Skip to content
VirtusAcademy

The Passive Voice in the Present

HigherHigher tier onlyAQA

Master The Passive Voice in the Present for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Higher tier exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). The passive is formed with être plus a past participle, with the agent introduced by par.

Free downloads

These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

This is a Higher tier only topic, so there's no Foundation paper — only the Higher worksheet and mark scheme below.

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

The passive voice describes something being done to the subject rather than the subject doing it. This is a Higher-only topic.

It is formed with être plus a past participle, and the participle agrees with the subject. Le livre est lu means the book is read. La maison est construite means the house is built, with the participle taking an -e.

French uses the passive far less than English, and often avoids it with on. On parle français ici is much more natural than le français est parlé ici, and both mean French is spoken here. Recognising the passive matters for reading; producing it is less often required than being able to avoid it.

Revision notes

The structure

Être plus a past participle, with the participle agreeing with the subject.

Le livre est lu. La maison est construite. Les livres sont lus. Les maisons sont construites. The agreement works exactly as it does with être verbs in the perfect tense.

Avoiding the passive with on

On parle français ici — French is spoken here.

This is far more natural than le français est parlé ici. French prefers on for general statements where English would use a passive, and using on well is often better than producing a correct passive.

Saying by whom

Use par to name who did the action.

Le livre est écrit par Marc — the book is written by Marc. Without par, the passive simply states that something is done without naming the doer.

Key points

  • The passive uses être plus a past participle.
  • The participle agrees with the subject.
  • Le livre est lu means the book is read.
  • French uses the passive less than English.
  • On is often used instead.
  • Par names who did the action.

Worked examples

Example 1

Translate: the house is built. [2 marks]

Working

La maison est construiteuse être with the past participle
The participle takes an -e to agree with the feminine subjectexplain the agreement

Example 2

Rewrite using on: Le français est parlé ici. [2 marks]

Working

On parle français iciuse on with the active verb
French prefers on for general statements where English uses a passiveexplain the preference

Example 3

Translate: the book is written by Marc. [2 marks]

Working

Le livre est écrit par Marcuse être with the participle and par
Par introduces the person who performed the actionexplain the use of par

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting the participle agreement.

    It agrees with the subject, like an être verb.

  • Overusing the passive.

    French prefers on for general statements.

  • Using de instead of par.

    Par names the doer of the action.

  • Using avoir instead of être.

    The passive always uses être.

Exam tips

  • Agree the participle with the subject.
  • Consider using on instead.
  • Use par to name the doer.
  • Remember this is a Higher-only topic.

Key terms

Passive voice
A structure where the subject receives the action.
Past participle
The verb form agreeing with the subject.
Par
The preposition naming who performed the action.
On
The pronoun often used to avoid the passive.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.