Voice and impersonalityItalianB2

Passive with essere and venire

Italian uses passive constructions to highlight the result or treatment of an action rather than the actor.

Examples

ItalianTranslation
Il testo è stato corretto ieri sera.

The text was corrected last night.

Le domande vengono analizzate con attenzione.

The questions are analyzed carefully.

La proposta è stata accettata.

The proposal was accepted.

Pattern

essere/venire + participle

How it works

Italian uses passive constructions to highlight the result or treatment of an action rather than the actor. This pattern typically appears as essere/venire + participle and becomes easier when you meet it again in short, readable examples.

What to notice

  • Venire can sound slightly more event-focused in some contexts.
  • The participle usually agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Why it matters

Write more flexibly when the agent matters less than the action or general claim.

Use in context

Passive structures are common in formal description, institutional writing, and edited prose.