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In Spanish there are different ways to construct the passive voice. The traditional way is to conjugate ser with the past participle of the main verb; but the most common way of using the passive in Spanish is to use the passive "se".
See these lessons:
- Forming the Spanish passive voice with ser + participle (+ por) (passive - simple tenses)
- Forming the Spanish passive with se (la pasiva refleja)
Learn about the Spanish passive with estar (pasiva de estado)
There is another passive construction that is formed by conjugating the verb estar and the past participle of the main verb. This passive form is used when the focus is the final result of the process and not the process itself. Here are some examples:
By using estar the speaker puts the emphasis on the result of an action/process. For example, in the last example, the focus is on the final result of the initial process of "having built the residential area".
If we were instead focused on the process, we would use the traditional passive construction using ser, for example:
La nueva urbanización es construida/está siendo construida/fue construida encima de una colina.
The passive construction of
conjugated verb estar + past participle of the main verb
emphasises the result, not the process.
It's important to note that when using the passive with estar, it's not usual to mention the agent: "por + agente" (by + agent)
La urbanización está construida encima de una colina por una empresa de construcción conocida. (this is unusual)
The residential area is built on top of a hill by a known construction company.
Remember that when using the passive with estar, the past participle still needs to agree in gender and number with the passive subject:
- La urbanización está construida.
- Las ventanas están cerradas.
- La película estaba prohibida.
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