Log inSign up

El estadio fue modernizado por el club de fútbol el año pasado.

El estadio fue modernizado por el club de fútbol el año pasado.
The stadium was modernized by the football club last year.
From Lesson 538:Urban Development·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about El estadio fue modernizado por el club de fútbol el año pasado.

Why is the true passive voice (fue modernizado) used here instead of the passive 'se' (se modernizó)?
While Spanish often prefers the passive se for general statements, the true passive voice (ser + past participle) is used here because the specific doer or agent of the action is explicitly mentioned using por (por el club de fútbol).
Why does the participle modernizado end in '-o' here?
In the true passive voice, the past participle acts like an adjective. It must agree in gender and number with the subject receiving the action. Since el estadio is masculine and singular, modernizado must also be masculine and singular.
Could we use estuvo instead of fue in this sentence?
No, because fue modernizado describes the actual event of the modernization taking place. If you used estar (estuvo modernizado), you would be describing the resulting physical state of the stadium, which doesn't work when you are explicitly stating who performed the action using por.
Why use the preterite tense (fue) rather than the imperfect (era)?
The preterite is required because the action was a single event completed within a specific, enclosed timeframe in the past, indicated by the phrase el año pasado (last year).

Learn El estadio fue modernizado por el club de fútbol el año pasado and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →