Jump to content
Linguaholic

The passive voice


dtommy79

Recommended Posts

Hi Guys.

I'd like your help with another beginner question.

If I wanted to say the following:

'Those houses over there were built by Jack'

...I think I should use 'Ser' here because it's a having been built by Jack is a characteristic of the house however I'm not really sure about my approach. Anyway here is my solution:

'Acquellas Casas fueron construidas por Jack?'

If that's right, then my problem is when I can remove the agent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Those houses over there" can also be said as "Las casas de por allá" supposing you are pointing at the zone.

Regarding using "ser" or "estar" you are correct going with "ser", therefore saying

"Aquellas casas fueron construidas por Jack" is correct.  :wacky:

I might completely missing the point but I think the second example given by Paolo while it makes sense in his example won't fit the sentence you're after. "Aquellas casas se construyeron por Jack" sounds off. "Aquellas casas se construyeron" & "por Jack" can't flow together. I cannot explain exactly why, but trust me on this one and your gut and use "fueron"taht one is a great translation without losing the time tense you're using.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...