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Does the verb "sell" has a passive voice form? I found this sentence

The French magazines were sold the most....

Is this correct? Or should I say

The French magazines sold the most....

1 Answer 1

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Your second sentence is the idiomatic established expression. The verb "to sell" gains passive meaning in this context, although its grammatical form is active. In fact, this is one of the meanings of the verb, as shown here:

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Your first variant is not incorrect, but not so much used.

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    Of course, you can also say "This magazine is sold at all good newsagents'" meaning that they have it in stock. Dec 15, 2020 at 15:00
  • Yes, quite right!
    – fev
    Dec 15, 2020 at 15:01

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