Passiivit

Passiivit is a term used in linguistics to refer to the passive voice across languages. In a passive construction, the action’s patient or theme becomes the syntactic subject, while the agent of the action is either deemphasized, expressed in a non-prominent phrase, or omitted entirely. This contrasts with the active voice, where the agent typically serves as the subject.

Formation and typology vary by language. In English, passives are commonly formed with a auxiliary verb and the past participle (e.g., The cake was baked). Other languages use morphological markers or participial forms to create passives, sometimes yielding different degrees of agent-marking or detachment. Some languages employ periphrastic or synthetic strategies, and many feature antipassives, which suppress the agent or reduce the prominence of the action’s initiator. The exact mechanisms—case marking, verb inflection, or syntactic rearrangement—differ widely.

Functions and discourse role are central to passiivit. Passives often emphasize the patient, the result of an action, or a process, and can create a more formal or neutral tone. They also facilitate topic focus or information structure by foregrounding what is affected rather than who does the affecting. In some contexts, the agent remains explicit through a by-phrase; in others, it is left unstated, making the action appear general or universally applicable.

Cross-linguistic variation means some languages have multiple passive types, others use passives sparingly, and some rely on alternative constructions to express similar meanings. Passiivit thus encompasses a range of voice phenomena tied to how languages manage argument structure, information focus, and agent visibility. See also passive voice for related concepts.