AM: Lesson - Passive Voice - Present System Translation

Image: Romans play a game during the Saturnalia festival. Passive Voice - Present System Translation

The passive voice in English is expressed by using a helping verb and a past participle. The image depicts a group of men gambling during the Saturnalia festival. In Rome, gambling was allowed during festivals. The expression was allowed demonstrates how English expresses the passive voice, using a helping verb (was) + a past participle (allowed). The helping verb changes tense to indicate the time of the action for the passive construction. What tense would was allowed be in Latin? The helping verb was indicates a continuous past action, so likely this would be the imperfect tense in Latin. The past participle (allowed) will not change in the English translation, no matter what tense is being used:

  • Present: gambling is allowed
  • Imperfect: gambling was allowed
  • Future: gambling will be allowed

Present System Passive Indicative Translation

Use the following to correctly translate the present system tenses. Take particular note that the word carried does not change from tense to tense: English will always use that perfect participle for the passive voice.

  • The present tense passive indicative translates using the present forms of the helping verb to be.
    • I am carried.
  • The imperfect tense passive indicative translates using the was/were form of the helping verb to be. The other translations of imperfect are still available: used to be, kept being.
    • I was carried.
  • The future tense passive indicative translates using the future form of the helping verb to be (will be).
    • I will be carried.

Review Tense Usage - Present System

  • The present tense is used to express action that is happening currently, or to express action that is happening at the same time as another action.  This is true in both the active and passive voice.
  • The imperfect tense is used to indicate continuous or repeated past action.  This is true whether the verb is active or passive.
  • The future tense is used to indicate action that has not yet happened.  This is true whether the verb is active or passive.

Below are the fully conjugated present system forms of the verb portare translated:

  • porto, portare, portavi, portatus - to carry
    • Present stem: porta-
Present System Passive Translations
Language Present Tense Imperfect Tense Future Tense
Latin portor
portaris
portatur
portamur
portamini
portantur
portabar
portabaris
portabatur
portabamur
portabamini
portabantur
portabor
portaberis
portabitur
portabimur
portabimini
portabuntur
English I am carried
You are carried
She is carried
We are carried
You (pl) are carried
They are carried
I was carried
You were carried
It was carried
We were carried
You (pl) were carried
They were carried
I will be carried
You will be carried
He will be carried
We will be carried
You (pl) will be carried
They will be carried

Nota bene

  • 3rd person singular can be any gender, so can be he OR she OR it. In the examples above, just one gender was selected for each translation. If you want to include all three, you can write:
    • he/she/it is carried

For a chart showing several verbs fully conjugated and translated, please download the Passive Voice Verb Examples Links to an external site. handout.

Practice Activity