la voix passive

'Voice' refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb in a sentence. A sentence is said to be in the active voice if the subject is performing the action of the verb. For example, 'You are texting your friend.' In this sentence, the subject (you) performs the action of texting. Active subjects are called 'agents'.

The passive voice, on the other hand, refers to a sentence in which the subject receives the action. In other words, the subject is passive, or acted upon by the agent. For example: 'Your friend is being texted by you .' In this sentence, the friend receives the action performed by you, the agent.

Formation

= conjugated form of être + past participle of main verb (+ par + agent)

Note that the past participle always agrees in number and gender with the subject.

The agent, when mentioned, is usually preceded by par. However, with the verbs aimer, connaître, and respecter, the agent is introduced by de instead.

Uses

The passive voice places the focus on the object of the verb rather than the subject:

ways to avoid the passive

The passive voice is used more frequently in English than in French. So it’s better to not use the passive in French.  You can do this several ways.

A common way to avoid the passive in French is to use the active voice with on as the subject. For example, 'I was told that you are a French major”' would be translated as 'On m'a dit que tu te spécialise en français'. 

Another way is to use a pronominal verb, especially when making general statements about known facts: