Romanian builds a full passive voice with the verb a fi (to be) plus the past participle, optionally naming the agent with de or de către: Casa a fost construită de bunicul meu (The house was built by my grandfather). If you know English or another Romance language, the structure feels familiar — but Romanian adds one feature that trips up nearly every learner: in this passive the participle agrees in gender and number with the subject, exactly the opposite of what happens in the perfect compus. This page lays out the construction across tenses, the agreement rule, the two agent markers, and where this passive belongs stylistically.
The basic structure
The periphrastic passive is a fi (conjugated) + past participle. The subject is the thing the action is done to; the doer, if mentioned, comes after de (or the more formal de către).
Romanul a fost scris de Eminescu.
The novel was written by Eminescu.
Mesajul este trimis automat în fiecare dimineață.
The message is sent automatically every morning.
Hoțul a fost prins de poliție.
The thief was caught by the police.
The participle agrees — this is the key point
Here is the feature you must internalize. In the perfect compus, the participle is invariable (it stays masculine singular no matter the subject or object). In the a fi passive, the participle is an adjective-like form that agrees in gender and number with the subject.
| Subject | Passive (a fi + participle) | Form |
|---|---|---|
| casa (f. sg.) | casa este construită | construit + ă |
| blocul (n. sg.) | blocul este construit | construit (neuter sg. = masc. form) |
| casele (f. pl.) | casele sunt construite | construit + e |
| blocurile (n. pl.) | blocurile sunt construite | construit + e |
| copiii (m. pl.) | copiii sunt premiați | premiat + ți (m. pl.) |
Casele au fost construite în anii '70.
The houses were built in the '70s.
Cei trei studenți au fost premiați la concurs.
The three students were awarded prizes at the competition.
Contrast this directly with the perfect compus, where the very same participle stays frozen:
Bunicul a construit casele.
My grandfather built the houses. (perfect compus — 'construit' invariable)
Casele au fost construite de bunicul.
The houses were built by my grandfather. (passive — 'construite' agrees, f./n. pl.)
The passive across tenses
Because the passive is just a fi + participle, you form any tense simply by conjugating a fi in that tense. The participle's agreement stays constant throughout.
| Tense | Example (f. sg. subject 'casa') | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | casa este construită | the house is built |
| Imperfect | casa era construită | the house was being built |
| Perfect compus | casa a fost construită | the house was built |
| Pluperfect | casa fusese construită | the house had been built |
| Future | casa va fi construită | the house will be built |
| Conditional | casa ar fi construită | the house would be built |
| Subjunctive | să fie construită | (that) it be built |
Podul va fi inaugurat luna viitoare.
The bridge will be inaugurated next month.
Documentele fuseseră deja semnate când am ajuns.
The documents had already been signed when I arrived.
Vreau ca raportul să fie terminat până vineri.
I want the report to be finished by Friday.
Naming the agent: de vs de către
The doer of the action is introduced by de in neutral usage and by de către in more formal or administrative register. De către also helps avoid ambiguity when plain de might be read as a different preposition.
Legea a fost adoptată de către Parlament.
The law was adopted by Parliament. (formal)
Tortul a fost făcut de mama.
The cake was made by my mom. (neutral)
A warning on register
This periphrastic passive is correct and common in writing — news reports, formal documents, academic prose. In everyday speech, though, Romanian strongly prefers the se-passive (Cartea se vinde bine) or an active sentence with an unexpressed subject. Over-using a fi + participle, especially with a de agent on every sentence, is a hallmark of English-influenced Romanian and sounds translated. Use it when you genuinely need to name an agent and the register is formal; reach for the se-passive otherwise.
Cartea aceasta se citește ușor.
This book reads easily. (natural, agentless — preferred in speech)
Cartea a fost citită de milioane de oameni.
The book has been read by millions of people. (a fi passive — agent named)
Common Mistakes
❌ Casa a fost construit de bunicul.
Wrong — the participle must agree with the feminine subject: construită.
✅ Casa a fost construită de bunicul.
The house was built by my grandfather.
❌ Casele au fost construită anul trecut.
Wrong — plural subject needs the plural participle: construite.
✅ Casele au fost construite anul trecut.
The houses were built last year.
❌ Romanul a fost scris cu Eminescu.
Wrong agent marker — the agent takes 'de', not 'cu'.
✅ Romanul a fost scris de Eminescu.
The novel was written by Eminescu.
❌ Ușa este fost închisă.
Wrong — you conjugate 'a fi' once; don't stack 'este' + 'fost'. Use 'este închisă' (present) or 'a fost închisă' (past).
✅ Ușa a fost închisă. / Ușa este închisă.
The door was closed. / The door is closed.
❌ Mâncarea este gătit de bunica în fiecare zi.
Wrong agreement — feminine subject 'mâncarea' needs 'gătită'.
✅ Mâncarea este gătită de bunica în fiecare zi.
The food is cooked by grandma every day.
Key Takeaways
- The periphrastic passive is a fi (any tense) + agreeing past participle (+ optional de / de către agent).
- The participle agrees in gender and number with the subject — the opposite of the perfect compus (am construit casa, invariable).
- Form any tense by conjugating a fi; the agreement of the participle never changes with tense.
- de is neutral, de către is formal.
- This passive belongs to writing; in speech, prefer the se-passive.
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Start learning Romanian→Related Topics
- Choosing the Passive: se vs a fiB2 — A decision guide for Romanian's two passives — the se-passive for generic, agentless, habitual statements, and a fi + participle for a specific completed event with a nameable agent.
- Passive, Reflexive, or Impersonal? Disambiguating seC1 — The systematic three-way ambiguity of Romanian se — true reflexive, reciprocal, and passive/impersonal — and how context, the presence of a patient, animacy, and disambiguators like unul pe altul resolve it.
- The Reflexive Passive (se-passive)B1 — Why se + verb is the default passive in everyday Romanian, how the verb agrees with the patient, and when to prefer it over the 'a fi' passive.
- The Perfect Compus: OverviewA1 — An introduction to the perfect compus (am + past participle), Romanian's everyday past tense for completed actions — the only past tense the spoken language uses in practice.
- The Verb a fi (to be): PresentA1 — The present-tense forms of a fi — Romanian's single, all-purpose 'to be' — its colloquial reductions, and its core uses.