Exercise 21: Passives
The active form is: ‘The dog bites the slave’ (canis servum mordet).
The passive form is: ‘The slave is bitten by the dog’ (servus mordetur a [or ‘ab’] cane; contrast servus necatur gladio, the slave is killed by/with a sword, where a/ab is not used because the instrument is inanimate).
For the passive forms of verbs see Kennedy, paragraphs 120-123.
NB: the Perfect, Future perfect and Pluperfect tenses of the passive are made from the Past Participle (see Exercise 20) and esse. Remember that the Past participle has the same endings as bonus bona bonum, and that it must agree with its subject.
EXAMPLES
| Present: | regina amatur ab equis. | The queen is loved by horses. |
| Future: | nauta ab servis monebitur. | The sailor will be advised by the slaves. |
| Imperfect: | agricola necabatur a milite. | The farmer was killed by the soldier. |
| Perfect: | miles amatus est a regina. | The soldier was loved by the queen. |
| Future Perfect: | regina visa erit a servo. | The queen will have been seen by the slave. |
| Pluperfect: | feminae auditae erant a rege. | The women had been heard by the king. |
