The Present Subjunctive in the Passive Voice

In this chapter we will study the passive voice. The passive voice is used when the action is more important than the person/the object/the situation that does the action or when the subject is unknown. Only transitive verbs i.e. verbs requiring a direct object are used in the passive voice. In the passive voice, the subject is often omitted or dropped. When rewriting active sentences into the passive form, there are important points to consider. These are the following:

• The direct object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. It is therefore placed in the beginning of the sentence.
• The form of the verb changes to the following form (the auxiliary “être” be conjugated to the tense of the verb in the active voice + past participle of the verb used in the active voice).
• The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent of the verb.
• When the subject(agent) is known, we precede it with “par” by.
• The verb in the passive voice agrees with the direct object which is placed in the beginning of the sentence.

In this lesson, we will study the passive voice of the present subjunctive. Let’s start with a simple example.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Il faut qu’on vende cette marchandise le plus tôt possible. We must sell this merchandise as soon as possible.	Il faut que cette marchandise soit vendue le plus tôt possible. This merchandise must be sold as soon as possible.

Notice that the verb in the active voice is “vende”. It is the present subjunctive in the active voice. In the second sentence, the form of the verb became: “soit vendue” which is the passive form of the present subjunctive.

The form of the present subjunctive in the passive voice

The Present Subjunctive in the Active Voice	The Present Subjunctive in the Passive Voice
que + the root of the verb + e/es/e/ions/iez/ent	que + auxiliary “être” in the present subjunctive + the past participle of the verb

Let’s take the verb: protéger

Active Voice	Passive Voice
que je protège	que je sois protégé(e)
que tu protèges	que tu sois protégé(e)
qu’il protège	qu’il soit protégé
qu’elle protège	qu’elle soit protégée
qu’on protège	qu’on soit protégé
que nous protégions	que nous soyons protégé(e)s
que vous protégiez	que vous soyez protégé(e)s
qu’ils protègent	qu’ils soient protégés
qu’elles parlent	qu’elles soient protégées

Notice that in the active voice the past participle of the verb agrees with the subject that precedes it, whereas in the passive voice, the past participle agrees with the direct object that precedes it.

Let’s take another example:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
J’exige que la compagnie rembourse ma cliente. I demand that the company reimburse my client.	J’exige que ma cliente soit remboursée par la compagnie. I demand that my client be reimbursed by the company.

The Passive voice of the present subjunctive in the negative form

The negative form of the present subjunctive in the passive voice is obtained by putting the auxiliary “être” in the present subjunctive tense between “ne” and “pas” then adding the past participle of the verb.

For example:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Je souhaite qu’ils ne mettent pas cette maison en vente. I hope they won’t put up this house for sale.	Je souhaite que cette maison ne soit pas mise en vente. I hope that this house will not be put up for sale.
Il exige que vous n’invitiez pas vos voisins. He demands that you don’t invite your neighbors.	Il exige que vos voisins ne soient pas invités. He demands that your neighbors not be invited.

The passive voice of the present subjunctive in the interrogative form

There are three ways to ask questions in French. To avoid confusion, we will only study the passive voice of the “est-ce que” form.

The interrogative form of the present subjunctive in the passive voice is obtained by adding “est-ce que” to the sentence in the passive voice, but because the subjunctive is always found in relative sentences, “est-ce que” precedes the introductory verb and not the verb in the present subjunctive.

For example:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Est-ce que vous souhaitez qu’ils mettent leur maison en vente ? Do you hope they put up their house for sale?	Est-ce que vous souhaitez que leur maison soit mise en vente ? Do you hope that their house will be put up for sale?
Est-ce qu’il exige que vous invitiez vos voisins ? Does he demand that you invite your neighbors?	Est-ce qu’il exige que vos voisins soient invités ? Does he demand that your neighbors be invited?