Lesson 36: Passive voice, impersonal constructions, valency

Part 1: The main idea — three ways to make a sentence "impersonal"

In English you have three ways to say "they write about this in the newspaper":

1. It is written about in the newspaper — passive participle.
2. They write about this in the newspaper — impersonal "they" (no one specific).
3. This is reported in the newspaper — passive reflexive-style verb.

Hebrew does the same, with its own means. Three paths:

Path 1. Passive binyanim: Nif'al, Pu'al, Huf'al. The grammatical "true" passive. Register — formal, literary, legal, academic.

Path 2. Impersonal 3rd person plural of an active binyan — "they say", "they write", without saying "who". Register — conversational, spoken, everyday. This is the most frequent way in live speech.

Path 3. Infinitive with le-hi- / le-he- (the passive infinitive of binyanim Nif'al, Hitpa'el) — for modal constructions: "needs to be done", "can be seen". Register — neutral, works everywhere.

One meaning — three forms. The choice depends on register, not on grammar.

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Part 2: Path 1 — passive binyanim (review of L16, L24)

In Hebrew there are three passive binyanim:

Active	Passive	What it means
Pa'al (פעל)	Nif'al (נפעל)	Passive or "middle" voice. Often = English "-ed" or reflexive (open up, close up, be born)
Pi'el (פיעל)	Pu'al (פועל)	Internal passive of Pi'el. Only present and past, infinitive is rare
Hif'il (הפעיל)	Huf'al (הופעל)	Internal passive of Hif'il. The causative gone passive

Active-passive pairs — sample

Root	Active	Translation	Passive	Translation
כ-ת-ב	hu kotev (Pa'al)	he writes	hu nikhtav (Nif'al)	it is written
ב-נ-ה	hu bone (Pa'al)	he builds	hu nivne (Nif'al)	it is built
ד-ב-ר	hu medaber (Pi'el)	he speaks	hu medubar (Pu'al)	it is discussed / spoken about
ב-ק-ש	hu mevakesh (Pi'el)	he asks/requests	hu mevukash (Pu'al)	he is wanted / sought after
ז-מ-נ	hu mazmin (Hif'il)	he invites	hu muzman (Huf'al)	he is invited
ה-ק-מ (קום)	hu mekim (Hif'il)	he establishes	hu mukam (Huf'al)	it is established

Notice: the passive binyanim have no agent in the basic form. If you need to name one — through the preposition על ידי (al yedei, "by means of", "by"): ha-sefer nikhtav al yedei ha-sofer — "the book was written by the writer". This is a formal-register construction.

Example across tenses (root פ-ר-ס, "publish", Pi'el → Pu'al)

Tense	Active (Pi'el)	Passive (Pu'al)
Past	hi pirsema	hi pursema
Present	hi mefarsemet	hi mefursemet
Future	hi tefarsem	hi tefursam

Journalistic ha-yedi'a pursema ba-iton — "the news was published in the newspaper". A formal, newspaper register.

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Part 3: Path 2 — impersonal 3rd person plural (the main thing in this lesson!)

This is the main colloquial way to get rid of the agent. You take the active verb in the hem (they, m.) form — and do not name a subject. English does the same with "they": "they say on the radio", "they sell freshly baked bread here", "they're building a metro in Tel Aviv". Who says, sells, builds — doesn't matter or is implied.

Rule: the verb goes into the 3rd person plural masculine (the hem form) of an active binyan. The subject is not expressed. Meaning-wise = English impersonal "they" or passive.

Sample phrases

Hebrew	Translit	English
אומרים ברדיו ש...	omrim ba-radio she...	they say on the radio that... / it is said on the radio that...
כותבים בעיתון ש...	kotvim ba-iton she...	they write in the newspaper that... / it is written in the newspaper that...
מוכרים פה לחם טרי	mokhrim po lechem tari	they sell fresh bread here / fresh bread is sold here
בונים בניין חדש	bonim binyan chadash	they're building a new building / a new building is being built
לא מרשים לעשן	lo marshim le'ashen	smoking is not allowed (lit. "they don't allow to smoke")
חושבים שהוא צודק	choshvim she-hu tsodek	they think he is right / he is considered to be right
איך אומרים את זה בעברית?	eikh omrim et ze be-ivrit?	how do you say this in Hebrew?
ראיתי שהציעו לך עבודה	ra'iti she-hitsi'u lekha avoda	I saw that they offered you a job
גנבו לי את הארנק	ganvu li et ha-arnak	my wallet was stolen ("they stole me the wallet")
התקשרו אליך מהבנק	hitkashru eleikha me-ha-bank	the bank called you

Key: in these sentences there is no subject. That is the Hebrew "impersonal passive". In English we translate by various means — passive, impersonal, sometimes "they".

