Past passive voice, with or without "был"

Question

Is there any difference in meaning in the past passive voice used with or without "был"?

Москва основана в 1147 году.

Москва была основана в 1147 году.

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 13 '14 at 08:41

Of course. There is no difference in your case, however, the variant without "был" refers to the present state. Nowadays you cannot say "Советский Союз образован в 1922" because Soviet Union does not exist anymore. Moscow does, so you can use both.

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 19 '14 at 00:32

0

The easiest analogy is as follows:

Moscow was founded in 1147. (w/o быть)
Moscow has been founded in 1147. (w быть)

answered Jul 19 '14 at 00:32

demos_kratos

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Only in English the second sentence is hardly possible. – Shady_arc Jul 19 '14 at 00:46

Past passive voice, with or without "был"

2 Answers2