Learning the passive is not about memorizing a new tense — it's about learning a transformation. Every passive sentence in Portuguese corresponds to an active one, and the passage from one to the other follows the same four steps, no matter what tense you are in. Once you internalize the recipe, you can passivize any active sentence on the fly.
This page walks through the transformation step by step, then shows it working across every tense: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, present perfect, pluperfect, and more. By the end you should be able to take any active sentence and produce a grammatical passive version.
The four-step recipe
Take the simple active sentence:
Os leitores adoram este livro. — "Readers adore this book."
Now apply the four steps.
Step 1 — Move the direct object to subject position
The direct object of the active sentence (este livro) becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Move it to the front.
Este livro…
Step 2 — Add ser in the same tense
The active verb adoram is in the present indicative. So ser goes in the present indicative too. The form agrees with the new subject (este livro — third person singular).
Este livro é…
Step 3 — Add the past participle, agreeing with the new subject
Take the past participle of the main verb (adorar → adorado) and make it agree in gender and number with the new subject. Este livro is masculine singular, so: adorado.
Este livro é adorado…
Step 4 — Optionally add por + agent
The old active subject (os leitores) is demoted to "agent" — the person or thing doing the action. Mark it with por. Watch the contraction: por + os = pelos.
Este livro é adorado pelos leitores. — "This book is adored by readers."
Done. Four steps. The same recipe works for every tense and every verb.
Os leitores adoram este livro.
Readers adore this book. (active)
Este livro é adorado pelos leitores.
This book is adored by readers. (passive)
The recipe across every tense
Below is the same transformation applied across the major tenses of European Portuguese. Notice that only one thing changes from row to row: the tense of ser. The past participle is invariant for tense — it only reflects the gender and number of the subject.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present | A Maria escreve as cartas. | As cartas são escritas pela Maria. |
| Preterite | Ele comprou o carro. | O carro foi comprado por ele. |
| Imperfect | Vendiam livros naquela loja. | Livros eram vendidos naquela loja. |
| Future | Farão isto amanhã. | Isto será feito amanhã. |
| Conditional | Ninguém diria isso. | Isso não seria dito por ninguém. |
| Present perfect | Tem feito muito pela comunidade. | Muito tem sido feito pela comunidade. |
| Pluperfect (compound) | Já tinham assinado o contrato. | O contrato já tinha sido assinado. |
| Future perfect | Terão resolvido o problema. | O problema terá sido resolvido. |
Now let's walk through each one in detail, with natural example sentences.
Present indicative
Active: A Maria escreve as cartas. (Maria writes the letters.)
- Step 1: as cartas → subject
- Step 2: ser in the present = são (agreeing with plural subject as cartas)
- Step 3: escrever → escrito; feminine plural to match cartas → escritas
- Step 4: por + a Maria = pela Maria
A Maria escreve as cartas todas as semanas.
Maria writes the letters every week. (active)
As cartas são escritas pela Maria todas as semanas.
The letters are written by Maria every week. (passive)
Preterite
Active: Ele comprou o carro. (He bought the car.)
- Step 1: o carro → subject
- Step 2: ser in the preterite = foi (third person singular)
- Step 3: comprar → comprado; masculine singular to match o carro
- Step 4: por ele
Ele comprou o carro em Janeiro.
He bought the car in January. (active)
O carro foi comprado por ele em Janeiro.
The car was bought by him in January. (passive)
The preterite passive is especially common in news reports — foi preso, foi detido, foi encontrado, foi assassinado are daily vocabulary for any Portuguese news consumer.
O suspeito foi detido pela polícia de madrugada.
The suspect was arrested by the police at dawn.
A carteira foi encontrada por um vizinho.
The wallet was found by a neighbour.
Imperfect
Active: Vendiam livros naquela loja. (They used to sell books in that shop.)
Note that the active sentence has no explicit subject — the third-person-plural verb form vendiam has an implicit "they" referring to anonymous, unspecified people. This is a perfect context for a passive because the agent is unimportant and you can simply drop it.
Vendiam livros raros naquela loja antiga.
They used to sell rare books in that old shop. (active, with implicit subject)
Livros raros eram vendidos naquela loja antiga.
Rare books were sold in that old shop. (passive, no agent)
The imperfect is the tense of description and of habitual past action, so its passive typically describes how things used to be done.
