Instead of using the standard passive voice (e.g., "are influenced"), French often uses the reflexive verb se laisser (to let oneself) followed by an infinitive to express that someone is letting themselves be affected by an action.
This structure translates literally to "letting oneself [verb]", but is best understood in English as "letting oneself be [verb]ed".
| Most consumers let themselves be influenced by advertising. | La plupart des consommateurs se laissent influencer par la publicité. |
| You easily let yourself be manipulated by this marketing. | Tu te laisses facilement manipuler par ce marketing. |
Making it Negative
To form the negative, simply place ne and pas around the conjugated reflexive verb (se laisser). The infinitive comes after the negation.
| My brother does not let himself be manipulated by this influencer. | Mon frère ne se laisse pas manipuler par cet influenceur. |
In the Past Tense
Because se laisser is a reflexive verb, it uses être as its auxiliary verb in the passé composé.
There is an important grammar rule to remember here: when the past participle laissé is directly followed by an infinitive, it is invariable. This means it never adds an -e or -s to agree with the subject, even though it is a reflexive verb taking être.
| I let myself be fooled by this catchy slogan. | Je me suis laissé berner par ce slogan accrocheur. |
Notice in the next example that laissé does not take an -s to agree with nous:
| We let ourselves be persuaded by the new advertisement. | Nous nous sommes laissé persuader par la nouvelle publicité. |
In Other Tenses
You can use this construction in any tense, including the future. Just conjugate se laisser and keep the second verb in the infinitive.
| You will let yourselves be fooled if you don't pay attention! | Vous vous laisserez berner si vous ne faites pas attention ! |