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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Did you know that Italian uses the same word — la storia — for both "story" and "history?" 

Sometimes it's clear what we're talking about: 

Ma ti rendi conto che questi galantuomini sono finiti sui libri di storia come gli eroi del Risorgimento, i grandi che hanno fatto l'Italia.

But do you realize that these men of honor have ended up in history books as the heroes of the Risorgimento, the greats who made Italy?

Captions 37-39, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP5 Rione Serra Venerdì - Part 19

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But more often than not, una storia means "a story," which can be interpreted in various ways, just as in English.

In ogni storia noir il poliziotto che si oppone al criminale ne è, in un certo senso, lo specchio. -Ginko è uno dei motivi di vita di Diabolik.

In every crime story, the policeman who opposes the criminal is, in a certain sense, the mirror of him. -Ginko is one of Diabolik's reasons for living.

Captions 31-32, Fumettology Diabolik - Part 5

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Often una storia represents a romantic relationship. We might say "love story" or "affair."

Hanno avuto una storia, ma si sono lasciati dopo pochi mesi.

(They had an affair, but they broke it off after a few months.)

When it's more of a fling, it's common to use the diminutive, storiella.

Me l'ha fatte pure con l'avvocato. Una storiella con un vigile urbano.

She did that to me with a lawyer, too. A fling with a traffic cop.

Captions 8-9, La Ladra EP. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 12

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It's also common to use una relazione when referring to a relationship between two adults.

Gliel'ho già detto, la loro relazione era finita da un pezzo.

I already told you. Their relationship had been over for a good while.

Caption 106, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 11

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In the context of theater, television, and film, "story" isn't always called la storia. When we refer to the basic story, idea, theme, or plot outline, it's called il soggetto. In every-day Italian, however, il soggetto usually corresponds to its English cognate, "the subject." 

We often find the word soggetto in the credits of a movie or TV show.  An episode of Fumettology, about the comic book Diabolik, describes how the various aspects of preparing the material come together. The idea can come from a number of sources, but there is usually one writer who develops the story, theme, or plot outline, referred to as il soggetto. It might be the outline of a movie, episode, or entire series.

Spesso, una storia può avere una persona che fornisce lo spunto, poi, in genere, ce ne sono un paio d'altre che lo fanno diventare un soggetto.

Often, a story may have a person who provides the starting point, then, usually, there are a couple of others who make it become a storyline.

Captions 26-28, Fumettology Diabolik - Part 7

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Sono soggetti di, di, di anche di venti pagine. È praticamente già tutta la storia articolata, mancano giusto i dialoghi e la divisione in, in vignette,

They are storylines of, of, of even twenty pages. That's practically the whole story already laid out. Missing only are the dialogues and the division into, into vignettes,

Captions 29-31, Fumettology Diabolik - Part 7

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In the comics, il dialogo (the dialog) has to be created along with the narrative.

In a TV show or movie, there is la sceneggiatura (the script, the screenplay). In the following example, the same person came up with the story for the episode and then wrote the script or screenplay, which includes dialogue and stage directions. 

[Soggetto di puntata e sceneggiatura di]

[Episode story and screenplay by]

Caption 16, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP4 Gelo - Part 1

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You'll see the noun storia come up quite often in movies and TV shows, as well as in books and articles. Note that here, we've talked about the literal meanings of the word, but we'll look at other connotations in a future lesson, so stay tuned!

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