Download reason for using passives

1. Write passive sentences.
1 Chinese (speak) in Singapore.
2 The Taj Mahal (build) around 1640.
3 The new hospital (open) next year.
4 She (interview) now.
5 I realised I (follow).
6 (you invite) to Andy's party?
7 He found that all his money (steal).
8 These computers (make) in Korea.
9 Passengers (ask) not to speak to the
driver.
10 Sorry about the noise - the road (mend).
11 The village church (burn down) last year.
12 A Roman pavement (just find) under
Oxford Street.
With a passive, we can use by + noun if we need to say who does the action.
This house was built in 1486 by Sir John Latton.
2. Make the sentences passive. Use by ... only if it is necessary to say who does/did the
action.
1 Shakespeare wrote 'Hamlet'.
9 A drunken motorist knocked her down.
2 They have arrested her for shoplifting.
10 Liverpool beat Manchester 3-0
3 They are repairing your car now.
yesterday.
4 People in Chile speak Spanish.
11 The Chinese invented paper.
5 Has anybody asked Peter?
12 You need hops to make beer.
6 My mother made this ring.
13 They don't sell stamps in bookshops.
7 Electricity drives this car.
14 The directors are still considering your
8 Somebody will tell you where to go.
application.
REASON FOR USING PASSIVES
1. Rule study. Read the text and then do the rest of the exercise.
A DRIVER has been sent to jail
He was disqualified for twelve
for 90 days for driving with excess
months in 1986 for a similar
alcohol.
offence.
Graham Smith, 29, of North
Mr Peter Jones, defending, said
Street, Barton, was stopped by
Smith had used the car to visit a
police officers near his home last
sick friend.
November and was found to have
He said Smith was depressed
drunk almost twice the legal limit
after the visit, and went to a pub
for drivers, Didcot magistrates
and drank five or six pints before
heard on Thursday.
driving home.
Twelve months earlier Smith
He was caught by police during
had been disqualified from driving
a routine speed check in Wantage
for three years for drink-driving.
Road, Barton.
The following expressions in the text have passive verbs.
Would it be easy to rewrite the text with active verbs
(e.g. .... sent a disqualified driver to jail; police officers stopped Graham Smith)?
A disqualified driver has been sent to jail
Graham Smith ... was stopped by police officers
... was found to have drunk almost twice the legal limit
Smith had been disqualified from driving
He was banned for twelve months
He was caught by police
Which two rules are best? Check your answers in the key.
1. We use passives when we are interested in what happens, not who it happens to.
2. Passives are common when we are thinking about what is done to the person or
thing that we are interested in, not about what he/she/it does.
3. Passives can help us to go on talking about the same thing, in cases where an active
verb would need an unwanted new subject.
4. Passives are best in a formal style. Actives are more informal.
2. Choose the best way of continuing after each sentence.
1. He lives in a small house.
a. Somebody built it about forty years ago.
b. It was built about forty years ago.
2. English is worth learning.
a. People speak it in a lot of countries.
b. It is spoken in a lot of countries.
3. He got a sports car, but he didn't like it.
a. So he sold it again.
b. So it was sold again.
4. My nephew is an artist.
a. He has just painted another picture.
b. Another picture has just been painted by him.
5. The new Virginia Meyer film is marvellous.
a. They are showing it at our local cinema.
b. It is being shown at our local cinema.
3. Choose the best sentence from each pair to build up a continuous text.
1 a. HOW BOOKS ARE MADE
b. HOW PEOPLE MAKE BOOKS
2 a. First of all, the printers print big sheets of paper.
b. First of all, big sheets of paper are printed.
3 a. Each sheet contains the text of a number of pages (e.g. 32).
b. The text of a number of pages (e.g. 32) is contained in each sheet.
4 a. People fold and cut the sheets to produce sections of the book.
b. The sheets are folded and cut to produce sections of the book.
5 a. These sections are called signatures.
b. We call these sections signatures.
6 a. The printers put all the signatures together in the correct order.
b. All the signatures are put together in the correct order.
7 a. Then they are bound together and their edges are trimmed.
b. Then they bind the signatures together and trim the edges.
8 a. Finally, the cover - which has been printed separately - is attached.
b. Finally, they attach the cover - which they have printed separately.
9 a. Now the publishers can publish the book.
b. Now the book can be published.
1. Change these sentences as in the example. Then think about why this makes them
better, and check your answers in the key.
1. That she had not written to her parents for over two years surprised me.
I was surprised that she had not written to her parents ...
2. That nobody was prepared to take him to hospital shocked us.
3. That Mary wanted to tell everybody what to do annoyed me.
4. That George rang me up at three o'clock in the morning to tell me he was in love
again didn't please me.
2. The fact that he looked completely different from the last time I had met him
confused me. (I was confused by ...)
