There are three voices in French:
| Active voice | The subject performs the action of the verb. This is the most common, "normal" voice. | |
| Je lave la voiture. | I'm washing the car. | |
| Il a cassé les assiettes. | He broke the plates. | Elle est prof de français. | She's a French teacher. |
| Passive voice | The action of the verb is performed on the subject by an agent. | |
| La voiture est lavée. | The car is (being) washed. | |
| Les assiettes ont été cassées par le chien. | The plates were broken by the dog. | Toutes les chemises ont été vendues. | All of the shirts were sold. |
| Pronominal voice | The subject performs the action on itself. This voice is quite common in French, much less so in English. | |
| Je me lave. | I'm washing up. | |
| Il s'est cassé la jambe. | He broke his leg. | |
| Je n'aime pas me regarder dans la glace. | I don't like to look at myself in the mirror. | |
