Pasívum

Pasívum, or the passive voice, is a grammatical construction in which the subject of a sentence is the participant affected by the action rather than the doer. The action’s recipient or patient is foregrounded, and the agent (the one who performs the action) may be expressed, implied, or omitted altogether. The passive is often used to emphasize the result of an action, to present information in a neutral or objective way, or to avoid naming the agent.

Formation and variety of the passive vary by language. In analytic or periphrastic systems, the passive is built with an auxiliary verb plus a participle, as in English The ball was thrown. In synthetic systems, the verb itself carries a passive form, often through inflection or a dedicated suffix (for example, in many Indo-European languages). Some languages employ a reflexive or middle construction to achieve a similar effect. There are also impersonal passives, which express the action without a specific agent.

Functions and constraints. The pasívum allows speakers to foreground the patient, state results, generalize statements, or maintain objectivity. It can, however, obscure the agent, which may be undesirable in contexts requiring accountability. Not all verbs or predicates easily form passives; intransitive verbs typically do not have a genuine passive form, and some languages restrict passive use to certain tenses or aspects.

Cross-linguistic notes. The term pasívum appears in grammars of several languages to denote the passive voice. Related constructions include impersonal passives, middle voice, and various periphrastic forms. An example in English: The cake was eaten. In other languages, the exact morphology and rules for forming passives differ, reflecting each language’s typology and historical development.