpdated 12 October 2026

The Spanish passive is in any tense, plus a past participle that agrees with the subject. Add the doer with :

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

masculinefemininepluralWhat do the colours mean?
  • escrita Cervantes. - The novel was written by Cervantes.
  • construidas 1900. - The houses were built in 1900.

The passive with ser on one screen

Subject
ser
Participle
por + doer
escrita
Cervantes
escritos
empty
PartWhat it doesExample
carries tense and person, ,
participleagrees like an adjectiveescrita, escritos
+ doeroptional Cervantes

The doer is often left out:

  • . - The car was sold.
  • fundada . - The city was founded by the Romans.

On the AQA GCSE the passive with is Higher tier.

The participle agrees with the subject

The participle works like an adjective: it matches the subject in gender and number.

SubjectSpanishEnglish
m. singular .The book was written.
f. singular escrita.The novel was written.
m. plural escritos.The books were written.
f. plural escritas.The letters were written.

Irregular participles agree just the same:

  • . - The window was opened by the wind.
  • resueltos. - The problems were solved.

A mixed subject takes the masculine plural:

  • vendidos. - The car and the house were sold.

The tense lives on ser

the tense (on ser)What do the colours mean?

Only changes for the tense. The participle never does:

TenseSpanishEnglish
present .The museum is visited by thousands of people.
preterite vendida .The house was sold in May.
future .The car will be sold tomorrow.
perfect vendida.The house has been sold.

In the perfect, never changes; only the last participle agrees:

  • enviadas. - The letters have been sent.

Fue cerrada or está cerrada: action or state

ser, the actionestar, the stateWhat do the colours mean?

plus the same participle does not report an action. It describes the state the action left behind:

  • fue cerrada: someone shut it (the action)

  • está cerrada: it is shut (the state)

Timeline from past to now, with now marked.

VerbSpanishEnglish
: action .The door was shut (by someone).
: state .The door is shut.
: action construida 1900.The house was built in 1900.
: state construida.The house is well built.

A quick test: if you are reporting the event itself, when it happened or who did it, you want :

  • . - The door was shut by the wind.
  • . - The door has been shut since yesterday.

The participle agrees after too: cerradas. (The shops are shut.)

Why Spanish reaches for it so rarely

English uses the passive all the time. Spanish keeps the passive for formal writing, and for everyday talk it reaches for something lighter:

EverydayFormal
  1. Vendieron la casa.
  2. Se vendió la casa.
  3. La casa fue vendida.
SpanishEnglishWhere
.They sold the house.everyday
.The house was sold.everyday
vendida.The house was sold.news,

The passive earns its place when the doer matters:

  • escrita . - The novel was written by a woman.

The version has its own page: the passive se and the impersonal se.

Mistakes English speakers make

masculinefemininepluralestar, the stateWhat do the colours mean?
WrongRightWhy
escrita.the participle agrees with
escritos.plural subject, plural participle
.the doer takes
(now) .a state now is
son vendidas .everyday Spanish uses

What to do next

  1. Rewrite three English passives: one with and , two with .
  2. Do the story and sort drills below.
  3. Then the passive se and the impersonal se.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/4

Build the participle so it agrees with the subject.

  1. La novela fue ... (escribir)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. Los libros fueron ... (vender)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. Las puertas fueron ... (abrir)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. El problema fue ... (resolver)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Complete the story

0/4

Choose the form for each gap.

The old house

La casa construida en 1900 por mi abuelo. Las ventanas pintadas por mi padre en 2010. Ahora la casa ya vendida. Fue por una familia de Madrid.

Gap 1 of 4

Sort into groups

0/6

Which verb completes la puerta ___: fue (the action) or está (the state)?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

Pick the right one

0/4

Choose the form that fits.

  1. Name the doer: el libro fue escrito Cervantes.

  2. Future: el coche vendido mañana.

  3. Perfect: las cartas han enviadas.

  4. Somebody shut it (the event): la ventana cerrada.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you form the passive with in Spanish?
Put in the tense you need and add the past participle, which agrees with the subject like an adjective: , escrita, escritos. To say who did it, add : Cervantes (it was written by Cervantes).
Does the past participle agree in the Spanish passive?
Yes, in gender and number with the subject: construida, construidas. In the perfect, only the last participle agrees and never changes: enviadas (the letters have been sent).
What is the difference between and with a past participle?
plus participle reports an action: means someone shut the door. plus participle describes the state the action left: means the door is shut. So construida 1900 is the building of it; construida is its condition now.
Why does Spanish avoid the passive with ?
Because it has lighter options. Where English says the house was sold, Spanish usually says (passive ) or (they sold the house). The passive lives in news, history and formal writing, above all when the doer matters: fundada .
How do you say 'by' in a Spanish passive sentence?
With : escrita Cervantes (the novel was written by Cervantes), (the door was shut by the wind). would mean 'for': is written for him.