The passive present participle -at- presents an affected participant while an action is in progress or regularly repeated. It is the passive counterpart of active -ant-: verkanta aŭtoro is doing the writing, while verkata libro is receiving it.
The Affected Participant During the Action
The three passive participles describe the object of an action at different stages.
| Form | View of the affected participant | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -at- | the action is underway or recurring | la konstruata domo — the house being built |
| -it- | the action is complete or its result holds | la konstruita domo — the built/completed house |
| -ot- | the action has not yet begun | la konstruota domo — the house to be built |
La domo estas konstruata, sed la tegmento ankoraŭ mankas.
The house is being built, but the roof is still missing.
La fenestroj estas purigataj ĉiun vendredon.
The windows are cleaned every Friday.
The first action is visibly in progress. The second is a recurring procedure: each cleaning is an event, but -at- presents the repeated pattern as ongoing rather than focusing on a completed result.
La ĵurnalisto verkanta la artikolon petis plian intervjuon.
The journalist writing the article requested another interview.
La artikolo verkata de la ĵurnalisto aperos dimanĉe.
The article being written by the journalist will appear on Sunday.
The voice contrast is structural. The journalist is the subject of verki, so verkanta is active. The article is its object, so verkata is passive.
Building -AT- Forms
Attach -at- to the verb root, then add the part-of-speech ending.
| Ending | Form from intervjui | Function |
|---|---|---|
| -a | intervjuata | adjective: being interviewed |
| -e | intervjuate | adverb: while being interviewed |
| -o | intervjuato | noun: an interviewee |
Adjectival -ATA
An adjectival participle agrees with its noun in number and case. It may be placed directly before or after the noun, and it can keep the complements of the underlying verb.
La proponoj diskutataj hodiaŭ influos la venontjaran buĝeton.
The proposals being discussed today will affect next year's budget.
Ni sekvas la rapide ŝanĝiĝantan situacion, ne nur la plej ofte raportatajn nombrojn.
We are following the rapidly changing situation, not only the figures reported most often.
Diskutataj agrees with plural proponoj. Raportatajn agrees with plural accusative nombrojn. The first participle refers to a single ongoing discussion; the second to repeated reporting.
Adverbial -ATE
The adverbial passive participle supplies a simultaneous passive circumstance. The subject of the main clause is also the affected participant of the participle.
Intervjuate en rekta elsendo, la ministro evitis la demandon.
While being interviewed live, the minister avoided the question.
Rigardate de ĉiuj en la ĉambro, li malfermis la koverton.
While being watched by everyone in the room, he opened the envelope.
These compact clauses are grammatical and occur especially in formal or edited prose. In casual speech, a full clause is often more natural: Dum oni intervjuis la ministron... or Dum ĉiuj en la ĉambro rigardis lin.... The subject relation remains exact: the minister is interviewed and avoids; he is watched and opens.
An -ate clause cannot introduce an unrelated affected participant. If the two subjects differ, use a full clause rather than a dangling participle.
Nominal -ATO
The nominal form names the person affected by an ongoing or characteristic action: intervjuato “interviewee,” ekzamenato “person being examined,” amato “beloved person.” The noun may become a conventional role label, so it need not refer to the exact instant at which the action is happening.
La intervjuato petis kvin minutojn por pripensi la demandon.
The interviewee asked for five minutes to consider the question.
La ekzamenatoj devas lasi siajn telefonojn ekster la ĉambro.
The examinees must leave their phones outside the room.
Nominal participles normally name people. Do not add -ul- mechanically: intervjuato, not intervjuatulo, is the ordinary form.
-AT- with ESTI
In an analytic passive, the tense of esti establishes the reference point. -At- presents the passive action as unfolding or recurring at that point.
| Form | Time relationship |
|---|---|
| estas riparata | is being repaired now or habitually |
| estis riparata | was being repaired then or repeatedly |
| estos riparata | will be undergoing repair then |
Kiam mi pasis hieraŭ, la ponto estis riparata.
When I passed yesterday, the bridge was being repaired.
Dum la venonta semajno la ĉefa enirejo estos renovigata.
During next week, the main entrance will be undergoing renovation.
-At- therefore does not mean calendar present. In estis riparata, the process is simultaneous with a past reference point; in estos renovigata, it is simultaneous with a future interval. This is the same relative-time logic used throughout the six-participle system.
The passive can identify an agent with de:
La propono estas nun ekzamenata de sendependa komisiono.
The proposal is now being examined by an independent commission.
