Download I am writing a letter The passive voice is used

© 2009 by Nurkasanah
Sentences in English can be written in either the active or
the passive voice
 The active voice is used when the subject of the sentence
is performing or doing or causing the action expressed by
the verb, someone does something.
Example : I am writing a letter
 The passive voice is used when the subject of the sentences
is the object of the action, something is done by something
or someone.
Example : The gun he carries is never loaded
It is understood that she was fired by
some
one,by
presumably
boss
 The passive voice is often
marked
the use of her
“by”,
but this can be omitted.
Example : The secretary was fired
 The passive is also marked by the absence of an object if there is
no object in the clause, it will probably be, but not always, passive.
 The form of the passive is the correct tense of the verb “be”
+ the ‘-ed”/”-en” form of the verb.
The appropriate tense must be used to convey the time of the context
Example : Nowadays he goes to work by car
This is in the present,
The main tenses tested :
action
Future
: I will study“nowadays”,
English in theand
USthe
next
year is
regular
butconversation
not continuous
Close Future
: I am studying
English
next week
Simple Present
: I study English every day
Present Continuous : I am studying ICT by computer
Present Perfect
: I have studied English for many years
Past Tense
: I studied English while at university
Past Perfect
: I had studied English for six years before
I went to the Bali
The “continuous” tense, apart form the present continuous,
are not so commonly tested, but may appear.
Omission, or unnecessary use, of the verbs or auxiliaries showing
tense
Example : Professor Cameron giving a lecture on the history of the
labour movement next week
The verb “to be” has been omitted from the present
continuous tense of the verb “to give” the sentences
should read “is giving’, showing the close future.
 In English sentences an auxiliary verb, or a modal auxiliary,
is a verb, by adding to it an idea of time or mood, and must be
followed by the base from of the main verb.
 Auxiliary / Modal verbs :
Be, was, were, been, have, had, do, did, can, could, be able to
May, might, must, have to, have got to,
should, ought to, had better, be supposed to,
be to, used to, will, would, be going to,
would like to, would rather.
 The base form of main verb : go, work, stay, understand
 Apart from gerunds and complete verb structure also tests
verbs when ending with –ing and –ed.
 Some of these verbs accur in reduced clauses, about which
you can read in the reduced clauses tutorial an example is
“ although bored, Mike stayed until the end of the movie”
the first clause is reduced, “bored” being reduced from
“he was bored”
 Other verbs ending in –ing or –ed function as adjectives.
Although some are so common that one might think that they
are like any other adjective, they are in fact formed from verbs.
 The main difference between the –ing and –ed endings is that –ing
is active, and –ed is passive, the same is in reduced clauses
ING
Active
ED
Passive
 The –ing ending verb functioning as an adjective shows that
the noun that is modifies is doing something, performing an action
 The –ed ending verb functioning as an adjective shows that the noun
it modifies has had something done to it.
 The main problem that are two mixed ; you are given the wrong form,
the –ing for the –ed, or vice-versa. It is also possible that neither
form is used even though one or other is in fact necessary.
 The gerund is a form of a verb that can be used as a noun.
 The gerund is the base verb + ing
Example : I don’t like cooking
 The gerund can be object
Example : I like her cooking
 The gerund can be subject
Example : cooking is fun
 The gerund, even though it is like a noun, is still a verb and
can be followed by a noun
( a noun cannot be followed by another noun)
Example : Cooking spaghetti is not so easy
 The gerund like a noun, can follow a preposition
Example : Rainy weather is not good for playing tennis
 In English an adjective comes before a noun, though an adjective
clause often comes after a noun
 An adjective describing a noun which is the subject of a linking verb,
like to be, to appear, to seem and to become, will follow the verb,
Example : He seems happy, but you look sad.
 An adverb usually follows the verb I modifies, or possibly the verb
and the object of the verb.
 An adverb of frequency, like sometimes, always, never, and
occasionally, always come before the verb.
 Adverbs can also modify adjectives or other adverbs.
Example : She is a very beautiful woman
He almost never take exercise
The End