The ordinary present-system passive of faciō “make, do” is not an expected form such as facior. Classical Latin instead uses the separate-looking verb fīō, fierī, factus sum: domus fit “the house is being made.” The same verb also means “become” and “happen,” so English translation depends on context rather than on morphology alone.
This suppletive system is (neutral Classical) across conversation-like dialogue, historical prose, philosophy, and technical writing. Fixed expressions such as quid fit? “what is happening?” are (neutral), while abstract formulations such as fierī potest ut ... “it can happen that ...” are especially frequent in (formal) prose. The system is irregular, and there is no honest way around memorizing its principal parts.
One paradigm built from two stems
The active verb is:
faciō, facere, fēcī, factum — make, do
Its passive is supplied by:
fīō, fierī, factus sum — be made; become; happen
Faber mēnsam facit.
The craftsperson is making a table.
Mēnsa ā fabrō fit.
The table is being made by the craftsperson.
The active facit and passive fit do not look like two voices of one regular stem, but they form that opposition in syntax. Nominative mēnsa is the passive receiver; ā fabrō is the personal agent. You cannot derive fit by attaching a passive ending to fac-.
The change of stem is exactly why Latin verbs are learned through principal parts. See Principal Parts as a Predictive System for the larger method; faciō/fīō is an important case where the lexical entry warns you that ordinary derivation will fail.
Present indicative of fīō
Most finite present-system forms of fīō have active-looking personal endings, even when the meaning is passive. The present infinitive fierī preserves a passive infinitive ending.
| Person | Latin | As passive of faciō | As independent fīō |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | fīō | I am made | I become |
| 2nd singular | fīs | you are made | you become |
| 3rd singular | fit | it is made | it becomes / happens |
| 1st plural | fīmus | we are made | we become |
| 2nd plural | fītis | you are made | you become |
| 3rd plural | fīunt | they are made | they become / happen |
The vowel is long in fīō, fīs, fīmus, fītis, and fīunt, but short in fit and before -er- in fierī. These quantities are easy to miss if macrons are treated as decoration; here they distinguish the actual Classical forms.
Ex discipulō magister fit.
He becomes a teacher after being a student.
Quid fit in forō? Omnēs currunt.
What is happening in the forum? Everyone is running.
The first example is not naturally passive: no one “makes” him a teacher within the clause. It presents a change of state, “becomes.” The second uses impersonal fit in a fixed, ordinary question.
Caesar uses fīō as the counterpart of active certiōrem faciō “inform, make more certain” in Bellum Gallicum 2.1 (historical prose). The quotation is reproduced without added macrons:
Litterisque item Labieni certior fiebat.
He was likewise kept informed by dispatches from Labienus.
Predicate comparative certior agrees with the understood subject, while imperfect fiebat supplies “was being made.” The idiomatic English verb “inform” should not hide the underlying opposition certiōrem facere → certior fierī.
Imperfect, future, subjunctive, and infinitive
The rest of the present system keeps the recognizable fī-/fie- material but must still be learned as part of this irregular verb.
| Category | Representative forms | Typical value |
|---|---|---|
| imperfect indicative | fīēbam, fīēbās, fīēbat | was being made; was becoming |
| future indicative | fīam, fīēs, fīet | will be made; will become |
| present subjunctive | fīam, fīās, fīat | may be made; may become |
| imperfect subjunctive | fierem, fierēs, fieret | might be made; might become |
| present infinitive | fierī | to be made; to become; to happen |
First-person singular future fīam and present subjunctive fīam are identical. The surrounding syntax distinguishes them. Other persons diverge: future fīēs contrasts with subjunctive fīās.
Haec statua crās fīet; artifex iam parātus est.
This statue will be made tomorrow; the artist is already ready.
Cūrā ut omnia rēctē fīant.
See to it that everything is done correctly.
Nēmō putābat tantam commūtātiōnem fierī posse.
No one thought that so great a change could happen.
The ut clause licenses subjunctive fīant; the indirect statement uses present infinitive fierī. Neither English “done” nor “happen” tells you which Latin stem to use. Mood and syntax must be identified first.
Three major meanings
1. Be made or be done
When an affected subject corresponds to an active object of faciō, fīō functions as its passive.
Via nova ā mīlitibus fit.
A new road is being built by the soldiers.
Haec omnia sine morā fīunt.
All these things are being done without delay.
An expressed personal agent uses ā/ab plus ablative. Instruments remain bare ablatives. These are ordinary personal passive constructions, despite the active-looking endings of fīō.
