Stative passive voice (być)

The stative passive voice

In Polish, use the stative passive voice to describe the resulting state of a completed action. Combine the verb być (to be) with a passive participle to describe the current condition of an object.

The entire new assortment is already sold out.
Cały nowy asortyment jest już wyprzedany.

Passive participles behave like adjectives and agree with the subject in gender and number. For masculine subjects, the participle typically ends in -y:

Why isn't the merchandise from the clearance sale discounted?
Dlaczego towar z wyprzedaży nie jest przeceniony?

For feminine subjects, the participle ends in -a:

Is your parcel from Poland cancelled?
Czy twoja przesyłka z Polski jest anulowana?

Past tense

To describe a past state, use the past tense of być (był, była, było). Both the verb and the participle must match the subject.

Here is a neuter subject taking było and a participle ending in -e:

Before we came, this order was cancelled.
Zanim przyszliśmy, to zamówienie było anulowane.

Here is a feminine subject with była:

This heavy parcel was not put aside for me.
Ta ciężka przesyłka nie była dla mnie odłożona.

Retail statuses

This structure is very common when discussing store inventory, returns, or reservations.

This broken television is already returned to the store.
Ten zepsuty telewizor jest już zwrócony do sklepu.
The coat from the shop window is put aside for you.
Płaszcz z witryny jest odłożony dla ciebie.
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