If de could be read as source, possession, or another relationship, fare de can make agency explicit, especially in administrative prose. Ordinary de is the neutral default.
Choosing -AT- Rather Than -IT-
Standard Esperanto distinguishes process or repetition (-at-) from completion or result (-it-).
Kiam ni alvenis, la pordo estis fermata.
When we arrived, the door was being closed.
Kiam ni alvenis, la pordo estis fermita.
When we arrived, the door was closed.
The first puts us inside the closing process. The second presents the closing as complete or the closed state as its result. A practical test is to add a compatible expression: iom post iom, plu kaj plu, and ree kaj ree favor -at-; jam, tute, and a completed-result reading favor -it-.
La retejo estis plurfoje atakata dum la nokto.
The website was attacked repeatedly during the night.
La retejo estis atakita kvarfoje dum la nokto.
The website was attacked four times during the night.
Repeated activity naturally takes -at- when viewed as an unfolding pattern. A precise bounded count can take -it- because each attack is treated as a completed occurrence. The choice is aspectual, not a mechanical rule about past versus present.
There is a historically discussed nonstandard reinterpretation called atismo, which treats -at- chiefly as simultaneous and -it- chiefly as anterior. That is not the production norm taught here. The Fundamento's model and the Akademio's official decisions support the standard completion distinction commonly called itismo: say estis naskita for “was born,” not estis naskata, unless you genuinely mean the birth process was underway. For difficult contrasts, see choosing -at- versus -it-.
Which Verbs Allow -AT-?
A passive participle normally requires a verb that can take an object. Oni konstruas la domon permits la domo estas konstruata. An intransitive verb such as okazi, dormi, or ordinary iri has no object to promote into the passive.
La paciento dormas dum la aparato estas kontrolata.
The patient is sleeping while the device is being checked.
There is no standard la paciento estas dormata for “the patient is sleeping.” Esperanto does have verbs whose transitivity changes with meaning or derivation, so analyze the actual use rather than memorizing the root alone. The fuller system is explained under transitive and intransitive verbs.
Common Mistakes
Using -AT- for a completed result
❌ La pordo estas fermata jam de du horoj.
Incorrect for the intended closed state — this suggests an extraordinarily long closing process.
✅ La pordo estas fermita jam dum du horoj.
The door has been closed for two hours.
Using passive -AT- for the doer
❌ La studento legata apud la fenestro substrekas la tekston.
Incorrect — this says the student is being read.
✅ La studento leganta apud la fenestro substrekas la tekston.
The student reading by the window is underlining the text.
Forming a passive from an intransitive verb
❌ La akcidento estis okazata je la kvina.
Incorrect — <em>okazi</em> has no object and cannot form this passive.
✅ La akcidento okazis je la kvina.
The accident happened at five.
Forgetting agreement
❌ Ni analizis la proponojn diskutata en la kunveno.
Incorrect — the participle must agree with the plural accusative noun.
✅ Ni analizis la proponojn diskutatajn en la kunveno.
We analyzed the proposals being discussed at the meeting.
Treating -AT- as a general marker of simultaneity
❌ Ŝi estis naskata en 1998.
Nonstandard for the biographical meaning ‘she was born’; this foregrounds an ongoing birth process.
✅ Ŝi estis naskita en 1998.
She was born in 1998.
Key Takeaways
- -at- describes the affected participant while an action is ongoing or recurring.
- -ata, -ate, and -ato function as adjective, adverb, and noun.
- The time is relative: estis riparata is a process underway at a past point.
- Use -at- for process or repetition and -it- for completion or result under the standard norm.
- Passive participles normally require an object-taking verb; use active -ant- for the doer.
Related Topics
- The Six Participles: A System MapB1 — Map Esperanto's six participles by voice and relative time, then use them as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and compound verb forms.
- Passive Past Participle -IT-C1 — Use -it- for an affected participant once an action is complete or its resulting state is relevant.
- Passive Future Participle -OT-C1 — Use -ot- for an object whose action is still ahead relative to the reference point, without confusing prospect with obligation.
- The Esti-PassiveB1 — Form the standard Esperanto passive with esti plus an agreeing passive participle, while keeping tense and event phase separate.
- Choosing -AT- versus -IT-B2 — Choose -at- for an unfolding or repeated passive action and -it- for completion or its result, independently of the reference tense.
- Transitive and Intransitive VerbsA2 — Learn which verbs license a direct object, which require another construction, and how Esperanto systematically changes valency.