Impersonal Passive: buvo nuspręsta

Level 5

When there is no subject, the passive participle takes its neuter form in -ta or -ma: Buvo nuspręsta. (It was decided.) Sakoma, kad… (It is said that…)

How It Works

1. The form. Passive participles have a neuter form that ends in -a. Like the neuter state words šalta and gražu, it does not agree with a noun:

  • present: sako → sakoma, parduoda → parduodama, rūko → nerūkoma
  • past: nuspręsti → nuspręsta, nutarti → nutarta, pasakyti → pasakyta

In the present, yra is usually left out: Sakoma. An auxiliary būti can make the past or future explicit: Buvo nuspręsta. Bus pranešta. (It will be announced.)

2. Where you meet it.

  • Reports and rumours: Sakoma, kad… (It is said that…), Kalbama, kad… (People say that…), Manoma, kad… (It is thought that…)
  • Signs and notices: Parduodama (For sale), Čia nerūkoma (No smoking here)
  • Decisions: Buvo nuspręsta atidėti susirinkimą (It was decided to postpone the meeting)
  • Things said to you: Man buvo pasakyta palaukti (I was told to wait). The person told stays in the dative.

3. Verbs with no object. Verbs such as kalbėti can form an impersonal passive too: Apie tai daug kalbama (People talk about it a lot).

4. When there is a subject. If a noun in the nominative is the subject, the participle agrees with it instead: Namas parduodamas (The house is for sale), Parduodami bilietai (Tickets are on sale). Compare the passive with būti.

5. Who did it. A doer can be added in the genitive, but usually these sentences leave the doer out on purpose.

Examples (6)

  1. Buvo nuspręsta atidėti susirinkimą.

    It was decided to postpone the meeting.

    Nuspręsti → nuspręsta, with no subject.

  2. Sakoma, kad šiemet žiema bus šalta.

    It is said that the winter will be cold this year.

    In the present, yra is left out.

  3. Čia nerūkoma.

    No smoking here.

    A common sign. Ne- joins the participle.

  4. Parduodama.

    For sale.

    A one-word notice on a flat, a car or a house.

  5. Apie tai daug kalbama.

    People talk about it a lot.

    Kalbėti, used here without a direct object, can take this form.

  6. Man buvo pasakyta palaukti.

    I was told to wait.

    The person told stays in the dative.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the masculine form when there is no subject.

    Buvo nuspręstas atidėti susirinkimą.
    Buvo nuspręsta atidėti susirinkimą.

    Nothing in the sentence is a masculine subject, so the neuter -ta is used.

  • Using the neuter form when there is a subject.

    Kasoje parduodama bilietai.
    Kasoje parduodami bilietai.

    Bilietai is the subject, so the participle agrees with it in gender and number.

How It Connects

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Impersonal Passive: buvo nuspręstaLevel 5

Learn This First

The impersonal passive uses a neuter participle without a nominative subject.

Words in This Pattern

būti