Belarusian has a passive but reaches for it far less than English does. Three other constructions do most of the work, and choosing among them is a matter of style rather than grammar.
I can choose between the passive, the subjectless plural and the reflexive according to whether the focus is the activity, the process or the result.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Тут будуюць новы дом.
A new house is being built here.
Дом яшчэ будуецца.
The house is still under construction.
Дом пабудаваны ў мінулым годзе.
The house was built last year.
Мірскі замак быў пабудаваны ў шаснаццатым стагоддзі.
Mir Castle was built in the sixteenth century.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Built from the short past passive participle plus, optionally, a form of быць:
The agent, if named, goes in the instrumental: Ліст напісаны бацькам. Naming the agent this way is formal and uncommon; if you know who did it, the active is nearly always better.
| Construction | Example | When |
|---|---|---|
| Third-person plural, no subject | Тут будуюць новы дом. | the ordinary choice |
| Reflexive verb | Дом будуецца. | process, often written |
| Short participle | Дом пабудаваны. | result, state |
The first is what a speaker actually says. English would reach for "a new house is being built"; Belarusian simply leaves out who is building it and uses a plural verb.
English uses the passive to avoid naming an agent, to put new information last, and to sound impersonal in official writing. Belarusian achieves all three with the subjectless plural, and a translated English passive reads as heavy and foreign. When you find yourself building one, try the plural first.
Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesTypical errors: translating an English passive word for word instead of using the subjectless plural, which produces heavy, foreign-sounding Belarusian.
Translating an English passive word for word
Try the subjectless plural first: Тут будуюць новы дом.
Naming the agent in the instrumental when the active would be better
If you know who did it, use the active voice.
Writing the reflexive passive with a Russian ending
Будуецца, друкуецца - always -цца.
Using the result form for an ongoing process
Будуецца is in progress; пабудаваны is finished.
Тут будуюць новы дом.
A new house is being built here.
The ordinary choice: a plural verb with nobody named.
Дом яшчэ будуецца.
The house is still under construction.
The reflexive puts the focus on the process.
Дом пабудаваны ў мінулым годзе.
The house was built last year.
The short participle gives the result, a state that now holds.
Мірскі замак быў пабудаваны ў шаснаццатым стагоддзі.
Mir Castle was built in the sixteenth century.
A full passive with <em>быў</em> - appropriate here because the date matters and the builder does not.
Тут не паляць і не размаўляюць гучна.
There is no smoking and no loud talking here.
Where English needs a notice or a passive, Belarusian uses two subjectless plurals.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises
The syntax volume of the same academic grammar; the linked edition serves the full text. Cited for its treatment of the one-member sentence: it describes definite-personal sentences, in which the personal form of the verb identifies the subject so that a separate nominative is unnecessary, indefinite-personal sentences built on a third-person plural verb, generalised-personal sentences characteristic of proverbs, and impersonal sentences. It also treats the predicate as simple, compound or nominal, and states that the predicate coordinates with the subject.