The standard Esperanto passive combines a form of esti with a passive participle in -ata, -ita, or -ota. It lets the affected participant become the grammatical subject, while the doer can be omitted or added in a de phrase.
Turning an Active Clause into a Passive
Begin with an active clause containing a verb that can take a direct object:
La teknikisto riparas la servilon.
The technician is repairing the server.
To make it passive, apply three changes:
- The object becomes the subject and loses accusative -n: la servilon → la servilo.
- The finite verb becomes esti + passive participle: riparas → estas riparata.
- The old subject disappears or becomes an agent phrase with de.
La servilo estas riparata de la teknikisto.
The server is being repaired by the technician.
The event has not changed; its presentation has. The active sentence organizes the message around the technician, whereas the passive sentence organizes it around the server.
La kandidatoj estos informitaj retpoŝte.
The candidates will be informed by email.
Here the person who will inform them is irrelevant or obvious, so no agent is named. Omitting an agent does not imply that no one performs the action.
The Two Layers of Meaning
An esti-passive contains two independent choices. The form of esti locates the reference point; the participle locates the passive action relative to that point.
| Passive participle | Event phase at the reference point | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ata | ongoing or recurring | estas konstruata — is being built |
| -ita | completed or resulting state | estas konstruita — is built/has been built |
| -ota | not yet begun; intended or expected | estas konstruota — is to be built |
La nova biblioteko estas konstruata apud la stacidomo.
The new library is being built next to the station.
La nova biblioteko estas konstruita el ligno kaj vitro.
The new library is built of wood and glass.
La nova biblioteko estas konstruota sur la malnova parkejo.
The new library is to be built on the old parking lot.
These sentences share present estas, yet the participles give three phases: inside the construction, after its completion, and before it begins. English translations often use “be + past participle” for several of these meanings, so the English surface form cannot choose the Esperanto participle for you.
Now change the reference time while keeping the same phase:
Kiam ni vizitis la kvartalon, la biblioteko estis konstruata.
When we visited the neighborhood, the library was being built.
Je tiu dato venontjare, la ponto estos jam konstruita.
By that date next year, the bridge will already be built.
In estis konstruata, the process is ongoing at a past point. In estos konstruita, completion holds at a future point. -At- is therefore not “present tense,” and -it- is not simply “past tense.” See choosing -at- versus -it- for the aspectual decision.
Agreement in the Esti-Passive
The passive participle after esti is an adjective and agrees with its subject in number. It does not take accusative -n merely because the corresponding active phrase was an object.
La pordo estas ŝlosita, sed la fenestroj estas malfermitaj.
The door is locked, but the windows are open.
La petoj ne estis aprobitaj de la komisiono.
The requests were not approved by the committee.
The subject la petoj is plural, so the predicate participle is aprobitaj. Negation stands before the finite verb phrase in the ordinary way: ne estis aprobitaj.
Questions likewise use normal Esperanto word order and ĉu:
Ĉu la rezervoj jam estas konfirmitaj?
Have the reservations already been confirmed?
— Ĉu la raporto estas preta? — Preskaŭ; ĝi ankoraŭ estas kontrolata.
— Is the report ready? — Almost; it is still being checked.
The exchange contrasts an ordinary adjective, preta, with a passive process, kontrolata. A passive participle can behave much like a descriptive adjective, especially when -ita names a lasting result. The boundary is a continuum, not a reason to change the agreement rule.
More Forms of ESTI
The auxiliary can appear in any form required by the clause. The passive participle remains adjectival.
| Construction | Example | Function |
|---|---|---|
| conditional | estus aprobita | would be approved |
| volitive | estu sendita | let it be sent / must be sent |
| infinitive | esti finita | to be finished |
| after a modal | devas esti kontrolita | must be checked |
La propono estus aprobita, se ĝi enhavus klaran buĝeton.
The proposal would be approved if it contained a clear budget.
Ĉiuj aliĝiloj estu senditaj antaŭ vendredo.
All registration forms are to be sent before Friday.
La ekipaĵo devas esti kontrolita antaŭ ĉiu flugo.
The equipment must be checked before every flight.
