The passive voice - review: se firmó, se pagan, se entregará...

1. What is the passive with se and why is it useful?

• Passive with se = we talk about what happens to the “thing”, not about who does it.
• It is very common in Spanish in rules, instructions and formal or neutral style.
• Often the person who does the action is unknown, not important or obvious.

Compare:

• Active: El banco verifica la transferencia hoy. (Who? → el banco)
• Passive with se: La transferencia se verifica hoy. (Focus → la transferencia)

In English this often corresponds to:

• “The transfer is checked today.”
• “Transfers are checked automatically.”

2. The basic pattern (step by step)

Start from an active sentence:

• Active: persona + verbo + cosa

Transform it to passive with se:

• Passive with se: cosa + se + verbo en 3.ª persona (singular o plural)

3. Verb agreement: singular or plural?

The verb agrees with the “thing” that comes after se, not with a person.

• Singular thing → verb in 3rd person singular
  • La transferencia se verifica hoy.
  • La hipoteca se revisará mañana.
• Plural thing → verb in 3rd person plural
  • Los pagos se gestionaban manualmente.
  • Las facturas se pagarán mañana por la mañana.

Self-check:

1. Underline the “thing” (subject): La tarjeta / Las tarjetas.
2. Is it 1 (singular) or more (plural)?
3. Choose: se bloquea (sing.) or se bloquean (pl.).

4. Keep the same tense (present, past, future)

Only the subject changes position. The tense stays the same.

Quick tip: when you transform the sentence, look only at the verb form and copy the same tense:

• revisó → se revisó
• revisaba → se revisaba
• revisará → se revisará

5. Passive with se vs. impersonal "se"

The form is similar, but the logic is different. This causes confusion.

• Passive with se → there is a “thing” that receives the action.
  • Las solicitudes se analizan aquí. (What? → las solicitudes)
• Impersonal "se" → no specific subject; "people in general".
  • Se analiza a los clientes con cuidado.
  • Here the verb is singular and "los clientes" is a person complement (with a), not the subject.

Practical test:

• If the noun after the verb is a thing without a → usually passive with se.
• If the noun refers to people and uses a (a los clientes, a los vecinos…) → often impersonal.

6. Typical uses in real life (banking & rules)

You will see passive se a lot in:

• Rules and regulations
• Signs and instructions
• Administrative and financial language

Common patterns:

• General rules (present):
  • Las transferencias bancarias se hacen online.
  • Los impuestos se pagan en la sucursal o por internet.
  • Las cuentas se cierran tras 12 meses de inactividad.
• Decisions already taken (past):
  • Las normas de seguridad se modificaron el año pasado.
  • Las comisiones se eliminaron en 2023.
• Announced changes (future):
  • Los límites de crédito se revisarán el mes que viene.
  • Las oficinas físicas se reducirán en los próximos años.

7. Step-by-step transformation (train yourself)

Use this mini checklist each time.

1. Find the object (thing)
   • El banco bloqueó mi tarjeta ayer por la tarde.
2. Move it to the beginning
   • Mi tarjeta ...
3. Add se
   • Mi tarjeta se ...
4. Copy the tense of the verb
   • bloqueó (indefinido) → se bloqueó
   • Resultado: Mi tarjeta se bloqueó ayer por la tarde.
5. Check agreement
   • Singular: la tarjeta → se bloqueó
   • Plural: las tarjetas → se bloquearon

Your self-test:

• Can I quickly identify the “thing” that receives the action?
• Does the verb form look like the original (same tense and aspect)?
• Does the verb ending match singular/plural of the new subject?

8. Typical mistakes to avoid

• 1. Forgetting to change word order
  • Se verifica el banco la transferencia. ✗
  • La transferencia se verifica. ✓
• 2. Using the wrong number (singular/plural)
  • Las transferencias se verifica. ✗
  • Las transferencias se verifican. ✓
• 3. Changing the tense
  • Active: El banco modificó las normas.
  • Las normas se modifican. (present) ✗
  • Las normas se modificaron. (indefinido) ✓
• 4. Adding a subject person (I, we…)
  • Nosotros se pagan los impuestos. ✗
  • Los impuestos se pagan online. ✓

9. What you should now be able to do

• Recognise sentences with passive se in texts about banks, rules and administration.
• Transform active sentences (with a clear object) into passive with se correctly.
• Keep the same tense and choose singular/plural correctly.
• Use passive with se to sound more neutral and formal in Spanish.

If one of these points still feels unclear, go back to the small tables and the step-by-step checklist and try to build 2–3 new examples of your own.