7. Impersonal sentences and the passive Flashcards
(41 cards)
I have been told that . . . (3rd person plural
Me han dicho que
They say that . . . (3rd person plural)
Dicen que . . .
I’m going to be invited to a party. (3rd person plural)
Me van a invitar a una fiesta.
We are being called. (3rd person plural)
Nos están llamando.
They have been arrested. (3rd person plural)
Les han arrestado.
I have been sent this letter. (3rd person plural)
Me han enviado esta carta.
It’s raining.
Llueve
It isn’t windy.
No hace viento.
It’s very hot.
Hace mucho calor.
It seems that she doesn’t know anything.
Parece que ella no sabe nada.
It’s obvious that he isn’t the owner.
Es obvio que él no es el dueño.
It’s getting dark.
Está oscureciendo.
A bridge is being built. (se)
Two bridges are being built. (se)
Se está construyendo un puente.
Se están construyendo dos puentes.
When object pronouns are used after the reflexive pronoun ‘se’, the verb is always singular as long as there is no reference to plural nouns:
They have been invited.
Se les ha invitado.
When object pronouns are used after the reflexive pronoun ‘se’, the verb is always singular as long as there is no reference to plural nouns:
You have been told that …
Se te ha dicho que . . .
If there is a reference to a plural noun, the verb is plural:
They have been given the tickets.
Se les han dado las entradas.
Les han dado las entradas.
They are going to be called.
Ellos van a ser llamados. (the past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject)
The bike was stolen.
La bici fue robada. (the past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject)
That will have to be translated.
Eso tendrá que ser traducido. (the past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject)
Which are correct in Spanish?
a. Le han dado las llaves (a ella)- They have given her the keys)
b. Ella ha sido dada las llaves. (She has been given the keys)
c. Las llaves le han sido dadas (a ella). (The keys have been given to her)
a. and c. are correct.
The past participle used as an adjective has to agree in gender and number with the subject. Another difference from the English construction is that in Spanish an indirect object cannot be the subject of a passive sentence. The subject in a Spanish passive sentence must always be the direct object of the active sentence.
They’ve sent me a letter. (this is an active construction)
Me han enviado una carta. . . . me is the indirect object and ‘una carta’ is the direct object.
They’ve sent me a letter. (this is an active construction). turn it into a passive construction:
Una carta me ha sido enviada.
Los profesores van a cancelar los exámenes. (active construction)
(from) Steps to make a correct passive sentence:
* Use only the direct object as a subject.
In the above sentence, what is the direct object?
los exámenes.
Los profesores van a cancelar los exámenes. (active construction)
From before: the direct object is ‘los exámenes’ and must be the subject of the passive construction.
(from) Steps to make a correct passive sentence:
* Copy the verb sequence except the last verb (cancelar) and leave a space between the last verb of the active sentence and the preceding one.
What does this give us?
Los exámenes van a _____ (different form for cancelar)
