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Overview of the Active and Passive Voices

The Passive Voice with Various Tenses

The Passive Voice with Venire and Andare

The Passive Voice and the Si Passivante

The Si Passivante with Various Tenses

The Passive Voice with venire and andare

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The passive voice can be formed using essere as an auxiliary verb, but it can also be formed using venire and andare instead of essere.

  1. Venire

    2. To use venire as the auxiliary verb, the corresponding phrase in the active voice must be in a simple tense. You cannot use venire as an auxiliary verb in compound tenses like the passato prossimo or the trapassato, for example. Observe the following.

    • Present Indicative
      Mia moglie paga le bollette.
      My wife pays the bills.
    • Present Passive with essere
      Le bollette sono pagate da mia moglie.
      The bills are paid by my wife.
    • Present Passive with venire
      Le bollette vengono pagate da mia moglie.
      The bills are paid by my wife.
    As you can see, the passive voice with essere and with venire has the same meaning when translated in English. Venire is conjugated just as essere is, and must respect the tense of the active sentence.

    • Future Tense
      Useremo la rete wireless per accedere all’Internet.
      We will use the wireless network to access the internet.
    • Future Passive with essere
      La rete wireless sarà usata per accedere all’Internet.
      The wireless network will be used to access the internet.
    • Future Passive with venire
      La rete wireless verrà usata per accedere all’Internet.
      The wireless network will be used to access the internet.
    • Imperfetto
      La stagista scriveva tutti i comunicati stampa.
      The intern wrote all press releases.
    • Imperfetto Passive with essere
      Tutti i comunicati stampa erano scritti dalla stagista.
      All press releases were written by the intern.
    • Imperfetto Passive with venire
      Tutti i comunicati stampa venivano scritti dalla stagista.
      All press releases were written by the intern.
    NB1: Though it is not a hard and fast rule, it may be helpful to think of the difference between passive constructions with essere and venire as having to do with whether an action is ongoing, or not. Venire is often used in passive constructions where the action is something being done on an ongoing basis, whereas essere is often used for things that are done a limited number of times.

    NB2: In modern Italian the use of essere and venire to form a passive voice is almost interchangeable, even if it is better to use essere. However, the passive construction should be formed using venire when the past participle is also an adjective. e.g.: Il tavolo è pulito.
    Due to the use of the verb to be, the sentence is not clear as it can be translated the table is clean (to be + adjective),  or the table has been cleaned (to be + past participle = passive voice).  To achieve the latter meaning, it is preferable to use venire: il tavolo viene pulito.

  2. Andare

    1. Andare is used in passive constructions to communicate necessity, or something that ought to be done. In these cases, like venire, it can only be used in simple tenses.
      Il nuovo film di Woody Allen va visto.
      Woody Allen’s new film has got to be seen.

      Le leggi vanno rispettate.
      Laws should be respected.

      I compiti andranno consegnati tra due giorni.
      Homework will need to be handed in after two days.

      L’articolo va riscritto da una persona madrelingua.
      The article should be rewritten by a native speaker.
    2. Andare can be used with a few verbs in the passive voice in compound tenses (passato prossimo, for example). Some of these verbs are: (dis)perdere (to lose), distruggere (to destroy), deludere (to disappoint, let down), smarrire (to lose, misplace), and sprecare (to waste).

      • Passive voice using essere with the passato prossimo
        Il palazzo è stato distrutto nel terremoto.
        The building was destroyed in the earthquake.
      • Passive voice using andare with the passato prossimo
        Il palazzo è andato distrutto nel terremoto.
        The building was destroyed in the earthquake.
      • Further Examples
        Durante la confusione della guerra, tante cose andarono perdute.
        During the confusion of the war, many things were lost.

        Tutti i documenti sono andati distrutti.
        All of the documents were destroyed.

        Le mie speranze sono andate deluse.
        My hopes were dashed (let down).

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