Breakdown of El cineasta ha sido nominado por el comité.
ser
to be
por
for / by / through / in (during a part of the day)
haber
to have (auxiliary)
el cineasta
the filmmaker
Questions & Answers about El cineasta ha sido nominado por el comité.
How do we form the passive voice in "ha sido nominado"?
The passive voice is formed using the verb ser (to be) followed by a past participle, plus por to introduce who did the action. In this sentence, ser is conjugated in the present perfect as ha sido (has been), followed by the past participle nominado (nominated).
Why does "nominado" end in "-o"? Doesn't the past participle stay the same in perfect tenses?
In normal active perfect tenses, the past participle attached to haber never changes. But in the passive voice with ser, the past participle acts like an adjective and must agree with the subject receiving the action. Since el cineasta is masculine and singular, nominado must also be masculine and singular.
Why does "el cineasta" end in "-a" but use the masculine article "el"?
Professions ending in -asta or -ista (like cineasta or artista) use the exact same word for both men and women. The article is what tells you the gender. El cineasta refers to a male filmmaker, while la cineasta refers to a female filmmaker. If it were female, the sentence would be: La cineasta ha sido nominada...
Could I use "para" instead of "por" for "by the committee"?
No, in the passive voice, the person or group performing the action (known as the agent) is always introduced by por (by). You cannot use para here, because para is generally used to show a recipient or destination, not the doer of the action.