2. Become
With a predicate nominative or adjective, fīō often describes entry into a state:
Post multōs annōs fīlius cōnsul factus est.
After many years, the son became consul.
Caelum subitō obscūrum fit, itaque nautae ad portum redeunt.
The sky suddenly grows dark, so the sailors return to port.
Present fit and perfect factus est belong to one lexical system. English uses “become” in both, but Latin switches from fī- in the present system to fact- in the perfect system.
3. Happen or come about
Impersonal or eventive fit means “it happens” or “it comes about.”
Saepe fit ut parva causa magnam īram moveat.
It often happens that a small cause provokes great anger.
Quōmodo factum est ut tam serō advenīrēs?
How did it happen that you arrived so late?
The expression fit ut takes a result-like ut clause with the subjunctive and is common in (formal Classical prose). Perfect factum est ut locates the occurrence in completed past time. Translating every form as “is made” would miss this productive eventive sense.
The perfect system returns to fact-
The perfect passive participle is factus, -a, -um. It agrees with a personal subject, while a genuinely impersonal clause uses neuter singular factum.
| Tense | Personal example | Impersonal example |
|---|---|---|
| perfect | mēnsa facta est | factum est ut ... |
| pluperfect | mēnsa facta erat | factum erat ut ... |
| future perfect | mēnsa facta erit | factum erit ut ... |
Duae nāvēs paucīs mēnsibus factae erant.
Two ships had been built in a few months.
Feminine plural factae agrees with duae nāvēs. Do not continue the fī- stem into a form such as fīverant. Principal parts reveal the stem change: fīō supplies the present system, and factus sum supplies the perfect passive system.
Compounds: two different patterns
Compounds whose first element remains visibly separate from faciō generally preserve -faciō and form their passive in -fīō: calefaciō “heat” → calefīō “be heated,” patefaciō “reveal/open” → patefīō “be revealed/opened.” This pattern is (neutral Classical) but lexically limited.
Aqua lentē calefit, sed adhūc bibī nōn potest.
The water is being heated slowly, but it still cannot be drunk.
By contrast, fully prefixed compounds in -ficiō use regular passive endings: efficiō → efficior, conficiō → conficior. They do not replace their passive with independent fīō.
Opus ante noctem conficitur.
The task is completed before nightfall.
This distinction is partly historical and partly lexical; there is no safe rule based on the English translation. Learn a compound’s principal parts and whether it is an -faciō/-fīō compound or a regular -ficiō/-ficior compound.
A production checklist
To say “the bridge will be built by the citizens”:
- The receiver “bridge” becomes nominative pōns.
- Future time requires the future of fīō, third singular fīet.
- The deliberate personal agent takes ā/ab plus ablative: ā cīvibus.
- The result is pōns ā cīvibus fīet.
Do not translate English “will be built” piece by piece as an invented facietur. Faciet means “will make/do” and is active; Classical present-system passive meaning requires fīet.
Common Mistakes
1. Creating a regular passive of faciō
❌ Domus facitur.
Incorrect as the Classical present passive of faciō — the suppletive verb fīō is required.
✅ Domus fit.
The house is being built.
2. Treating the active-looking ending as active meaning
❌ Via facit.
Incorrect for ‘the road is being made’ — facit means ‘he/she/it makes.’
✅ Via fit.
The road is being made.
3. Extending fī- into the perfect system
❌ Duae nāvēs fīverant.
Incorrect — the perfect system uses factus sum, not an invented fī- perfect.
✅ Duae nāvēs factae erant.
Two ships had been built.
4. Translating every fit as “is made”
❌ Quid fit? — Quid fabricātur?
Incorrect interpretation in the ordinary idiom — quid fit? normally asks what is happening.
✅ Quid fit in forō?
What is happening in the forum?
5. Giving every faciō compound a fīō passive
❌ Opus confit.
Incorrect — conficiō is a regular -ficiō compound and has passive conficitur.
✅ Opus conficitur.
The task is completed.
Key Takeaways
The present-system passive of faciō is supplied by fīō, whose finite forms mostly have active endings but passive or inchoative meaning. Context distinguishes “be made,” “become,” and “happen.” The perfect system uses agreeing factus, -a, -um plus sum, or neuter singular factum impersonally. Finally, distinguish true -faciō/-fīō compounds from regular -ficiō/-ficior compounds by their lexical principal parts.
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- Passive of Verbs Governing the DativeB1 — Keep a verb’s governed person in the dative and use an impersonal singular passive where English prefers a personal passive.