French grammar · Intermediate
The Pronominal Passive in French: Ça Se Mange, Ça Se Dit
French can express a passive idea without using être at all. Put a thing in the subject slot, add se, and conjugate the verb normally: ce plat se mange froid, this dish is eaten cold. Grammatically the dish appears to be eating itself; in practice the construction simply removes the agent from the sentence altogether.
Ce plat se mange froid.
This dish is eaten cold.
What it is
This is the construction French uses instead of a passive most of the time. The thing being acted on becomes the subject, se takes the place the object used to occupy, and the verb agrees with its new subject. Nothing indicates who is doing the action, and nothing can be added to say so — which is the whole point.
Ces chaussures se portent avec tout. — These shoes go with everything.
How to spot it
A pronominal verb whose subject is an object rather than a person. If the subject could not plausibly be performing the action on itself, the se is passive.
- Le pain se coupe avec un couteau. — Bread is cut with a knife.
- Ce mot ne se dit plus. — That word isn't used any more.
- Les billets se vendent en ligne. — Tickets are sold online.
- Ça se comprend. — That's understandable.
Compare elle se lave, where the subject really is doing it to herself. Le linge se lave à froid is the passive reading of the very same verb.
Passive Reflexive Quick Reference
What the pronominal passive is used for
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| se + verb, thing as subject | is done | Ça se répare. — That can be repaired. |
| General truth about a thing | is generally | Le vin rouge se sert chambré. — Red wine is served at room temperature. |
| Sales and quantities | sells, is sold | Ce modèle se vend très bien. — This model sells very well. |
| Language and spelling | is written, is said | Comment ça s'écrit ? — How is that spelled? |
| Social norms | is done, is acceptable | Ça ne se fait pas. — That isn't done. |
| Perception | can be seen or heard | Ça se voit. — You can tell. |
| Automatic events | opens, closes by itself | Les portes s'ouvrent seules. — The doors open on their own. |
Common Passive Reflexive Examples in French
The four places this construction turns up most:
Instructions and General Truths
- Ce vin se boit frais.
- This wine is drunk chilled.
- Le riz se rince avant la cuisson.
- Rice is rinsed before cooking.
- Ce tissu se lave en machine.
- This fabric is machine washable.
- Ça se mange avec les doigts.
- You eat it with your fingers.
Recipes, labels, and care instructions rely on this heavily, because it states a rule about the thing rather than issuing an order to a person.
Language, Spelling, and Pronunciation
- Comment ça s'écrit ?
- How do you spell that?
- Ce mot se prononce sans le s final.
- That word is pronounced without the final s.
- Ça ne se dit pas en français.
- You don't say that in French.
- Le h ne se prononce pas ici.
- The h isn't pronounced here.
This is how French talks about itself. Comment on écrit ça is also available and sounds a little more casual.
Social Norms and Judgements
- Ça ne se fait pas.
- That isn't done.
- Ces choses-là ne se demandent pas.
- You don't ask things like that.
- Ça se voit tout de suite.
- You can spot it straight away.
- Son accent s'entend à peine.
- His accent is barely noticeable.
Ça ne se fait pas is one of the flattest ways French has of disapproving, and it manages to name nobody at all.
In Compound Tenses
- Le livre s'est très bien vendu.
- The book sold very well.
- La nouvelle s'est répandue vite.
- The news spread quickly.
- Ces erreurs se sont multipliées.
- These mistakes have multiplied.
- Tout s'est bien passé.
- Everything went well.
The auxiliary is always être and the participle agrees with the subject: vendu, répandue, multipliées.
How the Pronominal Passive Works
A short set of restrictions, and one question that tells you whether you are reading a passive or a genuine reflexive.
The Object Becomes the Subject and Se Fills the Gap
Start from on lit ce genre de livre vite. Move the object to the front, insert se, and agree the verb with its new subject. Nothing is lost except the mention of who was reading.
Ce genre de livre se lit vite.
That kind of book reads quickly.
Thing + se + verb.
It Exists Only in the Third Person
There is no first or second person version. You cannot say je me mange to mean I am eaten, so the construction is limited to il, elle, ils, elles, and ça. For people, French uses on instead.
Ces gâteaux se conservent une semaine.
These cakes keep for a week.
il / elle / ils / elles only.
The Agent Can Never Be Named
No par phrase is possible. The moment you want to say by whom, the sentence has to be rebuilt as an être passive or as an active sentence with on.
Ce plat se prépare en dix minutes.
This dish is made in ten minutes.
No par, ever.
Compound Tenses Take Être and Agree
Every pronominal verb forms its compound tenses with être, and here the participle agrees with the subject, because the subject is what the action was done to.
La rumeur s'est vite répandue.
The rumour spread fast.
être + agreeing participle.
Not Every Se Verb Is a Passive
The same verb with se can be reflexive, reciprocal, or idiomatic. The subject is what settles it: a person can wash themselves, but a jumper cannot, so the second reading has to be passive.
Elle se lave, mais le pull se lave à la main.
She's washing; the jumper has to be washed by hand.
Ask whether the subject could really do it.
Common Mistakes with Passive Reflexive
Incorrect: Ce livre se lit par tout le monde. — This book is read by everyone.
Correct: Ce livre est lu par tout le monde. — This book is read by everyone.
