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How does the Italian ‘si passivante’ work?

By: Silvia Giorgini Althoen Thu May 16 2024
Italian
Verbs

The si passivante is a very common way to express the passive voice in Italian, as in In Italia si mangia molta pasta(In Italy people eat a lot of pasta). Unlike the passive voice construction, which is formed by the verb essere(to be)+ past participle, the si passivante uses particle si followed by a conjugated verb.

In this post, we’ll take you through what the si passivante is, when to use it, and how to form it. Ready to learn more? We’ll give you the inside scoop next!

Table of Contents

    What is the ‘si passivante’?

    The si passivante is a common way to express the passive voice in Italian. It’s especially convenient for explaining rules and making general statements where an agent (do-er) is not mentioned. For example:

    • Si richiede licenza superiore.

      A high school degree is needed.

    • Il pane si compra al panificio.

      Bread is bought in a bakery.

    The si passivante is only used when the agent is implied and is implied to be human. It is also only used with verbs in the third personsingular or plural: easy-peasy, no?

    The si passivante does not have a real equivalent in English, so let’s see an example:

    Come si apre questa finestra?

    How does this window open?

    How is opened the window?

    The sentence above implies that whoever opens the window (the agent) will be a person, so we use the si passivante.

    Important

    To use the si passivante, the verb must be transitive (a verb that takes a direct object).

    active verbdirect objectsi passivante

    Compro la frutta al mercato. → La frutta si compra al mercato.

    I buy fruit at the market. → Fruit is bought at the market.

    How to form the ‘si passivante’?

    Here are the rules for forming the si passivante in Italian:

    • For simple tenses (present, imperfect, future, etc.) no auxiliary is needed

      si

      verb

      in the 3rd person

      Qui si mangia cibo piccante.

      Spicy food (singular) is eaten here.

      Qui si riparano orologi.

      Watches (plural) are fixed here.

    • For compound tenses (passato prossimo, etc.)

      si

      essere(to be)

      in the 3rd person

      past participle

      Si è trovato un tesoro.

      A treasure (singular) was found.

      Si sono viste le stelle.

      Stars (plural) were seen.

      Remember that verbs always agree with the subject so, if the subject is singular, conjugate the verb in the third person singular and, if the subject is plural, conjugate in the third person plural.

      Important

      The si passivante is used only in the lui/lei(she/he) and loro(they) form. Thus, it resembles the reflexive pronoun si, and it may cause some confusion. The following example uses si as a reflexive pronoun. Notice that there is no direct object after the verb and the subject is an agent:

      Gianna si diverte.

      Gianna has a good time.

      Remember that the verb needs to be transitive and have a direct object in the active voice in order to use si passivante. If the verb is intransitive, or if it does not have a direct object, you cannot use it!

    The ‘si passivante’ vs. the passive voice

    The main difference between the si passivante and the passive voice, is in the status of the agent (the do-er) of the verb.

    Notice that, in compound tenses, the passive voice and the si passivante look very similar with the exception of si:

    si passivante
    Passive voice

    I libri si sono comprati online.

    Books have been bought online.

    I libri sono comprati online (dagli studenti).

    Books have been bought online (by the students).

    So what is the difference? In the passive voice, you have the option of mentioning the agent (dagli studenti), but with si passivante you don’t. The agent is implied, meaning bought by “one/all/everyone.”

    However, another difference between the si passivante and the passive is that, in the si passivante, there is more flexibility of word order. The subject can go before (like in the example), or after the verb:

    Si sono mangiate le mele.

    Apples were eaten.

    To sum up

    The si passivante is an alternative to the passive voice that is very commonly used in Italian. Let’s recap its main points:

    • It's used for explaining rules and general information

    • It requires the pronoun si, and

    • It’s only used with transitive verbs in the third person singular and plural

    Ready to get practicing with the si passivante? Let’s go!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    How does the Italian passive voice work?~ActivitiesHow does the Italian passive voice work?~Activities

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