Passive Voice and Active Voice
Passive voice means that the action of the verb falls on the subject; in other words, the subject receives the action:
La ventana fue abierta por el ladrón /The window was opened by the robber. Note that abierta (really a form of the past part. abrir/abierto) is used as an adjective and it must agree in gender and num-ber with the subject that it describes.
Active voice means that the subject performs the action and the subject is alwaysstated:
El ladrón abrió la ventana/The robber opened the window.
To form the true passive, use ser + the past part. of the verb you have in mind;
the past part. then serves as an adjective and it must agree in gender and number with the subject that it describes. In the true passive, the agent (the doer) is always expressed with the prep.por in front of it. The formula for the true passive construction is: subject + tense of ser + past part. + por
+ the agent (the doer):
Estas composiciones fueron escritas por Juan/ These compositions were written by John.

The reflexive pronoun se may be used to substitute for the true passive voice con-struction. When you use these construction, the subject is a thing (not a person) and the doer (agent) is not stated:

Aquí se habla español /Spanish is spoken here;
Aquí se hablan español e inglés/Spanish and English are spoken here;
Se venden libros en esta tienda/Books are sold in this store.
There are a few standard idiomatic expressions that are commonly used with the pronoun se.
These expressions are not truly passive, the pronoun se is not truly a reflexive pronoun, and the verb form is in the 3rd pers. sing. only. In this con-
struction, there is no subject expressed; the subject is contained in the use of se + the 3rd pers. sing. of the verb at all times and the common translations into English are: it is . . . , people . . . , they . . . , one . . . Se cree que. . . It is believed that . . . , people believe that . . . , they believe
that . . . , one believes that . . .
Se cree que este criminal es culpable.
It is believed that this criminal is guilty.
Se dice que. . .It is said that . . . , people say that . . . , they say that . . . , one says that . . . , you say . . .
Se dice que va a nevar esta noche.
They say that it’s going to snow tonight.
¿Cómo se dice en español “ice cream”?
How do you say ice cream in Spanish?
Se sabe que. . .It is known that . . . , people know that . . . , they know that . . . ,one knows that . . .
Se sabe que María va a casarse con Juan./People know that Mary is going to marry John.
The se reflexive pronoun construction is avoided if the subject is a person because there can be ambiguity in meaning. For example, how would you trans-
late the following into English?
Se da un regalo.
Which of the following two meanings is intended? She (he) is being given a present, or She (he) is giving a present to himself (to herself). In correct Spanish, you would have to say:
Le da

The Spanish Infinitive and Its Principal Uses (a María, a Juan, etc.) un regalo/He (she) is giving a present to Mary (to John, etc.). Avoid using the
se construction in the passive when the subject is a person; change your sentence around and state it in the active voice to make the meaning
clear. Otherwise, the pronoun se seems to go with the verb, as if the verb is reflexive, which gives an entirely different meaning. Another example:
Se miró would mean He (she) looked at himself (herself), not
He (she) was looked at!
If you mean to say
He (she) looked at her, say:
La miró
or, if in the plural, say:
La miraron /They looked at her.

The Spanish Infinitive and Its Principal Uses An infinitive is a verb that is not inflected; in other words, it does not change in form by inflection. In grammar, inflection takes place when a verb changes in form according to whether the subject of the sentence is singular in the 1st (yo), 2nd(tú),
or 3rd (Ud., él, ella) person, or plural (nosotros,etc.), and according tothe conjugated form of the verb in a particular tense, such as the present, preterit,
imperfect, future, etc. An infinitive is generally considered to be a mood and itdoes not refer to a particular person, number, or tense. It is indeterminate andgeneral. It is not conjugated in the tenses. The verb, however, is inflected because
it is conjugated in the various tenses and changes in form. An infinitive remains in the same form:
hablar, comer, vivir.

In English, an infinitive is recognized by the preposition to
in front of it, as in
to speak, to eat, to live.
When conjugated,to speak changes to he, she speaks, I spoke, we have spoken, etc. The change in the verb form is called inflection. The form of an infinitive is always the same because it is not conjugated and it is not inflected.

Here are three principal uses of the Spanish infinitive. For more examples in Spanish and English, please turn to page 669 where you will find an outline of
what preposition (if any) goes with what verb plus an infinitive.

1. An infinitive can be used as a noun and it is masculine in gender. In English we use the present participle of a verb to function as a noun, in which case,
we call it a gerund.
In Spanish, however, the infinitive form of a verb is used. Examples:
Leer es bueno/El leer es bueno/Reading is good.
Fumar no es bueno para la salud/Smoking is not good for one’s health.

2. An infinitive is used with some finite verbs (those that are conjugated in the various tenses) when affirmation or belief is conveyed. Examples:
María siempre cree tener razón/Mary always believes she is right.
Nosotros podemos venir a tu casa esta noche/We can come to your house tonight (this evening).

3. An infinitive can be used with idiomatic expressions that contain que or de.
Examples:
Tengo mucho que hacer esta mañana/I have a lot to do this morning.
Mis amigos acaban de llegar/My friends have jus