His Masters Voice
Report what was done — news-style or with se — and sound natural saying it.
Spanish has two passives. The formal one is ser + past participle, and the participle agrees with the subject: El libro fue escrito por García Márquez, Las cartas fueron escritas — the agent comes in with por or gets dropped entirely. The everyday one is the se-passive, where the verb matches the noun's number: Se vende casa / Se venden casas — it's the voice of signs, rules and general statements (Se prohíbe fumar, Aquí se habla español). And here's what textbooks undersell: in conversation, natives usually skip both and flip to active — lo escribió García Márquez — keeping ser-passive for news and formal register.
Below: both constructions with their phrases, how signs and headlines actually read across regions — and a way to practise choosing between them out loud, not on a worksheet.
The warm-up pack
The formal ser-passive for news and signs, the everyday se-passive for real life — and when to skip both.
01 · Who did it, named
El libro fue escrito por García Márquez.
The book was written by García Márquez.
Ser plus a past participle names who did it, with por — this is the formal, news-style passive, not how you'd say it to a friend.
02 · The participle has to agree too
Las leyes fueron aprobadas por el parlamento.
The laws were approved by parliament.
The participle has to match the subject: fueron aprobadas, not fue aprobado, because leyes is feminine plural.
03 · Who did it, left out on purpose
La ventana fue rota durante la noche.
The window was broken during the night.
Drop the por and the passive still works — you don't know or don't care who broke the window, just that it happened.
04 · The sign on a house
Se vende casa en la playa.
House for sale on the beach.
This is the everyday passive, the one on signs — se vende, no ser in sight, and it matches casa: singular.
05 · The sign agrees with the noun
Se venden entradas en la taquilla.
Tickets are sold at the box office.
Switch the noun to plural and the verb has to follow — se venden, never se vende entradas. That agreement is the whole trap.
06 · A general truth, no one named
Aquí se habla español.
Spanish is spoken here.
No sign here, just a fact about a place — se habla works exactly like se vende, minus the for-sale price.
07 · A want-ad, Spanish style
Se busca programador con experiencia.
Experienced programmer wanted.
This is how job ads sound in Spanish — se busca, not buscamos or estamos buscando. It's the impersonal voice doing the recruiting.
08 · A rule on a wall
Se prohíbe fumar en este edificio.
Smoking is prohibited in this building.
Se prohíbe is the impersonal se for a rule, and it always stays singular — there's no plural noun for it to agree with.
09 · What everyone's saying
Se dice que va a llover mañana.
They say it's going to rain tomorrow.
Se dice reports a rumor without naming a source — closer to "word is" than "someone said".
10 · When active just sounds better
El chef preparó la comida personalmente.
The chef prepared the food personally.
Sometimes the agent is the whole point, and active just says it faster: preparó beats fue preparada por él here.
11 · The one you'll hear on the news
Tres personas fueron rescatadas por los bomberos.
Three people were rescued by the firefighters.
This is where ser-passive actually lives in real Spanish — the evening news, not a conversation with your barista.
FLUENT
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Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/his-masters-voiceRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| for rent (the sign) | se renta | se alquila |
| window (the glass) | la ventana | el vidrio |
| people are saying… | dicen que | se dice por ahí |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
No rewrite exercises on paper — in the His Masters Voice lessons you say it and Carla answers back. She has you invent a sign for your own workplace — Se necesita…, Se prohíbe…, Se busca… — then contrast La ventana fue rota (someone broke it) with La ventana está rota (it's just broken). Then the real skill: she gives you an active sentence, you flip it to passive out loud, and you argue which one a native would actually say.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and His Masters Voice is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Ser + past participle, with the participle agreeing in gender and number: Las cartas fueron escritas, never fue escrito for a plural. Add the agent with por — El premio fue entregado por el director — or leave it out when it's unknown or unimportant.
Se + third-person verb that matches the noun: Se vende casa, Se venden entradas en la taquilla. With no noun to agree with, it stays singular and impersonal: Se prohíbe fumar, Se dice que va a llover mañana.
Rarely in speech. Natives flip to active (lo escribió García Márquez) or an agentless third-person plural — in Argentina you'll hear me rompieron el vidrio del auto, not a ser-passive. Ser + participle lives in news and formal register: el sospechoso fue detenido anoche.
La ventana fue rota reports the action — someone broke it. La ventana está rota describes the state — it's broken now. Ser for the event, estar for the result.
Match the noun: Se vende casa but Se venden casas — never se vende casas. It's the number agreement that gives learners away on this one.
