Breakdown of I mattoni sono scelti dall'architetto per la facciata.
essere
to be
per
for / in order to / because of
scegliere
to choose
l'architetto
the architect (m)
Questions & Answers about I mattoni sono scelti dall'architetto per la facciata.
Why do we use sono scelti here instead of an active verb?
This sentence uses the passive voice because the subject (i mattoni, the bricks) is receiving the action, not doing it. To form the passive, we take the auxiliary verb essere conjugated to match the subject (sono) and add the past participle of the main verb (scelti).
Why does the past participle end in "-i" (scelti)?
Whenever you form the passive voice with essere, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Because i mattoni is masculine plural, the standard past participle scelto changes to scelti.
What is the infinitive verb for scelti?
The infinitive is scegliere (to choose). It has an irregular past participle: scelto (chosen). It is definitely one worth memorizing, as you will see it often!
Why does the sentence use dall' to mean "by the"?
In a passive sentence, the "agent" (the person or thing doing the action) is always introduced by the preposition da (by). Since architetto starts with a vowel, it needs the definite article l'. When you combine da + l', they merge into the combined preposition dall'.