The passive voice is the construction in which the grammatical subject of the sentence is the entity that undergoes the action, rather than the one that performs it. La pizza viene mangiata da Marco — the pizza is the subject, but Marco does the eating.
Italian has a richer passive system than English. Where English has essentially one passive construction (the be + past participle pattern), Italian has four distinct strategies, each with its own nuance: passive with essere, passive with venire, passive with andare (obligation), and the si-passivante. This page introduces all four and shows when each is appropriate.
Strategy 1: passive with essere
The default and most general passive. Formed with the conjugated essere + the past participle of the verb. The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number, just like an adjective.
La pizza è mangiata in tutto il mondo.
Pizza is eaten all over the world.
Le finestre sono state chiuse prima del temporale.
The windows were closed before the storm.
Il libro fu scritto nel 1958.
The book was written in 1958.
The agent — the entity actually performing the action — is introduced with the preposition da (by):
La lettera è scritta da Marco.
The letter is written by Marco.
La cena è stata preparata da mia madre.
Dinner was prepared by my mother.
The essere passive works in all tenses and moods — present, imperfetto, passato prossimo, future, conditional, subjunctive, etc. It is the workhorse passive of Italian. See passive with essere for full coverage with paradigms.
Strategy 2: passive with venire (action-emphasized)
A passive that uses venire ("to come") as the auxiliary instead of essere. It works only in simple tenses (present, imperfetto, future, etc. — not in compound tenses).
Le lettere vengono scritte ogni mattina.
The letters get written every morning.
I libri verranno pubblicati il mese prossimo.
The books will be published next month.
Le notizie venivano diffuse attraverso la radio.
The news was being spread via the radio.
The venire passive emphasizes action rather than state. Compare:
La porta è chiusa.
The door is closed. (state — the door is in a closed condition)
La porta viene chiusa alle 18:00.
The door gets closed at 6 PM. (action — someone closes it)
This distinction is something English handles with context, but Italian can mark it grammatically. The venire passive is common in news reporting, instructions, and descriptions of recurring processes. See passive with venire.
Strategy 3: passive with andare (obligation)
A specialized passive built with andare ("to go") + past participle, expressing that the action must be done. It is roughly equivalent to deve essere + participle ("must be...").
La porta va chiusa a chiave.
The door must be locked. (literally: the door 'goes' locked)
Questi documenti vanno firmati entro venerdì.
These documents must be signed by Friday.
Il problema va risolto subito.
The problem must be solved immediately.
This is a small but extremely useful construction. It is the most natural way in Italian to give written instructions or specify obligations — much more compact than deve essere chiuso a chiave.
Note: this construction works only with verbs that have a clear "must be done" reading. With verbs like perdere (to lose) it takes a different idiomatic meaning: Sono andati persi = "they got lost" (an unintended outcome, not an obligation).
Strategy 4: si-passivante
The si-passivante uses the pronoun si with an active verb to express a passive meaning. The verb agrees with the grammatical subject (the thing acted upon).
Si vende il pane qui.
Bread is sold here. (singular subject, singular verb)
Si vendono libri usati in questa libreria.
Used books are sold in this bookstore. (plural subject, plural verb)
In Italia si parlano molti dialetti.
In Italy, many dialects are spoken.
The si-passivante is the most idiomatic way to render a passive when the agent is unspecified or generic. It is extremely common on signs, in recipes, and in any context where you would say in English "X is done" without naming who does it.
Choosing among the four
| You want to express... | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A neutral passive in any tense | essere + participle | La pizza è mangiata. |
| An action emphasized over a state, in simple tenses | venire + participle | La pizza viene mangiata. |
| Something must / has to be done | andare + participle | Il problema va risolto. |
| Generic / unspecified agent ("X is done") | si-passivante | Si mangia molta pizza. |
Italian uses passive less than English
This is the single most important point for English speakers. English uses passive voice constantly — in news headlines, scientific writing, polite circumlocution. Italian, by contrast, prefers active voice with a generic subject (often si or uno or a third-person plural with no expressed subject).
