Breakdown of O império foi derrotado pelo herói.
ser
to be
por
through / by / for / because of
o império
the empire
derrotar
to defeat
o herói
the hero
Questions & Answers about O império foi derrotado pelo herói.
Why do we use foi instead of esteve for 'was'?
The passive voice in Portuguese is always formed with the verb ser (to be) plus the past participle, never with estar. Because the empire's defeat is a completed past action, we use foi, the Pretérito Perfeito form of ser.
Why does derrotado end in -o here?
In the passive voice, the past participle acts like an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject receiving the action. Since O império is a masculine singular noun, we use derrotado. If the subject were feminine, like a nação (the nation), it would be foi derrotada.
Why does the sentence use pelo instead of just por for 'by'?
The preposition por (by) introduces the agent (the one doing the action) in a passive sentence. However, it must combine with the definite article of the noun that follows it. Since it's o herói (the hero), por contracts with o to become pelo (by the).
How would you say this sentence in the active voice?
To switch back to the active voice, the hero becomes the subject doing the action: O herói derrotou o império (The hero defeated the empire). Notice how the passive foi derrotado changes to the simple past tense derrotou.
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