The pronominal passive cannot take an agent at all. As soon as you want to say by whom, you have to switch to the être passive or to an active sentence with on.
Incorrect: Je me mange bien dans ce restaurant. — The food is good in this restaurant.
Correct: On mange bien dans ce restaurant. — The food is good in this restaurant.
The construction only works in the third person with a thing as subject. For a general statement about people, French uses on plus an ordinary active verb.
Incorrect: Ces livres se sont bien vendu. — These books sold well.
Correct: Ces livres se sont bien vendus. — These books sold well.
The auxiliary is être, so the participle agrees with the subject. Ces livres is masculine plural and takes an -s, and a feminine plural subject would take -es.
Incorrect: Elle s'est faite renvoyer. — She got fired.
Correct: Elle s'est fait renvoyer. — She got fired.
In se faire plus an infinitive, fait stays invariable, because the infinitive that follows holds the direct object. Making it agree is a very common slip, native writers included.
The Construction Across the Tenses
Because there is no first or second person, the tables have permanent gaps. Seeing them empty is the clearest way to remember that this structure only ever talks about things.
Three verbs in the present
Se vendre, se dire, and se faire are the three you will meet most in this use, and all three exist only in the third person when the meaning is passive.
| Pronoun | se vendre | se dire | se faire |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | — | — | — |
| tu | — | — | — |
| il / elle / on | se vend | se dit | se fait |
| nous | — | — | — |
| vous | — | — | — |
| ils / elles | se vendent | se disent | se font |
Je me vends and tu te dis do exist, but only with reflexive or idiomatic meanings, never as a passive.
Se vendre through four tenses
Only the verb moves. The reflexive pronoun stays se and the subject stays a thing, whatever the tense.
| Pronoun | présent | imparfait | passé composé | futur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | — | — | — | — |
| tu | — | — | — | — |
| il / elle / on | se vend | se vendait | s'est vendu(e) | se vendra |
| nous | — | — | — | — |
| vous | — | — | — | — |
| ils / elles | se vendent | se vendaient | se sont vendu(e)s | se vendront |
The passé composé is where the agreement becomes visible: cette maison s'est vendue, ces maisons se sont vendues.
Se faire plus an infinitive
A close relative, and the one case where a person can be the subject. Here the subject is the one affected by the action rather than the one performing it.
| Pronoun | présent | passé composé |
|---|---|---|
| je / j' | me fais aider | me suis fait aider |
| tu | te fais aider | t'es fait aider |
| il / elle / on | se fait aider | s'est fait aider |
| nous | nous faisons aider | nous sommes fait aider |
| vous | vous faites aider | vous êtes fait aider |
| ils / elles | se font aider | se sont fait aider |
Fait never agrees in this structure, because the infinitive after it holds the direct object. It is s'est fait aider for a man or a woman alike.
The Ça Se Idioms and Se Faire
Several of these have hardened into complete sentences that carry no verb of their own in English.
Perception and evidence
With verbs of perception, se plus the verb means one can tell. Each of these works as a full sentence on its own.
- Ça se voit.
- You can tell.
- Ça s'entend.
- You can hear it.
- Ça se sent.
- You can smell it.
- Ça se remarque.
- It shows.
All four are extremely common in conversation, usually as a reply confirming what somebody has just said.
Possibility and acceptability
With faire, dire, and pouvoir, the construction passes judgement on whether something is done at all, rather than reporting what happened.
- Ça ne se fait pas.
- That isn't done.
- Ça ne se dit pas.
- You don't say that.
- Ça se peut.
- That's possible.
- Ça peut se comprendre.
- That's understandable.
Ça se peut is informal. Its formal equivalent is il est possible que, which brings the subjunctive with it.
Se faire plus an infinitive
This variant gives a passive in which the subject is the person affected. It is the everyday way to report something unwelcome happening to you.
- Il s'est fait voler son portefeuille.
- He had his wallet stolen.
- Elle s'est fait renvoyer.
- She got fired.
- Je me suis fait aider.
- I got some help.
Unlike the plain pronominal passive, this one accepts a named agent: il s'est fait voler son portefeuille par un pickpocket.
Passive Reflexive FAQs
- What is the pronominal passive in French?
- A passive built with se instead of être: ce plat se mange froid, les billets se vendent en ligne. The thing acted on becomes the subject, the verb agrees with it, and nobody is named as the doer. It is the construction French prefers for general statements about things.
- Can you name the agent with a se passive?
- No. There is no room for a par phrase, which is the main structural difference from the être passive. If you need to say by whom, use ce livre est lu par tout le monde or an active sentence with on. The one exception is se faire plus an infinitive, which does allow par.
- How do you tell a passive se from a reflexive se?
- By the subject. Le pull se lave à la main has a jumper as subject and no jumper washes itself, so the se is passive. Elle se lave has a person doing it to herself, so the se is reflexive. Reciprocal uses, like ils se parlent, need two or more people.
- What does ça ne se fait pas mean?
- That it is socially unacceptable — that isn't done. It is a flat judgement with no named subject, which is what gives it its force. Ça ne se dit pas works the same way for language: you simply do not say that.
- Does the past participle agree in ces livres se sont vendus?
- Yes. Pronominal verbs form their compound tenses with être, and in the passive use the subject is what the action was done to, so the participle agrees with it: la maison s'est vendue, les maisons se sont vendues.