IB Diploma Spanish B SL · Grammar backbone 7 of 10 — The passive
IB Spanish B · SL
The passive & how to avoid it
In the active voice the subject does the action; in the passive the subject receives it. Spanish has a true passive with ser — but far more often it dodges it, using the versatile se. This lesson covers all four moves examiners reward. In IB Diploma Spanish B, this grammar powers your work across the five prescribed themes — Identities, Experiences, Human ingenuity, Social organization and Sharing the planet — especially when you report impersonally on Sharing the planet.
ser + participle = the action (true passive)se passive is far commoner — Se habla español
Work through each screen and answer the questions — some ask you to recognise the structure, some to produce it. Collect ⭐ and press Start.
The true passive · ser
ser + past participle (+ por)
The true passive is ser + past participle, optionally naming the agent with por. Crucially, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number:
La casa fue construida (por el arquitecto). — "The house was built (by the architect)." (feminine singular)
Los libros fueron vendidos. — "The books were sold." (masculine plural)
Agreement is the tell: because the participle behaves like an adjective here, it takes -o / -a / -os / -as to match the subject — unlike the perfect tense, where the participle never changes.
Quick check
Participle agreement
?Choose the true passive for "the houses (f.) were built".
The se passive
The Spanish favourite
Far more common than ser + participle is the se passive / impersonal. Use se + the verb in the 3rd person; the verb agrees with the thing "done":
Se habla español. — "Spanish is spoken." (singular subject)
Se venden casas. — "Houses are sold." (plural subject → plural verb)
Se dice que… — "It is said that…"
Why Spanish loves it: it lets you leave the doer unnamed and sounds far more natural than a heavy ser passive. Reach for it in essays.
Sort it
Which word completes it?
Quick check
The se passive
?How do you say "Spanish is spoken here" with the se passive?
Type it
Your turn — the se passive
1Write "Spanish is spoken" using the se passive.
Hint: se + habla + español.
ser vs estar + participle
The action vs the resulting state
This is the classic advanced trap. Both use a participle, but they mean different things:
ser + participle = the ACTION (something happened): La puerta fue cerrada (por el guardia). — "The door was closed (by the guard)."
estar + participle = the RESULTING STATE (how it now is): La puerta está cerrada. — "The door is closed."
Test yourself: if you can add por + a doer, it's the ser passive (the action). If you're just describing how something looks now, it's estar (the state).
Sort it
Action or resulting state?
Sort each sentence: is it ser + participle (the action) or estar + participle (the state)?
ser + participle (action / true passive)
estar + participle (resulting state)
Quick check
The state, not the action
?Complete: La puerta ___ cerrada. ("The door is closed." — describing its state.)
Past participles
Regular and irregular participles
Both passives lean on the past participle. Regular ones end -ado (-ar) or -ido (-er/-ir). Learn the irregulars cold:
infinitive
past participle
construir
construido
escribir
escrito
hacer
hecho
romper
roto
abrir
abierto
ver
visto
In the passive these agree:La ventana está rota, Los cuadros fueron vistos — the irregular participle still takes -o/-a/-os/-as.
Game · Match
Match the infinitive to its past participle
Tap an infinitive on the left, then its past participle on the right.
INFINITIVE
construir
escribir
hacer
romper
abrir
ver
PAST PARTICIPLE
hecho
construido
visto
roto
escrito
abierto
Type it
Your turn — the true passive
2Write "was built" (feminine subject) as the true passive of construir.
Hint: ser (preterite fue) + the participle agreeing in the feminine.
Type it
Your turn — the resulting state
3Write "is closed" (feminine subject) as a resulting state (estar + participle of cerrar).
Hint: estar (está) + cerrada.
Avoiding the passive
The third-person-plural trick
The most natural way to render an English passive with an unknown doer is to use the 3rd-person plural active — "they":
Dicen que… — "It is said that…" / "They say that…"
Construyeron la casa en 1990. — "The house was built in 1990."
Me robaron el móvil. — "My phone was stolen." (lit. "They stole my phone.")
Three tools, one idea: to say "it is said that…" you can use Se dice que… (se passive) orDicen que… (3rd-person plural). Both dodge the clumsy ser passive.
Quick check
Avoiding the passive
?Which uses the 3rd-person-plural trick to mean "they say that…" / "it is said that…"?
Type it
Your turn — an irregular participle
4Write the past participle of romper (to break).
Hint: it's irregular — not rompido.
Quick check
The plural se passive
?How do you say "houses are sold" with the se passive?
Type it
Your turn — the plural se passive
5Write "houses are sold" using the se passive (verb agreeing with casas).
Hint: se + venden (plural) + casas.
The four moves side by side
Same idea, four structures
True passive:La casa fue construida por el arquitecto. (the action, agent named)
se passive:Se construyó la casa. (doer irrelevant)
estar + participle:La casa está construida. (the resulting state)
3rd-person plural:Construyeron la casa. (natural, active)
Exam gold: knowing when to swap the heavy ser passive for se or a 3rd-person-plural active is exactly the fluency IB markers reward.
Recap
Your passive toolkit
True passive:ser + participle (+ por + agent); the participle agrees (La casa fue construida; Los libros fueron vendidos).
se passive: far commoner — se + 3rd-person verb agreeing with the thing done (Se habla español; Se venden casas).
ser vs estar:ser + participle = the action; estar + participle = the resulting state (La puerta está cerrada).