Passive across tenses

Level 4

The periphrastic passive (opisné pasivum) shifts the focus of a sentence from the doer (agent) to the recipient (patient) of an action. It is highly formal and characteristic of written, administrative, scientific, and journalistic Czech.

How It Works

Unlike the reflexive passive with se, the periphrastic passive allows you to explicitly state the agent using the instrumental case (e.g., byl dopaden policií - was caught by the police).

Aspect matters: With imperfective verbs, it emphasizes an ongoing process (je opravován - is being repaired). With perfective verbs, it emphasizes a completed result. To express a completed passive action, perfective verbs are usually put into the past or future tense (byl opraven - was repaired; bude opraven - will be repaired).

Negation: To negate the passive action, the negative prefix ne- attaches to the auxiliary verb (nebyl opraven - was not repaired). Attaching it to the participle (byl neopraven) is also grammatically valid, but it expresses a state (was unrepaired) rather than an action.

Register warning: While common in formal writing, using this passive in casual speech sounds stiff and unnatural. When native speakers do use this passive in casual speech, they almost always replace the formal short form with the long adjectival form (je opravovaný, je opravený). English speakers often overuse it due to L1 interference. In spoken Czech, prefer the active voice or the reflexive passive.

Examples (4)

  1. Návrh rozpočtu byl včera schválen poslaneckou sněmovnou.

    The budget proposal was approved by the Chamber of Deputies yesterday.

    Word by Word: Proposal of-budget was yesterday approved by-deputy chamber.

    Past tense periphrastic passive with a perfective verb. The agent is explicitly stated in the instrumental case.

  2. Tento projekt bude vypracován mým kolegou.

    This project will be prepared by my colleague.

    Word by Word: This project will-be prepared by-my colleague.

    Future tense periphrastic passive. The auxiliary 'bude' indicates the future, and the participle 'vypracován' agrees with the masculine inanimate subject.

  3. Most je právě opravován.

    The bridge is currently being repaired.

    Word by Word: Bridge is currently being-repaired.

    Present tense periphrastic passive with an imperfective verb, emphasizing an ongoing action.

  4. Škola nebyla opravena včas.

    The school was not repaired on time.

    Word by Word: School not-was repaired on-time.

    Past tense with negation. Notice that the negative prefix 'ne-' attaches to the auxiliary 'byla', and the participle 'opravena' takes the feminine ending.

Common Mistakes

  • Overusing the periphrastic passive in everyday spoken Czech.

    Different MeaningKniha byla čtena mnou.
    Četl jsem tu knihu.

    Translating the English passive directly into the Czech periphrastic passive in casual speech sounds highly unnatural and robotic. In everyday spoken Czech, use the active voice.

  • Confusing the short passive participle with the long verbal adjective.

    Most je opravený dělníky.
    Most je opravován dělníky.

    The long form (opravený) describes a resulting state, and with an agent the short passive participle is the usual choice. To express an action done by someone, use opravován/opraven.

  • Failing to make the short participle agree with the subject's gender and number.

    Okno byl opraven.
    Okno bylo opraveno.

    The short passive participle must strictly agree with the subject in gender and number. 'Okno' is neuter, so the auxiliary must be 'bylo' and the participle must end in '-o' (opraveno).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Passive across tensesLevel 4

Learn This First

To understand the passive across different tenses, a learner must already be familiar with the basic structure of the periphrastic passive (být + passive participle). Additionally, they need to know how the auxiliary verb 'být' is conjugated in the past and future tenses, as the tense of a passive construction is carried by this auxiliary.

Words in This Pattern