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Certains peintres sont admirés par les touristes.

Certains peintres sont admirés par les touristes.
Certain painters are admired by tourists.
From Lesson 161:The passive voice in the present (être + par)·French

Questions & Answers about Certains peintres sont admirés par les touristes.

Why does this sentence use sont admirés?
This is an example of the passive voice. The subject (Certains peintres) isn't doing the admiring; they are receiving the action (they are admired). You form this in the present tense by using the present conjugation of être (sont) followed by the past participle of the main verb (admirés).
Why is there an s at the end of admirés?
In the passive voice, the past participle always agrees with the subject, acting much like an adjective. Because the subject (Certains peintres) is masculine and plural, we must add an s to the standard masculine singular form admiré.
What is the role of par in this sentence?
In a passive sentence, par translates to "by". It introduces the "agent"—the person or thing actually performing the action. So, par les touristes tells us exactly who is doing the admiring.
Why is it les touristes when the English translation just says "tourists"?
In French, nouns almost always require an article, even when speaking about things in general. When referring to a general category of people, like "tourists", French uses the definite plural article les, whereas English leaves the article out.

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