Language/French/Grammar/Problems-with-passive-different-direct-objects
[CHANGED]
Definitions Reminders[edit | edit source]
Active Voice & Passive Voice[edit | edit source]
→ The active voice presents the subject as the agent of the action.
Example:
- Nos amis construisent une maison.
Our friends are building a house.
→ By reversal, the passive voice presents the subject as an agent undergoing the action.
Example:
- Une maison est construite par nos amis.
A house is built by our friends.
The Direct Object[edit | edit source]
The direct object complement (French: le complément d'objet direct, COD) directly completes the verb without any preposition. The verb used with a COD is a direct transitive verb.
To find the COD of a verb, it is most often enough to ask questions:
- Quoi ? (What?)
- Qui ? (Who?)
Convert a verb that has a direct object to the passive voice[edit | edit source]
The majority of verbs having a direct object can be converted into a passive. However, there are limitations to whether the meaning is sensible or not.
For example, the verb "Aimer" has a direct object and can be turned into a sensible passive:
- Jule aime Marie
Jule loves Marie
- Marie est aimée par Jule
Marie is loved by Jule
However, the verb "lire" produces a less natural sentence in the passive voice.
- Il lit ce livre
He is reading this book
- Ce livre est lu par lui 🤔 (???)
This book is being read by him
Usually, verbs in the passive voice that make a direct inanimate object a subject and place an animated subject in sentence with "par" or "de" are not natural.
- NB: The verb "avoir" is used in the passive only in the colloquial "J'ai été eu" (I have been had) in the sense of 'swindled'.