Learn Italian: Questi materiali non vengono trasportati in camion. - These materials are not transported by truck.

Questi materiali non vengono trasportati in camion.

These materials are not transported by truck.

Breakdown of Questi materiali non vengono trasportati in camion.

in / made of (material)

venire

to come

Questions & Answers about Questi materiali non vengono trasportati in camion.

Why does the sentence use vengono instead of sono for "are"?

This is the dynamic passive. Using venire instead of essere emphasizes the action itself (the process of transporting) rather than a finished state. It is similar to saying the materials "get transported" in English.

Does the past participle trasportati have to agree with the subject here?

Yes! In any passive sentence, whether you use essere or venire, the past participle acts like an adjective and must match the gender and number of the subject. Since questi materiali is masculine plural, the participle ends in -i.

Why do we use the preposition in for in camion?

When talking about a general means of transportation, Italian uses the preposition in without an article. Just like in treno (by train) or in macchina (by car), we use in camion to mean "by truck".

Can I use venire for a passive sentence in the passato prossimo?

No, the passive with venire is only used for simple tenses that do not need a helping verb, like the present (vengono) or the imperfect (venivano). To use a compound tense like the passato prossimo, you must switch back to essere: sono stati trasportati.