Passives Without a Subject

Level 5

A passive with no subject: itur, curritur, ventum est.

How It Works

Active	Impersonal passive	English
eunt they go	itur	people go, one goes
currunt they run	curritur	there is running
dormiunt they sleep	dormitur	people sleep
veniunt they come	ventum est	people came
cantant they sing	cantatur	there is singing

The doer is not named. You can add one with a or ab, as in a pueris curritur (the boys are running). Without it, the sentence puts the action first.

This is an old Latin way to say what people do in general, and the English often needs a phrase such as there is or one. Pair it with a place word: ad forum itur means people go to the forum.

Examples (5)

Ad forum itur.
People go to the forum.
Itur is the impersonal passive of eo. It has no subject.
Sic itur ad astra.
This is the way to the stars.
Virgil, Aeneid 9. Apollo says it to the young Iulus. Itur means one goes.
Hic bene dormitur.
One sleeps well here.
Dormitur is the impersonal passive of dormio.
Ventum est ad villam.
They came to the house.
Ventum est is the perfect: the neuter participle ventum with est.
In ecclesia cantatur.
There is singing in the church.
Cantatur is the impersonal passive of canto.

Common Mistakes

Making the impersonal passive plural.
Ad forum euntur.
Ad forum itur.
The impersonal passive has one form, the third person singular: itur. Euntur is not a Latin form.

How It Connects

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

Passives Without a SubjectLevel 5

Learn This First

The impersonal passive is a passive verb with no subject.

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