Naming the agent in a passive sentence
In short
| Who/what | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| agent (person, institution) | od strane + genitive | usvojen od strane Skupštine |
| means (thing, method) | bare instrumental | overen pečatom, poslat poštom |
| no agent | biti + participle | Ugovor je potpisan. |
| past | bio/bila/bili + participle | Odluka je bila doneta. |
| process, routine | se-passive, no agent | Zakoni se usvajaju u Skupštini. |
od strane = official register; in speech prefer the active: Vlada je donela odluku.
B2 · Lesson 23 · Vršilac radnje u pasivu: od strane
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
At B1 you learned two ways to make a passive: biti + passive participle (Zakon je usvojen. — The law has been adopted.) and the se-passive (Zakoni se usvajaju u Skupštini. — Laws are adopted in the Assembly.). Both left out WHO did the action. This lesson adds that missing piece — and teaches when Serbian would rather you did not add it at all.
Who did it: od strane + genitive
English says by the government. Serbian says od strane (literally 'from the side of') followed by the genitive: od strane Vlade, od strane suda, od strane policije, od strane ministra. The agent is a person, a group of people, or an institution that acts like a person — a court, a ministry, a parliament.
| Serbian | English |
|---|---|
| Zakon je usvojen od strane Skupštine. | The law was adopted by the Assembly. |
| Osumnjičeni je uhapšen od strane policije. | The suspect was arrested by the police. |
| Žalba je odbijena od strane suda. | The appeal was rejected by the court. |
What it was done with: the bare instrumental
When the 'by' phrase names a THING — a tool, a document, a method, a vote — it is not an agent but a means, and it goes into the instrumental with no preposition, exactly like Putujem vozom or Pišem olovkom: overen pečatom (certified with a stamp), poslat poštom (sent by post), usvojen većinom glasova (adopted by a majority of votes).
| Question | Who or what? | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who did it? | a person or an institution | od strane + genitive | potpisan od strane ministra |
| With what? | a thing, a tool, a method | bare instrumental | potpisan elektronskim potpisom |
Never put a means after od strane, and never put a person into the bare instrumental: od strane pečata and Dokument je potpisan ministrom are both wrong. Ask yourself: could this 'by' phrase be the subject of an active sentence that makes sense — The minister signed it? Then it is an agent (od strane). If it is only the tool somebody used — a stamp, the post — it is a means (instrumental). Also do not add sa: sa pečatom means 'bearing a stamp', not 'with a stamp as the tool'.
Leaving the agent out
Most passives in Serbian simply have no agent: the whole point is that who did it is obvious, unknown or unimportant. Ugovor je potpisan. (The contract has been signed.) Dozvola je izdata prošle nedelje. (The permit was issued last week.) Do not add od strane just because English would add 'by someone'.
The past
Zakon je usvojen already tells of a past event whose result still holds: 'the law was / has been adopted'. When you want to place the passive firmly in the past — something that had been done, a state that no longer holds — use the past of biti: bio / bila / bilo / bili / bile + participle, all agreeing with the subject.
| Serbian | English |
|---|---|
| Odluka je doneta juče. | The decision was made yesterday. |
| Odluka je bila doneta pre nego što je ministar stigao. | The decision had been made before the minister arrived. |
| Zgrada suda je bila zatvorena tri godine. | The court building was closed for three years. |
Se-passive or biti-passive?
- se-passive (Zakoni se usvajaju…, Ovde se plaća taksa.) describes a process, a routine, how things are done. It is the everyday, natural passive — and it does NOT take an agent: do not attach od strane to it.
- biti-passive (Zakon je usvojen.) describes a finished result. It is the one that can take od strane when an agent really must be named.
Register: od strane is the voice of an official document
od strane belongs to reports, court rulings, press releases and official letters. In speech and in good written style Serbian much prefers the active: instead of Odluka je doneta od strane Vlade say Vlada je donela odluku. Use od strane when you are writing in that formal register, or when the result matters more than the agent and you still need to name the agent at the end.
| Formal report | Normal style |
|---|---|
| Zahtev je odobren od strane ministarstva. | Ministarstvo je odobrilo zahtev. |
| Presuda je doneta od strane sudije. | Sudija je doneo presudu. |
Check what you read
6 of the 16 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Odluka je doneta ___ Vlade.
Osumnjičeni je uhapšen od strane(policija).
Izveštaj je pripremljen ___.
Which sentence is correct?
Pismo je dostavljeno(pošta).
Predlog je usvojen(većina) glasova.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Zahtev je odobren od strane ministarstva.
The request was approved by the ministry.
Žalba je odbijena od strane suda.
The appeal was rejected by the court.
Zakon je usvojen od strane Skupštine.
The law was adopted by the Assembly.
Svedoci su saslušani od strane tužioca.
The witnesses were questioned by the prosecutor.
Osumnjičeni je uhapšen od strane policije.
The suspect was arrested by the police.
Istraga je sprovedena od strane posebne komisije.
The investigation was carried out by a special commission.
Ugovor je potpisan od strane direktora, a zatim overen pečatom.
The contract was signed by the director and then certified with a stamp.
U službenom pismu piše da je zahtev odbijen od strane ministarstva.
The official letter says that the request was rejected by the ministry.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 8
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
The request was approved by the ministry.
Formal passive with od strane.