Perfect Passive System — amatus est / amati sunt
Form and translate the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect passive by combining the PPP with the correct tense of esse. Practice PPP agreement with subjects of different genders and numbers, and distinguish agent (a/ab + ablative) from means (ablative alone).
A lesson of Latin B1 — Intermediate, in Passive Voice Mastery, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will form and translate the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect passive in all persons and numbers, and use them confidently in reading adapted Caesar.
How the Perfect Passive Works
Unlike the present system passive (which uses passive personal endings directly on the verb stem), the perfect passive system is formed with two components:
Perfect passive participle (PPP) + a form of esse
This is the Latin equivalent of English "was loved," "had been loved," "will have been loved."
The PPP is the fourth principal part of the verb. It is a regular adjective that agrees with the subject in gender, number, and case (always nominative when it is the predicate).
Perfect Passive: "was/has been ___ed"
Esse in the present tense + PPP
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | amatus/a sum | amati/ae sumus |
| 2nd | amatus/a es | amati/ae estis |
| 3rd | amatus/a/um est | amati/ae/a sunt |
Gallia divisa est. — "Gaul was/has been divided." (PPP divisa agrees with Gallia, feminine singular) Milites capti sunt. — "The soldiers were captured." (PPP capti agrees with milites, masculine plural)
Check: If the subject is puella (feminine singular), what form of the PPP of amare (fourth principal part: amatum) do you use?
Pluperfect Passive: "had been ___ed"
Esse in the imperfect tense (eram, eras, erat…) + PPP
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | amatus eram | amati eramus |
| 2nd |