In French, verbs that take an indirect object (verbs followed by the preposition à, such as parler à, demander à, or permettre à) cannot be used in the passive voice. You cannot literally translate a sentence like "The columnist was asked..." because demander requires an indirect object (demander à quelqu'un).
The workaround: Using "on"
To express these ideas, flip the sentence into the active voice using the indefinite pronoun on (one / they / someone). Instead of "The columnist was asked," you say "Someone asked the columnist":
| The columnist was asked to speak before the credits. | On a demandé au chroniqueur de parler avant le générique. |
| The presenter was told how to interview the guest on the air. | On a dit au présentateur comment interviewer l'invité à l'antenne. |
Working with object pronouns
When the person receiving the action is a pronoun (like "I was allowed"), they remain an indirect object pronoun (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur), and on acts as the subject.
Instead of "I was allowed," French phrases it as "One allowed [to] me":
| I was allowed to leave the control room. | On m'a permis de quitter la régie. |
Instead of "He was criticized," French says "One criticized [to] him":
| He was criticized for his mistake during the broadcast. | On lui a reproché son erreur pendant la diffusion. |
| We were forbidden to speak into the earpiece. | On nous a interdit de parler dans l'oreillette. |