Passive voice – 'to be' (być), 'to become/get' (zostać), and impersonal forms (się)

Passive voice — 'być', 'zostać', and impersonal forms

This article explains how Polish expresses the passive: using być + past participle, zostać + past participle, and impersonal constructions with się. You will learn what each form means and when to use it, how to form passives (with agreement), how to mention the agent, and common learner mistakes. Many natural examples are included with English translations.

What is the passive voice in Polish?

The passive voice lets you focus on what happened to the subject, not who did it. In English we say "The window was broken (by someone)." Polish has several ways to express this:

- być + past participle (state or result): Książka jest przeczytana. — "The book is (has been) read."
- zostać + past participle (action/change; often event-focused): Książka została przeczytana. — "The book was read (the action happened)."
- impersonal constructions with się (generic/unspecified agent): W tym sklepie kupuje się chleb. — "Bread is bought in this shop" / "People buy bread in this shop."

Compare to English: być ≈ "to be (+ past participle)", zostać ≈ "to become / to get / to be (with a sense of change or result)" in passive contexts, and się ≈ English impersonal "one/people/they" or passive-like "it is said".

When do I use each passive form?

- Use być + participle when you describe a resulting state or a fact: "The door is closed." (Drzwi są zamknięte.)
- Use zostać + participle when you want to emphasize the action or change that took place, or when reporting an event (often in news, reports): "The door was closed (by someone)." (Drzwi zostały zamknięte.)
- Use impersonal się when you want a general statement without naming the agent — common in instructions, descriptions of typical behavior, signs, and spoken generalizations: "One drinks a lot of coffee here." (Tu pije się dużo kawy.)

Short rule of thumb:
- state/result → być
- action/change or event → zostać
- general/unspecified agent or habitual/general action → się

How do I form the passive with być?

Structure: [conjugated być] + past participle (imiesłów bierny), which agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Examples:
- Present/state: Okno jest otwarte. — "The window is open." (state)
- Past/event or past state: List był napisany. — "The letter was written."
- Future: List będzie napisany jutro. — "The letter will be written tomorrow."

Agent (who did it): if you mention the agent, use przez + (accusative).
- List został napisany przez Annę. — "The letter was written by Anna."

Notes:
- The participle must agree with the subject (see agreement section below).
- Być-passive often describes the state or a repeated/habitual passive when used with present participles: Mieszkanie jest sprzątane raz w tygodniu. — "The flat is cleaned once a week."

How do I form the passive with zostać, and why use it?

Structure: zostać (conjugated) + past participle (agrees with subject).

Use cases:
- To report that an action happened (resulting in a new state): Drzwi zostały zamknięte. — "The doors were closed."
- To emphasize the event rather than the resulting state; often used in narratives and news: On został aresztowany. — "He was arrested."
- In future tense to express planned/expected actions: Sprawa zostanie rozpatrzona jutro. — "The case will be considered tomorrow."

Compare with być:
- Drzwi są zamknięte. (state: the doors are closed)
- Drzwi zostały zamknięte. (event: someone closed the doors; focus on the action)

Agent phrase — how to say "by someone"

If you want to name who performed the action, use przez + [noun/pronoun in accusative].

Examples:
- Dom został zbudowany przez firmę X. — "The house was built by company X."
- Zostaliśmy zaproszeni przez organizatorów. — "We were invited by the organizers."
- List był napisany przez nią. — "The letter was written by her."

Common preposition mistakes: do NOT use z + instrumental to express the agent (e.g., *Dom był zbudowany z firmą). The usual agent preposition is przez + accusative.

Agreement: how the participle matches gender and number

The past participle behaves like an adjective and must agree with the grammatical subject.

Examples for the verb napisać (past participle: napisany):
- Masculine singular: List został napisany. — "The letter (m.) was written."
- Feminine singular: Książka została napisana. — "The book (f.) was written."
- Neuter singular: Okno zostało otwarte. — "The window (n.) was opened."
- Masculine personal plural: Uczniowie zostali poinformowani. — "The students (m., people) were informed."
- Non-masculine personal plural (feminine/neuter groups): Książki zostały przeczytane. — "The books were read."

Important: Polish distinguishes masculine personal plural (used for groups with men or mixed-gender groups acting as people) and non-masculine personal plural; participle endings change accordingly (e.g., -i vs -e).

Impersonal passive with się — when and how to use it

Impersonal się creates a passive-like meaning without mentioning the agent. It is very common in Polish for general statements, instructions, announcements, and describing typical behavior.

