Breakdown of La molécule est transformée par le phénomène.
être
to be
par
by, through / out of (motive)
la molécule
the molecule
transformer
to transform
Questions & Answers about La molécule est transformée par le phénomène.
Why does transformée have an extra -e at the end?
In the passive voice, the past participle acts like an adjective and must agree with the subject. Because la molécule is feminine and singular, we add an -e to the past participle transformé.
Is the passive voice structured the exact same way in French as in English here?
Yes, it matches perfectly! You use the verb être (to be) conjugated in the present tense (est), followed by the past participle (transformée). Then, just like English uses 'by', French uses the preposition par to introduce what is doing the action.
Why is it le phénomène if it ends in -e? Isn't that usually feminine?
Could I use de instead of par to mean 'by' in this sentence?