Nos anos setenta, os jornais eram lidos ao pequeno-almoço.
In the seventies, newspapers were read at breakfast.
Future
Active: Farão isto amanhã. (They'll do this tomorrow.)
- Step 1: isto → subject
- Step 2: ser in the future = será
- Step 3: fazer → feito; masculine singular to match isto
- Step 4: agent omitted (unimportant)
Farão isto amanhã de manhã.
They'll do this tomorrow morning. (active)
Isto será feito amanhã de manhã.
This will be done tomorrow morning. (passive)
The future passive is standard in official announcements and bureaucratic notices.
A nova ponte será inaugurada em Setembro.
The new bridge will be inaugurated in September.
As inscrições serão aceites até ao dia 30.
Applications will be accepted until the 30th.
Compound perfect (present perfect)
Active: Ela tem feito muito pela comunidade. (She has been doing a lot for the community.)
Here ser is itself in a compound tense — tem sido ("has been"). The participle of ser after ter is sido, and sido is invariant (because it follows ter, which locks its participle to masculine singular). But the main participle, feito, still agrees with the subject.
- Step 1: muito → subject (acts as a mass noun, masculine singular)
- Step 2: ser in the present perfect = tem sido
- Step 3: main participle feito agrees with muito (masculine singular)
- Step 4: por + ela = por ela
Ela tem feito muito pela comunidade este ano.
She has been doing a lot for the community this year. (active)
Muito tem sido feito pela comunidade este ano.
Much has been done for the community this year. (passive, agent dropped)
Notice the stacking of two participles: sido (invariant, after ter) + feito (agreeing with subject muito). This is the hardest structure in the system, but the logic is clean: each participle follows its own rule — sido after ter freezes; feito after ser agrees. See past participle agreement for the full logic.
Pluperfect (compound)
Active: Já tinham assinado o contrato. (They had already signed the contract.)
Os advogados já tinham assinado o contrato quando cheguei.
The lawyers had already signed the contract when I arrived. (active)
O contrato já tinha sido assinado pelos advogados quando cheguei.
The contract had already been signed by the lawyers when I arrived. (passive)
Again: sido invariant (after ter), assinado agreeing with o contrato (masculine singular — no visible change).
Negative sentences
The passive of a negative sentence has two equivalent strategies. Either keep the subject agent (with ninguém) or drop the agent entirely and let não do the work.
Active: Ninguém viu isto. (Nobody saw this.)
Ninguém viu isto a tempo.
Nobody saw this in time. (active)
Isto não foi visto por ninguém a tempo.
This was not seen by anyone in time. (passive, with agent por ninguém)
Isto não foi visto a tempo.
This was not seen in time. (passive, agent dropped — cleaner, more common)
In practice, the second, shorter version is what native speakers prefer when the agent adds no information.
More natural examples across tenses
Os alunos construíram a maqueta em duas semanas.
The students built the model in two weeks. (active)
A maqueta foi construída pelos alunos em duas semanas.
The model was built by the students in two weeks. (passive)
A empresa vai lançar um novo produto no próximo mês.
The company is going to launch a new product next month. (active)
Um novo produto vai ser lançado pela empresa no próximo mês.
A new product will be launched by the company next month. (passive, with ir + infinitive auxiliary)
Os bombeiros salvaram as crianças do incêndio.
The firefighters saved the children from the fire. (active)
As crianças foram salvas pelos bombeiros do incêndio.
The children were saved from the fire by the firefighters. (passive)
A organização tem recebido muitas candidaturas.
The organization has been receiving many applications. (active)
Muitas candidaturas têm sido recebidas pela organização.
Many applications have been received by the organization. (passive)
Transformation decision checklist
Before you passivize, check three things:
- Does the active verb have a direct object? If not, you cannot passivize. Correr ("to run") has no object — no passive possible. Escrever ("to write") takes an object — passive possible.
- Do you want to emphasize the action/patient rather than the actor? If yes, the passive is appropriate. If you genuinely care about who did it, keep the active.
- Is the agent really known and worth naming? If not, drop the por + agent phrase. Agentless passives are more elegant than forced ones with redundant agents.