When to choose Path 2 versus Path 1?

Context	What to choose
Conversation, everyday speech, phone	omrim, kotvim, mokhrim (3rd person plural)
Newspaper article, news	Both variants (3rd person plural slightly more often)
Official document, law, academic article	Passive binyanim (Nif'al/Pu'al/Huf'al)
Translation of a scientific text	Passive binyanim

Contrast example: "It is reported on the radio about this." Conversational Hebrew: medavrim al ze ba-radio or omrim al ze ba-radio. Official Hebrew: al kakh nimsar ba-radio (Nif'al from מ-ס-ר, "to transmit"). Same meaning — different register.

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Part 4: Path 3 — the passive infinitive (the lehiX-form)

Passive binyanim have an infinitive, and it works in modal constructions: "must", "can", "should be". The Nif'al infinitive has the prefix lehi- (להי...), more rarely leh(e)- (להפ..., להר...).

Root	Active infinitive	Passive infinitive	Translation
ר-א-ה	lir'ot (to see)	lehera'ot (to be seen)	can/needs to be seen
כ-ת-ב	likhtov (to write)	lehikatev (to be written)	must be written
ב-נ-ה	livnot (to build)	lehibanot (to be built)	must be built
מ-צ-א	limtso (to find)	lehimatse (to be found)	to be found (English reflexive-ish)
פ-ת-ח	liftoach (to open)	lehipatach (to open up / be opened)	to be opened

In a modal construction

Hebrew	Translit	English
צריך להיכתב בעברית	tsarikh lehikatev be-ivrit	must be written in Hebrew
אפשר להיראות בקושי	efshar lehera'ot be-koshi	can barely be seen
המסמך צריך להישלח היום	ha-mismakh tsarikh lehishalach ha-yom	the document must be sent today
הספר צריך להיקרא לאט	ha-sefer tsarikh lehikare le'at	the book needs to be read slowly (lit. "must be readable")

Notice: the passive infinitive is the most "neutral" of the three paths. It doesn't sound too formal or too colloquial. Compare:

• tsarikh lehikatev be-ivrit — neutral-literary
• tsarikh likhtov et ze be-ivrit — neutral-active ("one needs to write this in Hebrew")
• kotvim et ze be-ivrit — colloquial ("this is written in Hebrew") All three are legitimate; the choice is by tone.

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Part 5: Valency — transitive vs. intransitive

For a passive to exist at all, the verb must have valency for a direct object — that is, the verb must be transitive. The passive takes the direct object of the active verb and makes it the subject.

Rule: a transitive verb (with a direct object, often with את) → can be made passive. An intransitive verb (no direct object) → has no passive.

Transitive verbs — passive exists

Active	Direct object	Passive
ha-sofer kotev sefer	sefer — direct object	ha-sefer nikhtav (al yedei ha-sofer)
ha-po'el bone binyan	binyan — direct object	ha-binyan nivne
ha-isha mekhina aruchat erev	aruchat erev — direct object	aruchat ha-erev mukhana

Intransitive verbs — no passive

Verb	Translation	Why no passive
higi'a (להגיע)	to arrive	"he arrived somewhere" — no direct object
halakh (ללכת)	to go	no object
yashan (לישון)	to sleep	no object
met (למות)	to die	no object

You can't say "the house was arrived". Same in Hebrew.

Tricky cases: watch the preposition!

A verb may look "as if transitive" but require a preposition before its object — then by rule it is intransitive, and has no passive.

Verb	Government	Translation	Passive possible?
dibber (דיבר)	dibber im mishehu	to talk with someone	No (preposition im)
siper (סיפר)	siper le-mishehu	to tell (to) someone	No (preposition le-)
azar (עזר)	azar le-mishehu	to help someone	No
chashav (חשב)	chashav al mishehu	to think about someone	No

Lifehack: if a preposition is needed before the object (al, le-, im, mi-) — the verb is intransitive, no direct passive. If you want an "impersonal" flavor — use Path 2 (3rd person plural): medavrim alav, choshvim alav — "they talk about him, they think about him". That's the universal workaround.