Compare:
Si dice che il prezzo aumenterà.
They say the price will go up. (Italian prefers si-construction over 'It is said that...')
Hanno costruito il ponte nel 1985.
They built the bridge in 1985. (Active with unspecified 'they' — more natural than 'Il ponte è stato costruito nel 1985', though both are correct)
In quel ristorante mangiano benissimo.
The food at that restaurant is excellent. (Italian uses active 'they eat very well there'; English would more naturally use a passive-like construction)
The English habit of saying the door was opened tends to come out unnaturally as la porta è stata aperta in beginner Italian. Native speakers more often say hanno aperto la porta (they opened the door) or si è aperta la porta (the door opened — middle voice with si). Resist the urge to default to essere + participle every time you would use a passive in English.
When NOT to use the passive in Italian
- When the agent is generic or unimportant: prefer the si-passivante or an active sentence with uno or implied "they."
- When the action is happening right now in front of you: an active sentence is more natural.
- In casual conversation: passive constructions feel formal. Italians use them in news, official communications, and writing more than in everyday speech.
Common mistakes
❌ La lettera è scritto da Marco.
Incorrect — the participle must agree with the subject 'lettera' (feminine singular).
✅ La lettera è scritta da Marco.
Correct — feminine singular agreement: scritta.
❌ Le porte vengono state chiuse.
Incorrect — venire passive does NOT exist in compound tenses.
✅ Le porte sono state chiuse.
Correct — for compound tenses, use essere.
❌ La pizza è mangiata da molto.
Incorrect — agent uses 'da' meaning 'by', not 'da' meaning 'since/from'. Need an actual agent or no agent at all.
✅ La pizza è mangiata in tutto il mondo. / La pizza è mangiata da molte persone.
Correct — either no agent, or specify who eats it.
❌ Si vende libri.
Incorrect — si-passivante requires verb agreement with the patient. 'Libri' is plural, so the verb is plural too.
✅ Si vendono libri.
Correct — plural subject, plural verb.
❌ Il documento ha andato firmato.
Incorrect — andare passive uses the present of andare directly: 'va firmato'. There is no compound 'ha andato' construction here.
✅ Il documento va firmato. / Il documento deve essere firmato.
Correct — andare in simple tense, or essere + participle with deve.
Key takeaways
Italian gives you four passive strategies, each with its niche:
- Essere + participle — the all-purpose passive. Works in any tense.
- Venire + participle — emphasizes action over state. Simple tenses only.
- Andare + participle — expresses obligation. Compact and very common in instructions.
- Si-passivante — for generic, unspecified agents. The most natively Italian way to render many English passives.
The biggest mindset shift for English speakers is to use the passive less often. Italian prefers active voice with a generic subject in many contexts where English would default to be + participle. Each of the four passive strategies has its own dedicated page with full conjugation paradigms and usage notes.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Passive with EssereB1 — The all-purpose Italian passive: essere + past participle, with the participle agreeing with the subject. Works in every tense and mood, including the tongue-twisting 'è stata scritta' double-essere compound.
- Passive with Venire (Action-Emphasized Passive)B1 — The venire passive — Italian's way of grammatically distinguishing 'the door is closed (state)' from 'the door gets closed (action)' — and why it disappears in compound tenses.
- Passive with Andare (Passive of Obligation)B1 — How andare + past participle creates a concise passive that doesn't just describe — it commands. The grammar of recipes, instructions, and 'this needs to be done.'
- Si Passivante: The Passive SiB1 — The construction behind 'si vendono libri' and every Italian shop window. How a tiny clitic creates a passive without an auxiliary — and why the verb agrees with what looks like the object.
- Participle Agreement RulesA2 — The three scenarios that govern how Italian past participles agree (or stay frozen) in compound tenses — with the preceding-clitic rule that trips up almost every learner.