Passive Voice
There are two ways to form the passive voice in Czech:
1. By the verb být (to be) and the passive participle (as in English):
- Město bylo založeno ve 14. století. The town was founded in the 14th century.
2. By adding the reflexive pronoun se:
- Ono se neudělalo. It has not been done.
- To se vyrábí v Číně. It is produced in China.
However, the use of se is not exclusive to the passive voice.
Read more about this topic: Czech Conjugation
Famous quotes containing the words passive and/or voice:
“She has taken her passive pigeon poor,
She has buried him down and down.
He never shall sally to Sally
Nor soil any roofs of the town.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)
“It is restful, tragedy, because one knows that there is no more lousy hope left. You know you’re caught, caught at last like a rat with all the world on its back. And the only thing left to do is shout—not moan, or complain, but yell out at the top of your voice whatever it was you had to say. What you’ve never said before. What perhaps you don’t even know till now.”
—Jean Anouilh (1910–1987)