B1 · Mittelstufe Kapitel 34

The Passive Voice: When the Action Matters More

6 Gesamtregeln
1 Min.
Regeln in diesem Kapitel Schnelle Übung

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Shift the spotlight from the person doing the action to the action itself using Croatian passive structures.

  • Distinguish between reflexive passive and 'biti' passive structures.
  • Construct accurate past passive participles for various verb types.
  • Identify when to mention the agent using the instrumental case.
Focus on the outcome, not the actor.

Was du lernen wirst

Understand how the passive voice is formed and used in Croatian, often with reflexive verbs or the verb 'biti'. This chapter allows you to shift focus from the actor to the action.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: Identify and construct passive sentences to describe common daily events.

Tipps & Tricks (4)

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The 'Usually' Test

If you can add 'usually' or 'generally' to your sentence, use the 'se' passive. If you can add 'now' or 'already', use the participial passive.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Passive Voice: Introduction
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Check the number

Always look at the noun. If it's plural, the verb must be plural.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Passive with Reflexive Pronoun 'Se' (e.g., Govori se)
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The 'T' or 'N' Rule

Almost all passive participles end in either -n or -t. If you see these at the end of a verb-like word, it's likely a passive form.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Passive with 'Biti' + Past Passive Participle
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Check the Gender

Always look at the noun first. If it's feminine, your participle must end in -a.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Formation of Past Passive Participles

Wichtige Vokabeln (5)

graditi to build otvoriti to open napisati to write sastanak meeting izgraden built (participle)

Real-World Preview

building

At a formal exhibition opening

Review Summary

  • Object + Verb + Subject (passive)
  • Verb + se
  • biti + past passive participle
  • s + Instrumental

Häufige Fehler

You cannot use the active verb 'napisala'. You must use the participle 'napisana'.

Wrong: Knjiga je napisala od Ivana.
Richtig: Knjiga je napisana od strane Ivana (or 's Ivanom').

Remember that in Croatian, the auxiliary verb 'je' should not be at the start of the clause after 'da'.

Wrong: Govori se da on je pametan.
Richtig: Govori se da je on pametan.

The participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.

Wrong: To je bio napravljen.
Richtig: To je napravljeno.

Next Steps

You've successfully unlocked a more sophisticated layer of Croatian. Keep practicing by observing how news reports use these structures!

Read a Croatian news article and identify passive voice sentences.

Continue to: Verb Aspect Deep Dive: Imperfective vs. Perfective Mastery

Schnelle Übung (10)

Choose the correct form for a general habit.

U ovom restoranu ___ najbolja riba.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: se jede
'Riba' is singular, and it's a general habit, so we use 'se' + 3rd person singular.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Passive Voice: Introduction

Find the mistake: 'Knjiga se je pročitana.'

Find and fix the mistake:

Knjiga se je pročitana.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Knjiga je pročitana.
You cannot mix 'se' and the participial passive in this way.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Passive Voice: Introduction

Fill in the blank.

Ovdje se ___ (govoriti) hrvatski.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: govori
Singular subject.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Passive with Reflexive Pronoun 'Se' (e.g., Govori se)

Correct the mistake in the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

Pismo je poslan jučer.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Pismo je poslano jučer.
Pismo is neuter, so 'poslan' must become 'poslano'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Passive with 'Biti' + Past Passive Participle

Fill in the missing reflexive particle.

Ovdje ___ dobro jede.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: se
The reflexive passive requires the particle 'se'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: When to Use the Passive Voice in Croatian

Correct the case of the subject.

Find and fix the mistake:

Pismu je poslano.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Pismo je poslano.
The subject must be in the Nominative (Pismo), not the Dative (Pismu).

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: When to Use the Passive Voice in Croatian

Fill in the correct Instrumental form of the word in brackets (no preposition!).

Vrata su otvorena ___ (ključ).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ključem
The Instrumental of 'ključ' is 'ključem'. No preposition is needed for an instrument.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Agent in Passive Voice (s + Instrumental)

Fix the error.

Find and fix the mistake:

Vrata je zatvoren.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Vrata su zatvorena.
Plural noun needs plural agreement.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Formation of Past Passive Participles

Choose the correct form.

___ se kuće.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Prodaju
Plural agreement.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Passive with Reflexive Pronoun 'Se' (e.g., Govori se)

Choose the correct auxiliary verb for the plural subject.

Prozori ___ razbijeni.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: su
Prozori is plural, so we use 'su'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Passive with 'Biti' + Past Passive Participle

Score: /10

Häufige Fragen (6)

Technically yes, but it's very rare. Croatian prefers the active voice if you want to mention who did it. Only use 'od strane' in very formal or legal contexts.
'Otvaraju' is imperfective (they are opening right now), while 'otvore' is perfective (they open usually/suddenly). Both are passive.
Most transitive verbs work, but some intransitive ones don't.
It must agree with the object in number.
No, only with transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object). You can't make 'to go' or 'to sleep' passive in this way.
In practice, they look the same. As a participle, it implies an action happened (Vrata su otvorena - someone opened them). As an adjective, it just describes the state.
Vorheriges Kapitel
Conditional Sentences (Type I): Real Possibilities
Nächstes Kapitel
Verb Aspect Deep Dive: Imperfective vs. Perfective Mastery
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