Breakdown of La paroi est tapissée de cette substance.
être
to be
ce
this (before a noun)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
la paroi
the wall (inner, partition, side)
la substance
the substance
tapisser
to line
Questions & Answers about La paroi est tapissée de cette substance.
Why use de instead of par to introduce the agent in this passive sentence?
In the passive voice, de is used instead of par when a verb describes a state, condition, or result of an action, rather than a specific physical action performed by an active agent. This is the standard rule for verbs of covering, filling, and equipping. Since est tapissée describes the ongoing state of the wall being covered, we use de.
Why is the word paroi used here instead of the more common word for wall, mur?
Why does tapissée have an extra -e at the end?
In the passive voice, the verb is formed with the auxiliary être (here, est). Whenever you use être to form a compound tense or passive voice, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Since La paroi is feminine singular, we add an -e to make it tapissée.
Does tapissée only refer to literal wallpaper?
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