Language/Slovenian/Grammar/Active-and-passive-voice

Slovenian → Grammar → Active and passive voice

As a Slovenian language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to guide you through the advanced grammar and writing unit focused on active and passive voice. This unit assumes that you are already familiar with the basics of noun decline, articles, gender, word order, sentence structure, verb conjugation, and tense usage as covered in the previous units. If you have not done so, I recommend revisiting those units before diving into this advanced unit. Let's get started!

Consider exploring these related pages after completing this lesson: Pluperfect tense & Adjective Agreement.

Active and Passive Voice

The active and passive voice refers to the way sentences are structured with regard to the relationship between the subject, verb, and object. In the active voice, the subject is the doer of the action, while in the passive voice, the object is the receiver of the action. Both voices are useful in different contexts and for different purposes, and it's important to understand how to use them correctly in Slovenian.

Active Voice

In Slovenian, the active voice is the default form of sentence structure. The subject of the sentence performs the action. Here are some examples:

• "Jaz pijem kavo." (I drink coffee.)
• "Mama kuha kosilo." (Mother is cooking lunch.)
• "Oče pelje otroke v šolo." (Father is taking the children to school.)

You can also use reflexive pronouns like "sebe" to indicate that the subject is doing the action to themselves:

• "Jaz se umivam." (I am washing myself.)
• "Jaz se učim slovenščino." (I am learning Slovenian.)

In active voice, the tenses are formed based on the same rules as we have learned in previous units:

• Present tense - Indicates that the action is happening now.
• Past tense - Indicates that the action has already happened.
• Future tense - Indicates that the action will happen in the future.

Here is an example table of active voice verb conjugation:

Slovenian	English Translation
Jaz pijem	I drink
Ti piješ	You drink
On/Ona/Ono pije	He/She/It drinks
Mi pijemo	We drink
Vi pijete	You all drink
Oni/One/Ona pijejo	They drink
Jaz kuham	I cook
Ti kuhaš	You cook
On/Ona/Ono kuha	He/She/It cooks
Mi kuhamo	We cook
Vi kuhate	You all cook
Oni/One/Ona kuhajo	They cook

Passive Voice

In the passive voice, the object of the sentence becomes the focus, and the subject is not important or is unknown. The receiver of the action becomes the subject. In Slovenian, the passive voice is formed using the auxiliary verb "biti" (to be) with the past participle of the verb.

Here are some examples:

• "Kava je bila spita." (The coffee was drunk.)
• "Kosilo je bilo skuhano." (The lunch was cooked.)
• "Otroci so bili peljani v šolo." (The children were taken to school.)

It's important to note that passive voice is often used in formal writing, as it can convey a sense of objectivity and remove the responsibility from the subject.

Just like in active voice, passive voice has three tenses:

• Present tense - Indicates that the action is happening now.
• Past tense - Indicates that the action has already happened.
• Future tense - Indicates that the action will happen in the future.

Here is an example table of passive voice verb conjugation:

Slovenian	English Translation
Kava je bila pijana	The coffee was drunk
Kava se pije	The coffee is being drunk
Kava se bo pila	The coffee will be drunk
Kosilo je bilo skuhano	The lunch was cooked
Kosilo se kuha	The lunch is being cooked
Kosilo se bo kuhalo	The lunch will be cooked
Otroci so bili peljani v šolo	The children were taken to school
Otroci se vozijo v šolo	The children are being taken to school
Otroci se bodo vozili v šolo	The children will be taken to school

Active vs. Passive Voice Usage

The choice between active and passive voice depends on the context and the purpose of the sentence. In general, active voice is preferred in informal writing, as it can make the text more lively and engaging. Passive voice is preferred in formal writing, as it can make the text more objective and official.

Here are some scenarios where active or passive voice may be appropriate:

• Active voice:

  * When the subject is important.
  * When you want to express energy or emotion.
  * When you want to say who is responsible for the action.
  * When you want to emphasize the subject's action.

• Passive voice:

  * When the object is important.
  * When you want to be less direct or less aggressive.
  * When you want to avoid blame or responsibility.
  * When you want to emphasize the action, not the subject.

For example:

• Active voice: "Jaz sem zgradil hišo." (I built the house.)
• Passive voice: "Hiša je bila zgrajena." (The house was built.)

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have now learned about active and passive voice in Slovenian, their different forms and tenses, and their applications in formal and informal writing. Remember to always consider the context and purpose of your sentence when choosing between active and passive voice. Stay tuned for the next unit where we will dive into reported speech and direct/indirect objects in Slovenian.

Excellent job on conquering this lesson! Consider delving into these related pages: Give your Opinion & Singular and Plural Nouns.

Other Lessons

• Conjugation of verbs in the past tense
• Conjugation of verbs in the present tense
• Nouns
• Nouns, articles and gender
• Complex sentences and subordinations
• Negation
• Word order and sentence structure
• The subjunctive mood and modal verbs
• How to Use Have
• How to Use Be

Sources

• (PDF) From Possession to Passive: The Slovenian Recipient ...