Structure: [verb] + się (+ object if needed). The verb is usually in the 3rd person (singular or plural depending on style/number of the object).

Examples:
- Mówi się, że będzie padać. — "It is said that it will rain." / "People say it will rain."
- Tu pije się dużo kawy. — "A lot of coffee is drunk here." / "People drink a lot of coffee here."
- W sklepie kupuje się chleb i mleko. — "One buys bread and milk in the shop."
- Tutaj buduje się nowe osiedla. — "New housing estates are being built here."

Notes about agreement and word order:
- Most commonly the verb appears in 3rd person singular (mówi się, pije się, kupuje się). In some contexts speakers use 3rd person plural (mówią się / kupują się) but 3rd singular is more standard and neutral.
- If you use quantifiers like dużo, mało, wiele, the noun often appears in the genitive: Pije się dużo kawy. — "(One) drinks a lot of coffee."

Examples: agentive and non-agentive passives

Agentive (the agent is mentioned):
- List został napisany przez Annę. — "The letter was written by Anna."
- Dom został zbudowany przez firmę X. — "The house was built by company X."
- Zostaliśmy poinformowani przez nauczyciela. — "We were informed by the teacher."

Non-agentive (agent omitted; focus on result or state):
- Dom został zbudowany. — "The house was built." (agent not specified)
- Drzwi są zamknięte. — "The doors are closed." (a state)
- Wszystko zostało przygotowane. — "Everything has been prepared."

Impersonal with się (no agent, general statement):
- Tu pije się dużo kawy. — "People drink a lot of coffee here."
- W Polsce mówi się po polsku. — "Polish is spoken in Poland." (general fact)
- W tym sklepie kupuje się świeże pieczywo. — "Fresh bread is bought in this shop."

Passives with modal verbs and other helpers

You can combine modals with passive forms:
- Ten dokument musi być podpisany. — "This document must be signed."
- Ten dokument musi zostać podpisany. — "This document must be signed." (zostać emphasizes the action to be done)
- Można to zrobić; można to zrobić / można to zrobić się? — avoid attaching się with agentive modals in the same way; use można + infinitive or passive constructions with być/zostać.

Common mistakes to avoid

1) Wrong participle agreement:
- Incorrect: *Książka został przeczytana.
- Correct: Książka została przeczytana. (feminine singular → została)

2) Wrong preposition for the agent:
- Incorrect: *Dom został zbudowany przez firmą.
- Correct: Dom został zbudowany przez firmę.
(przez + accusative)

3) Confusing być and zostać:
- Incorrect to express a simple state: *Okno zostało czyste. (sounds wrong)
- Correct: Okno jest czyste. (use być for states)
- If you mean someone closed it (event): Okno zostało zamknięte. (zostać is OK — action happened)

4) Overusing się or mixing się with explicit agents:
- Incorrect: *Przez kogoś się to zrobiło.
- Correct: Zrobiono to przez kogoś. or Zostało to zrobione przez kogoś. (Don’t combine agent phrase with impersonal się in the same way.)

5) Forgetting masculine-personal plural forms:
- Incorrect: *Uczniowie zostały poinformowani.
- Correct: Uczniowie zostali poinformowani. (masculine-personal plural → zostali / participle -i)

Quick reference: patterns to remember

- być + participle → state/result (agreement with subject)
- Okno jest otwarte. (state)
- zostać + participle → action/change / event-focused
- Okno zostało otwarte. (someone opened it)
- verb + się → impersonal/general passive (no agent)
- Tu pije się dużo kawy. (people drink a lot of coffee here)
- Agent phrase: przez + accusative
- Zostało to zrobione przez niego. — "It was done by him."

Glossary (simple definitions)

- past participle (imiesłów bierny): the adjective-like form of the verb used in passive sentences (e.g., napisany, zamknięty).
- agent: the doer of the action (the person or thing that performs the verb); expressed in Polish with przez + accusative.
- impersonal passive (się): a construction using się to say "people/one/it does X" without naming the agent.
- masculine-personal plural: the special plural used for groups including men or mixed-gender people — it affects participle endings.

Final tips

- If you want to state a condition or a property, use być + participle.
- If you want to report that an action happened (especially in narratives, news, or when stressing the event), use zostać + participle.
- Use się for general, impersonal statements or when you do not want to name the agent.
- Always make the past participle agree with the subject in gender and number.

If you are comfortable with these patterns and pay attention to participle agreement and the preposition przez for agents, you will be able to form and understand most passive sentences in Polish.