Passive and nominalisation
At B2 level, and especially when you talk about society and the environment, you need to sound objective and formal. Two tools do most of the work: the passive voice, which puts the result before the agent, and nominalisation, which turns verbs and adjectives into nouns. Both are everywhere in news reports, official documents and the written exam, so mastering them makes your French denser and more credible.
Associez chaque verbe à sa nominalisation.
Match each verb with its nominalisation.
Quelle phrase est correctement à la voix passive ?
Which sentence is correctly in the passive voice?
The passive is formed with être conjugated in the right tense, plus the past participle, which agrees in gender and number with the subject. The agent, when mentioned, is introduced by par (most often) or de (with verbs of feeling or description, like être respecté de tous). Very often, though, the agent is left out precisely because it is unknown or unimportant.
| la voix passive | the passive voice |
| l'agent (m.) | the agent (doer of the action) |
| le complément d'agent | the agent complement (par / de) |
| la nominalisation | nominalisation |
| subir une mesure | to undergo a measure |
| mettre en œuvre | to implement |
| une réglementation | a regulation, set of rules |
| le réchauffement climatique | global warming |
| les pouvoirs publics | the public authorities |
| une enquête | an inquiry, investigation, survey |
| l'aménagement (m.) | development, planning, layout |
| une interdiction | a ban, prohibition |
| la mise en place | the setting up, introduction |
| à la suite de | following, as a result of |
Complétez avec le bon participe passé, en surveillant l'accord.
Complete with the correct past participle, watching the agreement.
Les zones humides seront ____ dès l'an prochain.
Quelle préposition introduit l'agent ici ?
Which preposition introduces the agent here?
When you want to avoid a heavy passive, French often prefers the impersonal on or a pronominal turn such as se vendre or se dire: Ce produit se vend partout (this product is sold everywhere). Knowing all three options lets you vary your style.
Traduisez en français, en utilisant la voix passive.
Translate into French, using the passive voice.
The closure of the factory was announced.
Remettez les mots dans l'ordre pour former une phrase passive.
Put the words in order to form a passive sentence.
Nominalisation turns an action or a quality into a noun. From a verb: construire becomes la construction, interdire becomes l'interdiction, développer becomes le développement. From an adjective: lent becomes la lenteur, pauvre becomes la pauvreté, efficace becomes l'efficacité. This is how headlines compress a whole clause: instead of Les prix ont augmenté, a title says Hausse des prix.
| augmenter → l'augmentation | to increase → the increase |
| réduire → la réduction | to reduce → the reduction |
| polluer → la pollution | to pollute → pollution |
| fermer → la fermeture | to close → the closure |
| interdire → l'interdiction | to ban → the ban |
| disparaître → la disparition | to disappear → the disappearance |
| riche → la richesse | rich → wealth |
| rapide → la rapidité | fast → speed |
Réécrivez avec une nominalisation : remplacez le verbe par le nom correspondant.
Rewrite using a nominalisation: replace the verb with the matching noun.
L' ____ des sacs plastiques a réduit les déchets.
Écoutez et écrivez la phrase passive que vous entendez.
Listen and type the passive sentence you hear.
Quel titre nominalise correctement « Les prix ont augmenté » ?
Which headline correctly nominalises 'Les prix ont augmenté' (Prices have risen)?
Traduisez ce titre en français en utilisant une nominalisation.
Translate this headline into French using a nominalisation.
Disappearance of bees: scientists worried
Remettez en ordre pour former une phrase formelle avec un sujet nominalisé.
Reorder to form a formal sentence with a nominalised subject.
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