En una oración activa, el sujeto realiza la acción: Maria wrote the letter. En una oración pasiva, el sujeto recibe la acción: The letter was written by Maria. La persona o cosa que recibe la acción se convierte en el tema principal.
La voz pasiva es útil en muchas situaciones cotidianas — cuando no sabes quién hizo algo, cuando no importa o cuando el resultado es más relevante que quien realiza la acción.
Esquema básico: sujeto + am / is / are (presente) o was / were (pasado) + participio pasado → English is spoken here. The window was broken.
La voz pasiva solo es posible con verbos transitivos — verbos que tienen un objeto en la oración activa (speak English, break the window, check the locks). Los verbos intransitivos como arrive, happen o sleep no tienen objeto y, por tanto, no tienen forma pasiva.
¿Por qué usar la voz pasiva?
Hay tres razones habituales para usar la voz pasiva:
- El agente es desconocido: My phone was stolen last night. (no sabes quién lo robó)
- El agente es evidente o irrelevante: She was born in 1998. English is taught in schools worldwide.
- El resultado o la acción importa más que quien la realiza: The bridge is inspected every year. This song was recorded in one take.
En los textos formales — noticias, textos académicos, instrucciones — la voz pasiva es especialmente frecuente, ya que el foco está en lo que ocurrió, no en quién lo hizo.
En español, la voz pasiva con ser («La carta fue escrita por María») tiene una estructura similar a la inglesa, aunque en la conversación cotidiana se prefiere la pasiva refleja con se («Se escribió la carta») o la activa. En inglés, en cambio, la pasiva con was/were es muy frecuente incluso en contextos informales — vale la pena usarla con confianza.
La voz pasiva en present simple
Am / is / are + participio pasado
La pasiva en present simple describe estados, rutinas y hechos generales — las mismas situaciones que el present simple activo, pero con el foco en lo que recibe la acción.
| Activa | Pasiva |
|---|---|
| Farmers grow coffee in Brazil. | Coffee is grown in Brazil. |
| Someone checks the locks every night. | The locks are checked every night. |
| The team uses this software. | This software is used by the team. |
La elección de am / is / are depende del sujeto de la oración pasiva:
| Sujeto | Auxiliar | Participio pasado | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | am | invited | I am invited to the party. |
| he / she / it | is | checked | It is checked daily. |
| we / you / they | are | made | These shoes are made in Italy. |
La voz pasiva en past simple
Was / were + participio pasado
La pasiva en past simple describe acciones completadas en el pasado con el foco en lo que le ocurrió al sujeto.
| Activa | Pasiva |
|---|---|
| Someone built this bridge in 1920. | This bridge was built in 1920. |
| They cancelled the concert. | The concert was cancelled. |
| Workers made the first cars by hand. | The first cars were made by hand. |
Was se usa con I, he, she, it; were con we, you, they — la misma distribución que en Past simple: was / were.
| Sujeto | Auxiliar | Participio pasado | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / he / she / it | was | built | It was built in 1920. |
| we / you / they | were | cancelled | The concerts were cancelled. |
El participio pasado
El participio pasado es la tercera forma del verbo — la misma que se usa en el present perfect con have.
Los verbos regulares forman el participio pasado añadiendo -ed — exactamente igual que el past simple, con las mismas reglas ortográficas (duplicación de la consonante final tras vocal breve: stop → stopped; caída de la -e muda: close → closed). Consulta Past simple: regular verbs para la guía completa.
| Forma base | Past simple | Participio pasado |
|---|---|---|
| invite | invited | invited |
| close | closed | closed |
| paint | painted | painted |
Los verbos irregulares tienen su propia forma de participio pasado (la tercera columna de la tabla de verbos irregulares). Algunos coinciden con el past simple; otros no:
| Forma base | Past simple | Participio pasado |
|---|---|---|
| break | broke | broken |
| write | wrote | written |
| make | made | made |
| know | knew | known |
| steal | stole | stolen |
Para una lista completa de los verbos irregulares más comunes, consulta Past simple: irregular verbs.
Añadir el agente (by + …)
Cuando quieres decir quién realizó la acción, añade by + el agente al final:
- The report was written by the director.
- This painting is admired by millions of visitors.
- The decision was made by the committee.
La frase con by es opcional — la incluyes solo cuando el agente es relevante o interesante. Cuando es desconocido o sin importancia, se omite.
Las negaciones
Not va después de am / is / are / was / were:
| Tiempo | Estructura | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Presente | am / is / are + not + participio pasado | It is not used any more. / It isn't used. |
| Pasado | was / were + not + participio pasado | The window wasn't broken. / They were not invited. |
Contracciones habituales: isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't. Nota: am not no tiene una contracción estándar propia en enunciados negativos — ✅ I am not invited o I'm not invited, pero ❌ I amn't invited.
Las preguntas
En las preguntas, am / is / are / was / were va antes del sujeto:
| Tiempo | Estructura | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Presente | Am / Is / Are + sujeto + participio pasado? | Is this product sold online? Am I included? |
| Pasado | Was / Were + sujeto + participio pasado? | Was the parcel delivered? |
Las respuestas cortas concuerdan con el auxiliar: Yes, it is / No, it isn't; Yes, it was / No, it wasn't.
En las preguntas con palabra interrogativa, este va primero:
- Where is this coffee grown?
- When was the palace built?
- Who was the symphony composed by? (formal: By whom was it composed?)
Errores frecuentes
- ❌ The window was break. → ✅ The window was broken. (usa el participio pasado, no la forma base ni el past simple)
- ❌ Coffee is grew in Brazil. → ✅ Coffee is grown in Brazil. (participio pasado irregular: grow → grown)
- ❌ The letters was delivered. → ✅ The letters were delivered. (letters es plural → were)
- ❌ The form signed by the manager. → ✅ The form was signed by the manager. (la pasiva necesita el auxiliar was/were)
- ❌ The film was directed very well by. → ✅ The film was directed very well. (no se deja by solo sin agente)
- ❌ They were inviting to the party. → ✅ They were invited to the party. (la pasiva necesita el participio pasado, no la forma en -ing)
Comprueba lo que sabes
¿Activa o pasiva? Escribe la forma correcta del verbo.
- This museum ____ (open) in 1887. (past passive)
- Thousands of people ____ (visit) this museum every year. (present active)
- The original paintings ____ (restore) last year. (past passive)
- By whom ____ the Mona Lisa ____ (paint)? (past passive question)
Ver respuestas
- This museum was opened in 1887.
- Thousands of people visit this museum every year.
- The original paintings were restored last year.
- By whom was the Mona Lisa painted? (o más naturalmente: Who was the Mona Lisa painted by?)
Lo más importante
- La voz pasiva desplaza el foco del autor a la acción o su resultado: The letter was written pone la carta en el centro, no quien la escribió.
- Pasiva en present simple: sujeto + am / is / are + participio pasado → It is made here.
- Pasiva en past simple: sujeto + was / were + participio pasado → It was built in 1920.
- El participio pasado de los verbos regulares coincide con el past simple (closed, painted). Los verbos irregulares tienen su propia tercera forma (broken, written, made).
- Was con I / he / she / it; were con we / you / they.
- by + agente solo cuando el agente es relevante; se omite si es desconocido o sin importancia.
- Negaciones: isn't used, wasn't built, weren't invited.
- Preguntas: el auxiliar va antes del sujeto → Was it built here? Is it used often?