The passive voice is used to emphasize the action being performed and the affected object rather than the subject performing the action. In the Russian language, it is less common than in English but is still an important aspect of the language.
The passive voice form in Russian depends on the verbal aspect. Below, we will study the forms of the passive voice for Russian imperfective verbs.
As you know, imperfective verbs are used to describe processes and regular actions. The passive voice in this case is expressed through the reflexivity of the verb. Compare:
- Писатели пишут книги. (Writers write books.) VS Книги пишутся писателями. (Books are written by writers.)
- Строители строят дом. (Builders are building a house.) VS Дом строится. (The house is being built.)
The list of examples goes on and on. Деньги зарабатываются (money is being earned), отпуск оплачивается (vacations are paid), видео снимается (videos are filmed), газеты печатаются (newspapers are printed), etc.
It should be noted that not all reflexive verbs carry the meaning of passive voice! Always check the context.
Practice Russian with our chat bot!
Free and effective!Practice Russian with our chat bot!
Free and effective!