Breakdown of La puerta fue abierta por la repartidora porque toqué el timbre.
yo
I
ser
to be
porque
because
la puerta
the door
por
by
la repartidora
the delivery woman
abierto
opened
tocar el timbre
to ring the doorbell
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Questions & Answers about La puerta fue abierta por la repartidora porque toqué el timbre.
Is the passive with ser (fue abierta por…) natural in Spanish, or should I prefer another structure?
It’s correct but sounds formal or written. In everyday Spanish (especially in Spain), you’d usually prefer:
- Active: La repartidora me abrió la puerta porque toqué el timbre.
- Se-passive/middle: La puerta se abrió cuando toqué el timbre. Use the ser-passive when you need to explicitly state the agent or in formal contexts.
Why is it abierta and not abierto?
Agreement. In the ser-passive, the past participle behaves like an adjective and agrees with the subject:
- la puerta fue abierta (feminine singular)
- el coche fue abierto (masculine singular)
- las puertas fueron abiertas (feminine plural)
What’s the difference between fue abierta and estaba/estuvo abierta?
- fue abierta = event/process of opening (someone performed the action).
- estaba/estuvo abierta = resulting state (the door was in an open state). If you want “it ended up open,” you might also hear: La puerta se quedó abierta.
Could I say ha sido abierta instead of fue abierta? When do Spaniards use each?
Both are correct passives, different tenses:
- fue abierta (preterite) = a finished event in a completed past time.
- ha sido abierta (present perfect) = recent past with present relevance; in Spain it’s common for events that happened “today/this morning,” etc. Choose based on the time frame and relevance.
Is era abierta ever right?
Rarely. It would describe a habitual/repeated process or background: La puerta era abierta por la repartidora cada mañana. For a single completed event, use fue abierta.
Why use por with the agent? Could I use de?
In the passive, por introduces the agent (the doer): fue abierta por la repartidora. De expresses possession/origin/content, not agency. La puerta de la repartidora means “the delivery woman’s door,” which is different.
Should it be la repartidora or una repartidora? Can I omit the article?
- la repartidora = a specific/known delivery woman in the context.
- una repartidora = some delivery woman (unspecified). You cannot omit the article here; por repartidora is ungrammatical.
Is fue here from ser or ir?
From ser. In the passive you must use ser + participle. fue from ir would mean “went,” e.g., fue a abrir = “went to open,” which is different.
Where is the “I” in Spanish? Why don’t we see yo?
It’s encoded in the verb ending -é in toqué (1st person singular preterite). Spanish drops subject pronouns unless you want emphasis or contrast. You could add yo for emphasis: … porque yo toqué el timbre.
Why does toqué have an accent and fue doesn’t? And why qu instead of c?
- toqué: the accent marks the preterite form; without it (toque) is present subjunctive/imperative. The spelling changes to qu to keep the /k/ sound before e.
- fue: it’s a monosyllable and doesn’t take an accent in modern spelling.
Is tocar el timbre the usual phrasing in Spain? What about llamar al timbre?
Both are used in Spain:
- Most common: tocar el timbre.
- Also common: llamar al timbre (and with intercom: llamar al portero/telefonillo). You may also hear dar al timbre, pulsar/apretar el timbre. Avoid tocar al timbre (less standard).
Do I need a comma before porque?
Usually no: … por la repartidora porque toqué el timbre. A comma can appear when the clause is an afterthought/explanatory aside, but the safe default is no comma before porque.
Can I move the porque… clause to the front?
Yes: Porque toqué el timbre, la puerta fue abierta por la repartidora. When fronted, a comma after the clause is standard. You can also use Como at the start: Como toqué el timbre, … (very natural in Spanish).
Could I use se abrió instead of the ser-passive? Any nuance difference?
Yes: La puerta se abrió porque toqué el timbre. The se-construction is very common and avoids naming the agent; it focuses on the event/result. The ser-passive highlights the agent (por la repartidora).
Would cuando toqué el timbre mean the same as porque toqué el timbre?
Not exactly:
- porque = cause (she opened it because I rang).
- cuando = time (she opened it when I rang). Often the meaning overlaps in context, but they’re different relations.
Can I add an indirect object to show the door was opened for me?
Avoid clunky passives like La puerta me fue abierta. Use the active: La repartidora me abrió la puerta (natural and common).
Any quick pronunciation tips?
- fue: [fwe], one syllable.
- repartidora: the d between vowels is soft
- abierta: [a.ˈβjer.ta], the b is a soft bilabial [β] between vowels.
- timbre: [ˈtim.bɾe], clear short vowels; tap the r.