Notes
Passive voice
- Passive with ser: subject + ser + participle (agrees with the subject) + por + agent. La casa fue construida por mi abuelo. Ser shows the tense: fue, será, es.
- Passive se: se + third-person verb that agrees with the noun: Se habla español. Se venden casas. No agent.
- Impersonal se: se + third-person singular, no noun subject: Aquí se come bien. Se dice que...
Accidental se
- Pattern: se + me/te/le/nos/les + verb (verb agrees with the thing): Se me olvidó la tarea. Se nos perdieron las llaves. Se le cayó el vaso. Shows the event was unplanned.
Cumulative review
- Preterite = completed events; imperfect = habits, descriptions, ongoing actions.
- Present subjunctive after WEIRDO triggers; imperfect subjunctive when the main verb is past or conditional; present perfect subjunctive for completed actions.
- Si + present → future; si + imperfect subjunctive → conditional.
- Certainty = indicative; doubt = subjunctive. Relative pronouns: que, quien, lo que, el cual, cuyo.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Fueron agrees with ventanas (plural), and rotas agrees in gender and number.
Passive se: the verb agrees with the plural noun zapatos.
Accidental se: the verb agrees with the thing (la leche, singular): acabó.
A hypothetical if-clause takes the imperfect subjunctive; the result clause is conditional (leería).
Es evidente que states a fact (indicative: es); dudo que requires the subjunctive (haya).
In the passive with ser, the participle agrees with the subject (cena, feminine singular).
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Lee: "Ayer, cuando llegué a la escuela, se me olvidó la mochila. El profesor, quien siempre era amable, dijo que la clase sería más fácil si yo tuviera mis libros. Más tarde, mi mochila fue encontrada por un compañero."
(a) Explain the construction "se me olvidó la mochila" and what it suggests.
Show the answer and scoring guide
It is accidental se. The verb olvidó is singular because it agrees with la mochila. It suggests the forgetting was unintentional.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Identify the passive in the last sentence and explain how it is formed. Then rewrite it in the active voice.
Show the answer and scoring guide
"Fue encontrada por un compañero" is a passive with ser: fue + participle encontrada, which agrees with mochila, plus por + agent. Active: Un compañero encontró mi mochila.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Explain the verb forms in "la clase sería más fácil si yo tuviera mis libros."
Show the answer and scoring guide
Tuviera is the imperfect subjunctive after si and sería is the conditional; together they express a hypothetical situation.
Check off the points you earned: