Breakdown of On se laisse manipuler par le marketing.
on
one / we (informal)
par
by, through / out of (motive)
se laisser
to let oneself
manipuler
to manipulate
le marketing
the marketing
Questions & Answers about On se laisse manipuler par le marketing.
Why is manipuler an active infinitive rather than something like être manipulé?
The structure se laisser is always followed directly by an active infinitive, even though the English translation uses a passive verb ('be manipulated'). You don't need to add the verb être. Think of it literally as 'We let [something] manipulate us'.
Since this isn't a standard passive voice sentence, why do we still use par?
Because the meaning is still passive! The phrase se laisser + infinitive is a passive alternative. The thing actually doing the manipulating (the marketing) is the agent of the action. Just like in standard passive sentences, you introduce the agent with par (by).
Could this sentence also translate to 'People let themselves be manipulated'?
What happens to this structure in the past tense? Does laissé agree with the subject?
In the past tense, this would be On s'est laissé manipuler. A special, handy rule applies to se laisser (and se faire) when followed by an infinitive: the past participle laissé is invariable. It never agrees with the subject or the reflexive pronoun, so you never need to add an -s or -e.
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