Contractions with por
The preposition por contracts with the definite article. This is obligatory — writing por o instead of pelo is an error.
| por + | Contraction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| o | pelo | foi escrito pelo autor |
| a | pela | foi escrita pela autora |
| os | pelos | foi adorado pelos leitores |
| as | pelas | foi lida pelas alunas |
With indefinite articles (por um, por uma), no contraction occurs.
O artigo foi citado por um jornalista italiano.
The article was cited by an Italian journalist. (no contraction with 'um')
O artigo foi citado pelo jornalista italiano.
The article was cited by the Italian journalist. (pelo = por + o)
See the agent with por page for full details.
Common mistakes
❌ Este livro é adorado por os leitores.
Incorrect — por + os obligatorily contracts to pelos. Writing 'por os' is a spelling error.
✅ Este livro é adorado pelos leitores.
This book is adored by readers.
The contraction is not optional; the form por os does not exist in written Portuguese.
❌ As cartas foram escrito pela Maria.
Incorrect — the past participle must agree with the feminine plural subject 'as cartas'.
✅ As cartas foram escritas pela Maria.
The letters were written by Maria.
English speakers routinely forget agreement, because English participles never inflect. Every passive participle in Portuguese must agree with the subject in gender and number.
❌ Vendem-se casas são no centro da cidade.
Incorrect — you cannot mix passive se and ser passive in the same sentence.
✅ Vendem-se casas no centro da cidade.
Houses are sold downtown. (passive se)
✅ Casas são vendidas no centro da cidade.
Houses are sold downtown. (ser passive)
Each passive strategy stands on its own. Choose one.
❌ O carro está comprado por ele.
Incorrect — 'está comprado' describes a resulting state, not the event of buying. For the event (was bought), use 'foi comprado'.
✅ O carro foi comprado por ele.
The car was bought by him. (event — preterite passive)
✅ O carro já está comprado.
The car is already bought / purchased. (state)
Mixing up ser (event) and estar (state) in the passive is one of the most common mistakes for learners transitioning from a language that only has one "to be" verb. Use ser to narrate an event; use estar to describe a resulting condition.
❌ A casa foi construída por 1920.
Incorrect — 'por' here is the wrong preposition. For time expressions, use 'em'.
✅ A casa foi construída em 1920.
The house was built in 1920.
Por is reserved for the agent in a passive. For time, use em.
Key takeaways
- The passive transformation has a fixed four-step recipe: move the object to subject position, conjugate ser in the same tense, add the past participle with agreement, optionally add por + agent.
- The tense of ser matches the tense of the original active verb — present → é, preterite → foi, imperfect → era, future → será, etc.
- The past participle always agrees with the new subject in gender and number — no exceptions with ser.
- Por contracts with the definite article: pelo, pela, pelos, pelas. These contractions are obligatory.
- When the agent is unknown, irrelevant, or redundant, drop the por + agent phrase entirely. Agentless passives are cleaner.
- Don't confuse ser passive (event) with estar
- participle (state) or ficar
- participle (resulting change). Each has its own semantic role.
- participle (state) or ficar
- Not every sentence can be passivized — you need a verb with a direct object.
Related Topics
- Ser + Past Participle (Analytic Passive)B1 — The Portuguese analytic passive — ser + past participle + (por + agent). The most explicit passive construction, with mandatory participle agreement and the por contractions (pelo, pela, pelos, pelas).
- Impersonal SeB1 — How European Portuguese uses 'se' to make generic, subjectless statements — the equivalent of English 'one does X' or 'you do X' in the impersonal sense.
- Expressing the Agent with PorB2 — How European Portuguese marks the doer in a passive sentence — the preposition 'por', its obligatory contractions, and when to leave the agent out altogether.
- Ficar + Past Participle: The Resultative PassiveB2 — How 'ficar + past participle' expresses a resulting state after a change — the distinct third voice alongside ser (event) and estar (state) that European Portuguese uses productively.
- Past Participle AgreementB1 — When past participles agree in gender and number, and when they don't — the sharp split between ter (invariant) and ser / estar / ficar / adjectival use (full agreement).
- The Past Participle in European PortugueseA2 — Formation and three main uses of the past participle (particípio passado) in EP: compound tenses with ter (invariable), passive voice with ser (agrees), and resultative/adjectival use with estar or as a modifier (agrees). Regular endings -ado/-ido, the key irregulars, and why Portuguese uses ter — not haver — as the compound auxiliary.