Passives: verbs with two objects
Verbs with two objects have two possible passive structures.
ACTIVE
They gave the winner a prize.
They gave a prize to the winner.
PASSIVE
The winner was given a prize.
A prize was given to the winner.
We choose the structure which fits best with what comes before and after
The structure with the person as subject is probably more common.
1. Change the structure.
1. Nothing was sent to me.
I was sent nothing.
2. Papers were brought to us to sign.
3. A clock was given to Henry when he retired.
4. Stories were read to the children.
5. £5,000 is owed to me.
6. A new job has been offered to me.
7. French is taught to us by Mrs Lee.
8. A car has been lent to me for the week.
9. A full explanation was promised to us.
10. A lot of lies were told to me by the secretary.
3. Complete the text with expressions from the box.
had been given
was given (twice)
was shown
had been told
was offered
wasn't being paid
had never been taught
was promised
was sent
I'll never forget my first day at that office. I 1)__________ to arrive at 8.30, but when
I got there the whole place seemed to be empty. I didn't know what to do, because I
2)__________ no information about the building or where I was going to work, so I just
waited around until some of the secretaries began to turn up. Finally I 3)____________
a dirty little office on the fifth floor, where I 4)_____________ a desk in a comer.
Nothing happened for an hour; then I 5)______________ some letters to type on a
computer by one of the senior secretaries. This wasn't very successful, because I
6)___________ how to use a computer. (In the letter I 7)______________ when I
8)___________ the job, I 9)____________ computer training, but they'd obviously
forgotten about this.) By lunchtime things hadn't got any better, and I decided that I
10)__________ enough to put up with this nonsense, so I walked out and didn't go back.
3. Complete these sentences any way you like.
1. I was given ________ last Christmas / for my last birthday / ________ .
2. I have often been given ______________ .
3. I have never been given ______________ .
Passives: progressive, perfect etc
Further practice on some passive verb forms.
1. Present progressive passive. Imagine you are in a busy hotel at midday. Make
sentences to say what is being done, using words from the two boxes and the
present progressive passive.
Example: Beds are being made.
beds bills coffee
money
new guests
drinks food luggage
reservations rooms tables
bring down change clean lay make
pay prepare
serve
take welcome
order
2. Present perfect passive. Imagine that, rich and famous, you return to your old
home town after fifty years. A lot of things are different. Make sentences, using
words from the boxes and the present perfect passive.
Example: The Cafe Royal has been turned into a casino.
Cafe Royal
new schools
ring road
statue of you
houseboats
new car park
opera house
old fire station
station
streets
town centre
Super Cinema
your house
build
modernise
put up in park
rebuild
widen
turn into casino / floating restaurants / museum
/ supermarket / theatre / pedestrian precinct
3. Infinitives and -ing forms. Make some sentences beginning
I (don't) like... -ing or I (don't) want to.... using verbs from the box.
Examples: I like being talked to.
I don't want to be forgotten.
admire
criticise
forget
give presents ignore
invite out laugh at
like
listen to
look at
love
need
shout at
take seriously talk about
talk to
undervalue
Passives: complex structures
Note these passives structures. They are mostly rather formal.
A. Active object complement → passive subject complement
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
The Queen considered him a genius.
He was considered a genius.
They elected Mrs Robins President.
Mrs Robins was elected President.
The others call him stupid.
He is called stupid by the others.
You've made me very happy.
I have been made very happy.
B. Structure with introductory it: It is thought/believed etc that...
It is thought that the Minister will resign.
At the time, it was believed that illnesses were caused by evil spirits.
It is expected that the company will become profitable in the New Year.
C. Subject + passive verb + infinitive
... is thought/believed/said/asked/seen/made etc to ...
She is thought to have left home.
He is believed to be in Wales.
They are said to be millionaires.
I was asked to help.
Note that we use to-infinitives in the passive after see, hear and make.
He was seen to enter the bank.
I was made to tell them everything.
D. Structure with there is: There is thought/said etc to be ...
There are thought to be fewer than twenty people still living in the village.
There were said to be ghosts in the house, but I never heard anything.
Make these sentences passive, using one of the above structures.
1. People think the government will fall.
2. We appointed Mr Evans secretary.
3. The villagers called her a witch.
4. People believed that fresh air was bad for sick people.
5. Some people say that there are wolves in the mountains.
6. Police think the man holding the hostages is heavily armed.
7. They say he is in an agitated state.
8. Everybody considered her strange.
9. We expect that the rate of inflation will rise.
10. They say he is somewhere in Germany.
11. Somebody saw Harris leave the plane in Ontario.
12. People think that she died in a plane crash.
13. People believed that the earth was the centre of the universe.
14. They think that there is oil under Windsor Castle.
15. They made me give them details of my bank accounts.