In English, we form the passive voice using the verb "to be" plus the preposition "by" and the past participle of the action (transitive) verb. That is true in Italian too. We use the verb essere (to be), the preposition da, and the past participle of the transitive verb. 

Here is an example:

Londra. È stato venduto a un'asta di gioielli da Christie's.

London. It was sold at a jewelry auction at Christie's.

Caption 2, La Ladra EP. 12 - Come ai vecchi tempi - Part 4

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See this lesson for an overview of the passive voice in Italian.

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But there are other ways of forming the passive voice in Italian and it can be a bit confusing. If we think of using "get" in English (informally), it might be a bit less confusing. For example:

The paper gets delivered every morning at six. 

We could also say:

The paper is delivered every morning at six. 

Using "get" makes the sentence feel more active, while having a passive construction. We don't really need to know who delivers the paper so the passive voice is handy in this case. There is no apparent agent or doer. 

In Italian, in addition to using the verb essere, we can form the passive voice with the "auxiliary" verb venire (to come). In fact, it is often considered to be more formal than using essere. But, as with "get," it's also a more active way of using the passive voice.

It's easy to forget this kind of passive construction because venire is also a common action verb. When we use it in the passive voice, as an auxiliary, it doesn't really mean "to come." At least, not if we are translating. If we translate it with "get," it might be easier to grasp as part of the passive construction. 

While it's useful to know the grammar, the best thing is to listen or read and repeat. Hearing venire used in everyday (passive) contexts will help you assimilate it and then get accustomed to using it when appropriate. Let's look at some examples.

Keep in mind that:

1) the passive voice has to do with transitive verbs,

2) using venire as a passive auxiliary works only with simple tenses of the "action verb," not compound ones,

3) when using venire, there is usually no agent, called complemento d'agente, no doer.

4) venire is often used instead of essere to avoid confusion (we'll look at some examples further down on the page).

Ed è proprio per la sua fattura [che] non viene chiamata "farina", ma "semola".

And it is precisely because of its processing [that] it's not called "flour," but "semolina."

Captions 14-15, Vocaboliamo La pasta - Part 3

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L'ispettore Ginko è figlio di un giudice che viene arrestato per corruzione.

Inspector Ginko is the son of a judge who is arrested for corruption.

Captions 18-19, Fumettology Diabolik - Part 5

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In this next example, the verb venire is in the future tense.  

Domani verrà convocato Giulio Bruno, eh.

Tomorrow, Giulio Bruno will be summoned, huh.

Caption 60, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP3 I giardini della memoria - Part 19

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Of course, venire is also an action verb, so we might find the same future tense used with no participle after it. In the following example, it really does mean "to come" and is not forming any passive voice. 

Stamattina mi ha telefonato Franco, mio figlio, ha detto che verrà a trovarmi a Natale.

This morning, Franco called me, my son, he said he will come and see me at Christmas.

Captions 62-63, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP4 Gelo - Part 16

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Here, we have venire in the third person plural of venire.

Di solito questi luoghi diventano musei, dove gli antichi attrezzi vengono appesi alle pareti come vestigia di un passato remoto e obsoleto,

Usually, these places become museums, where old tools are hung on the walls as vestiges of a remote and obsolete past,

Captions 27-29, Formaggi D'autore - Part 5

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If, instead of using the verb venire, we use the verb essere to form the passive, it won't be wrong, but it might be confusing. If we use essere we can imagine the tools already hanging on the wall: gli attrezzi sono appesi alle pareti (the tools are hanging on the walls and appesi answers the question "where"), but with venire, we can picture the action of hanging the tools on the wall. 

Here is a final example where the verb venire is in the imperfetto.

È vero che Suo fratello a scuola veniva chiamato Cenerentola?

Is it true that your brother was called Cinderella at school?

Caption 6, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP3 I giardini della memoria - Part 26

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Further exploration:

For each of these examples in the passive voice, try replacing the verb venire with essere. They might work equally well. Try using "get" instead of "to be" in English. Try transforming the passive phrases into active ones.

Finally, in the video tab, do a search of various conjugations of venire and see if you can distinguish the examples that have to do with the passive voice (hint: look for a past participle following it). It's kind of fun. 

In a future lesson, we will discuss another "auxiliary" verb we can use to form the passive voice: andare (to go). It works much the same way as venire but has a different feel to it as well as a different function. 

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In every language, there are words that are used as "filler." In English, we have "so," "you know," and  "I mean," among others, as common filler words. A very common filler-type conjunction in Italian is cioè, so let's get familiar with it.

Cioè is made up of two words, ciò and è. Ciò means "that" (see this lesson about ways to translate "that") and è means "is," in other words, the third person singular of the verb essere (to be). Sometimes, it works to simply translate cioè "word for word," with "that is."

Ah, io ero venuta a cercare Michele, il quale lavora, cioè lavorava per il Professor Lenni.

Ah, I had come to look for Michele, who works, that is, used to work for Professor Lenni.

Captions 19-20, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 2

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However, it's used in so many contexts that "that is"  doesn't do the trick in all cases. Alternative translations are "in other words," "that is to say," "I mean," or even "you know," depending on the context. And there are surely others!

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Cioè is often used as a one-word question. It's a way of saying, without actually forming a question, "What do you mean?"

Ho giocato da solo. -Cioè?

I went solo. -Meaning?

Captions 15-16, La Ladra EP. 12 - Come ai vecchi tempi - Part 4

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L'italiano, praticamente, è una lingua soltanto letteraria per molti secoli, cioè fino a, praticamente, a dieci o vent'anni fa.

Italian, practically, has been solely a literary language for many centuries, that is to say, until, practically, until ten or twenty years ago.

Captions 1-2, La super storia Via Pasolini - Part 3

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E non devono essere arance normali, cioè, devono essere arance biologiche, non trattate chimicamente.

And they mustn't be normal oranges, in other words, they have to be organic oranges, not treated chemically.

Captions 15-16, Adriano L'arancello di Marina

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E infatti m'han' detto: "vogliamo un bianco e nero molto contrastato", sia per dare forza, insomma, a quello che, che, che accade, sia per distinguere i, questi due momenti che si vivono nel film, cioè la, tutta la preparazione allo spettacolo e poi lo spettacolo in sé.

And in fact, they told me, "We want a very contrasted black and white," both to give strength, basically, to what, what, what is happening, and to distinguish the, these two moments that are experienced in the movie, in other words the, all the preparations for the show and then the show itself.

Captions 3-6, Fratelli Taviani La passione e l'utopia - Part 17

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Come è possibile che questi stanno girando, [attore] queste due persone non litigano, non litigano mai. Cioè, io di solito ho delle idee che non condivido,

How is it possible that these guys are filming, [actor] these two people don't argue, they never argue. I mean, I usually have ideas that I don't share,

Captions 38-40, Fratelli Taviani La passione e l'utopia - Part 24

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Cioè is definitely a word to become familiar with. Listen to people use it (in real-life conversations or Yabla videos) and soon you will be including it in your conversation at just the right moment.

Of course, you can search this word yourself, to check out other examples of cioè. Which English translation to use is not set in stone and you can disagree with (and challenge) our translations. But the important thing is to get a feel for cioè, for when and how it is used. 

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