Omitting the agent in formal passive statements

Level 4

In formal French, the agent (the person doing the action) is often omitted in passive sentences. This shifts focus to the event itself and is standard in news, law, and academic writing.

How It Works

The agentless passive is a hallmark of the registre soutenu (formal register). While English uses the passive voice frequently, French is more selective, using this form when objectivity is a priority or to emphasize the result of an action.

1. Tense Flexibility:
The auxiliary verb être can be conjugated in any tense to reflect when the action occurs. For example, use the present for habits ('Le café est servi'), the passé composé for completed actions ('Il a été invité'), or the futur simple for upcoming events ('Ce sera fini').

2. When to use it:

  • Unknown or Irrelevant actor: When the doer is unknown or the action itself is more important.
  • Obvious actor: When the context makes the doer clear (e.g., the police, the government).
  • Stylistic emphasis: To avoid a clunky subject or to foreground the object of the action.

3. Grammatical Rules:

  • It generally only works with transitive direct verbs. However, a few indirect verbs like obéir and pardonner are exceptions.
  • The past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject (see agreement with être).
  • For inanimate subjects, French often prefers the pronominal passive (e.g., 'Cela se dit' instead of 'Cela est dit').

Examples (5)

  1. Le petit déjeuner est servi à huit heures.

    Breakfast is served at eight o'clock.

    Word by Word: The small lunch is served at eight hours.

    This example uses the present tense of être to show a regular occurrence where the agent is omitted.

  2. Trois suspects ont été arrêtés ce matin.

    Three suspects were arrested this morning.

    Word by Word: Three suspects have been arrested this morning.

    The agent (the police) is omitted because it is obvious. The focus is on the arrest itself.

  3. La loi a été votée à l'unanimité.

    The law was passed unanimously.

    Word by Word: The law has been voted at the unanimity.

    Common in administrative French; the focus is on the status of the law, not the individual voters.

  4. Ce château a été édifié au XVIIe siècle.

    This castle was built in the 17th century.

    Word by Word: This castle has been built at the 17th century.

    Used in historical contexts where the specific workers are less relevant than the date of completion.

  5. Toutes les invitations ont été envoyées hier.

    All the invitations were sent yesterday.

    Word by Word: All the invitations have been sent yesterday.

    Note the feminine plural agreement of 'envoyées' with the subject 'invitations'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the passive voice for most indirect transitive verbs (verbs taking 'à').

    J'ai été téléphoné par Marie.
    Marie m'a téléphoné.

    In French, you generally cannot make a verb passive if it uses 'à'. However, there are rare exceptions like 'obéir', 'désobéir', and 'pardonner' (e.g., 'Le capitaine a été obéi').

  • Forgetting to agree the past participle with the subject.

    La décision a été pris.
    La décision a été prise.

    In a passive construction, the participle acts like an adjective and must match the subject in gender and number.

  • Using the passive voice in casual conversation.

    Mon gâteau a été mangé !
    On a mangé mon gâteau !

    While grammatically correct, the passive sounds very stiff in speech. Using the on construction is the natural choice for 'someone' or 'they'.

How It Connects

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Omitting the agent in formal passive statementsLevel 4

Learn This First

Omitting the agent is a stylistic choice within the passive voice. Learners must first be comfortable with the structural formation of the passive voice (être + past participle) and the standard way of expressing an agent (using 'par') before they can understand the formal convention of leaving the agent out when it is unknown or implied.