Passive Participle + przez + Accusative

Passive Agents with Przez

Level 4

In passive voice sentences (e.g., 'The book was written...'), the person who did the action is introduced by the preposition przez followed by the accusative case.

How It Works

The agent is the 'doer' of an action. In a standard active sentence, the agent is the subject. In a passive voice sentence, the agent is moved to a prepositional phrase.

1. The Structure
To form this, you need:

  • A passive verb (using zostać for completed events or być for states).
  • A passive participle (ending in -ny, -ony, or -ty).
  • The preposition przez.
  • The agent in the accusative case.

2. Agreement Rules
It is important to remember that the passive participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence, not the agent. For example: Książka (fem.) została napisana (fem.) przez autora.

3. The Case Requirement
Unlike some other Slavic languages that use the instrumental case for agents, Polish strictly requires przez + accusative. The instrumental case is reserved for the tool or means used (e.g., 'written with a pen').

4. Phonological Variant: przeze
When the agent is the first-person pronoun 'me', the preposition changes to przeze to aid pronunciation: przeze mnie.

5. Usage and Register
This pattern is very common in formal, legal, and academic Polish. In casual conversation, Poles often avoid the passive voice entirely, preferring the active voice or impersonal constructions because the passive with an agent can sound stiff or 'translated'.

Examples (5)

  1. Ta książka została napisana przez znanego autora.

    This book was written by a famous author.

    Word by Word: This book became written by known author.

    Here, 'znanego autora' is in the accusative case following 'przez' to show who wrote the book.

  2. Decyzja została podjęta przez zarząd firmy.

    The decision was made by the company's board.

    Word by Word: Decision became taken by board (of) company.

    A typical formal sentence where the agent (the board) is introduced by 'przez'.

  3. Zostałem oszukany przez nieuczciwego sprzedawcę.

    I was cheated by a dishonest seller.

    Word by Word: (I) became cheated by dishonest seller.

    The seller is the agent performing the action of cheating.

  4. To zadanie zostało wykonane przeze mnie.

    This task was performed by me.

    Word by Word: This task became performed by-me.

    Note the use of 'przeze' instead of 'przez' before the pronoun 'mnie'.

  5. List został napisany przez sekretarkę długopisem.

    The letter was written by the secretary with a pen.

    Word by Word: Letter became written by secretary pen-with.

    This shows the contrast: 'przez' + accusative for the person, and bare instrumental for the tool (długopisem).

Common Mistakes

  • Using the instrumental case for the agent.

    List został napisany sekretarką.
    List został napisany przez sekretarkę.

    In Polish, using the instrumental case alone implies the person was a physical tool. You must use 'przez' + accusative for the person doing the action.

  • Using the wrong case after 'przez'.

    To zostało zrobione przez mój brat.
    To zostało zrobione przez mojego brata.

    'Przez' always requires the accusative case. 'Mój brat' is nominative; 'mojego brata' is the correct accusative form for a masculine animate noun.

How It Connects

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

Passive Participle + przez + AccusativeLevel 4Passive Agents with Przez

Learn This First

Learn The Passive Voice, Przez With The Accusative, Accusative Case before Passive Agents With Przez.

Words in This Pattern