Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Pronome apassivador se Passive-rendering se
In this structure, pronoun se is attached with a hyphen to a transitive verb which, in turn, is followed by the subject. This is a formal type of passive sentence called **voz passiva sintética. Pronoun se is called pronome apassivador (passive-rendering se).**
Voz passiva analítica	Voz passiva sintética	English	Note Subject in yellow pronome apassivador se in red
Carros são vendidos.	Vendem-se carros.	Cars are sold.	The action is set in the presente do indicativo.
Carros foram vendidos.	Venderam-se carros.	Cars were sold. or Cars have been sold.	The action is set in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo.
Carros eram vendidos.	Vendiam-se carros.	Cars were sold. or Cars used to be sold.	The action is set in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo.
Carros tinham sido vendidos.	Tinham-se vendido carros.	Cars had been sold.	*The action is set in the pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto do indicativo.*
Carros serão vendidos.	Vender-se-ão carros.	Cars will be sold.	*The action is set in the futuro do presente simples do indicativo.*
Carros seriam vendidos	Vender-se-iam carros.	Cars would be sold.	*The action is set in the futuro do pretérito simples do indicativo.*
Exijo que carros sejam vendidos.	Exijo que se vendam carros.	I demand that cars be sold.	*The action is set in the presente do subjuntivo.*
Se carros fossem vendidos.	Se se vendessem carros.	If cars were sold.	*The action is set in the pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo.*
Espero que carros tenham sido vendidos.	Espero que tenham-se vendido carros.	I hope that cars have been sold.	*The action is set in the pretérito perfeito do subjuntivo.*
Quando carros forem vendidos.	Quando se venderem carros.	When cars are sold.	*The action is set in the futuro simples do subjuntivo.*
Quando carros tiverem sido vendidos.	Quando se tiverem vendido carros.	When cars have been sold.	*The action is set in the futuro composto do subjuntivo.*
Carros sendo vendidos.	Vendendo-se carros.	Cars being sold.	*The action is in the gerúndio presente.*
Make sure you know how to conjugate verbs in the voz passiva analítica and have a good command of verb tenses before learning the voz passiva sintética. Knowledge of colocação pronominal (placement of object pronouns) is also required. Remember: Voz passiva sintética is only possible with transitive verbs (without prepositions), and the verbs must be in the 3rd person singular or in the 3rd person plural (like in the examples above); The verb must agree in number with the subject.