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Part 6: A subtle pair — lehishaer (Nif'al) vs. lehishtanot (Hitpa'el)

In Lesson 16 we met the verb lehishaer (להישאר, "to stay, remain") — binyan Nif'al, root ש-א-ר. It is easy to confuse with Hitpa'el infinitives, which also start with lehish- (because in Hitpa'el with a root starting in ש there is metathesis: the ת of the prefix -hit- swaps places with the sibilant of the root → -hish-, see L17).

Infinitive	Binyan	Root	Translation	Voice
lehishaer	Nif'al	ש-א-ר	to remain	passive/middle
lehishtanot	Hitpa'el	ש-נ-ה	to change (become different)	reflexive
lehishtatef	Hitpa'el	ש-ת-פ	to participate (share with others)	reflexive
lehishtamesh	Hitpa'el	ש-מ-ש	to use	reflexive
lehishakech	Nif'al	ש-כ-ח	to be forgotten	passive

How to tell them apart? If after lehish- there is ta- / tat- / tam- (with the letter ת in the form) — it is Hitpa'el with metathesis. If there is no ת — it is Nif'al: lehishaer, lehishakech, lehishalech.

In other words: lehishtanot contains "-sht-", and lehishaer does not.

Active-passive pairs for drilling

Active	Passive/middle	Reflexive
lir'ot (Pa'al, to see)	lehera'ot (Nif'al, to be seen)	lehitra'ot (Hitpa'el, to see each other → "goodbye")
likhtov (Pa'al, to write)	lehikatev (Nif'al, to be written)	lehitkatev (Hitpa'el, to correspond)
lashir (Pa'al, to sing)	—	—
leshanot (Pi'el, to change)	leshunot (Pu'al, to be changed)	lehishtanot (Hitpa'el, to change/become different)

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Part 7: Impersonal constructions without a verb — yesh / ein / efshar

Besides the "3rd person plural", Hebrew knows impersonal constructions with no verb at all:

Hebrew	Translit	English
יש לדבר על זה	yesh ledaber al ze	one must / should talk about this
אין מה לעשות	ein ma la'asot	nothing to be done
אפשר להיכנס?	efshar lehikanes?	may I come in?
אסור לעשן כאן	asur le'ashen kan	smoking is forbidden here
מותר לצלם	mutar letsalem	photography is allowed
צריך לחכות	tsarikh lechakot	one needs to wait
כדאי לקנות עכשיו	kheday liknot achshav	it's worth buying now

This too is an impersonal passive by function: no subject, the action is generalized. Compare with Lesson 32, where we treated these as modals. Here we record that they are a fourth "tool of impersonality" working alongside the three paths above.

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Part 8: Journalistic style — passive nests

Newspaper Hebrew loves passive binyanim and verbal nouns (L34). A typical news sentence is assembled out of them like Lego.

Example: a news item

בעקבות הדיון שנערך אתמול, הוחלט להקים ועדה מיוחדת. המסקנות יפורסמו בשבוע הבא, וההמלצות יישלחו לשר. הציבור מוזמן להגיש הערות.

Translit: Be-ikvot ha-diyun she-ne'erakh etmol, huchlat lehakim va'ada meyuchedet. Ha-maskanot yefursemu ba-shavua ha-ba, ve-ha-hamlatsot yishalchu la-sar. Ha-tsibur muzman lehagish he'arot.

Translation: "Following the discussion held yesterday, it was decided to establish a special committee. The conclusions will be published next week, and the recommendations will be sent to the minister. The public is invited to submit comments."

Passive breakdown:

Form	Binyan	Root	Active meaning
ne'erakh	Nif'al	ע-ר-כ	"was held"
huchlat	Huf'al	ח-ל-ט	"it was decided"
yefursemu	Pu'al, fut.	פ-ר-ס	"will be published"
yishalchu	Nif'al, fut.	ש-ל-ח	"will be sent"
muzman	Huf'al, pres.	ז-מ-נ	"is invited"

With no active subject the whole text sounds official and objective — no one "decided", "published", "sent"; everything happens by itself. That's the journalistic mask.

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