These are neutral standard forms. Nevertheless, a theoretically possible chain is not automatically good prose. La ekipaĵo devos esti estinta kontrolita can be analyzed, but Oni devos kontroli la ekipaĵon antaŭe is far easier to understand. Esperanto normally favors a simple active clause when the passive would accumulate several auxiliaries.
The Passive within the Six-Participle System
The passive is not an isolated irregular construction. The same three relative phases occur in active and passive participles; voice tells you which participant is being described.
| Phase | Active: describes the doer | Passive: describes the affected participant |
|---|---|---|
| during | verkanta aŭtoro | verkata libro |
| after completion | verkinta aŭtoro | verkita libro |
| before | verkonta aŭtoro | verkota libro |
The -a forms enter the esti-passive because they can describe its subject. The same participial stems also make adverbs and nouns: invitite “having been invited,” arestito “a detained person,” alongside active invitinte “having invited” and arestinto “one who arrested.” Those forms belong to the wider participial system, but they are not finite esti-passives by themselves.
Which Verbs Can Be Passive?
Only an object-taking use can be passivized. From Oni fermis la pordon comes La pordo estis fermita. Ordinary okazi, dormi, and veni have no direct object to promote.
La kunveno okazis en la dua etaĝo.
The meeting took place on the second floor.
There is no standard la kunveno estis okazita with this meaning. Some roots have both transitive and intransitive uses, so judge the actual clause rather than the dictionary shape alone. The relevant valency patterns are covered under transitive and intransitive verbs.
Esti-Passive versus IĜ-Alternative
An esti-passive keeps the action concept available and can name its agent. An -iĝ- verb presents the affected thing's change or behavior without syntactically retaining an agent.
La pordo estis malfermita de la gardisto je la oka.
The door was opened by the guard at eight.
La pordo malfermiĝis je la oka.
The door opened at eight.
The first is an agentive passive. The second does not assert that the door acted by itself, but it backgrounds any causer so thoroughly that de la gardisto cannot be added as a passive agent. This middle-like alternative is taught in the Iĝi-passive.
Common Mistakes
Keeping accusative -n on the new subject
❌ La dokumentojn estis subskribitaj hieraŭ.
Incorrect — the former object is now the subject and must lose accusative -n.
✅ La dokumentoj estis subskribitaj hieraŭ.
The documents were signed yesterday.
Failing to make the participle agree
❌ La fenestroj estas fermita.
Incorrect — the participle must agree with the plural subject.
✅ La fenestroj estas fermitaj.
The windows are closed.
Using an active participle in a passive clause
❌ La libro estas verkinta de mia amiko.
Incorrect — <em>verkinta</em> describes the person who wrote.
✅ La libro estas verkita de mia amiko.
The book was written by my friend.
Passivizing an intransitive verb
❌ La gasto estis alvenita je la sesa.
Incorrect — ordinary <em>alveni</em> has no direct object.
✅ La gasto alvenis je la sesa.
The guest arrived at six.
Copying a long English auxiliary chain
❌ La pakaĵo estas estis sendita hieraŭ.
Incorrect — two finite forms of <em>esti</em> cannot form one predicate.
✅ La pakaĵo estis sendita hieraŭ.
The package was sent yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- Form the standard passive with esti + -ata/-ita/-ota.
- The affected object becomes the subject; the former agent is omitted or introduced by de.
- The tense of esti gives the reference time, while the participle gives process, completion, or prospect.
- The adjectival participle agrees with the subject in number and does not retain object -n.
- Prefer a simple active clause or an -iĝ- alternative when it expresses the intended focus more directly.
Related Topics
- Active VoiceB1 — Use active clauses and active participles to present the doer, experiencer, or state-holder as the grammatical subject.
- The Iĝi-PassiveB1 — Use -iĝ- verbs as middle-like alternatives that foreground an affected participant's change while leaving any causer outside the clause.
- Passive Present Participle -AT-B2 — Use -at- for an affected participant while an action is in progress or regularly repeated.
- 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.
- Agents with DeB2 — Use de to identify the semantic doer of a passive participle, while distinguishing agents from sources, instruments, and experiencers.