72b Complete the conversations. Use the sentences in brackets and change the word order to make them more emphatic. © A: How old do you think Mr Roberts is? Thirty? B: He's at least forty. .. (He isn’t thirty) 4A: What kind of films do you like? B: Well, | don’t like action films .» (Ido like comedies.) 2. A: Have you always driven a Ford? B: No, | used to drive a Fiat. (That was my first car.) 3. A: When did your parents arrive? Last night or this morning? B: .. (They arrived this morning.) 4 A: We'd better hurry. . (itll be dark soon.) B: Of course. | know you don’t like travelling at night. 5 A: How long would you like the report to be? B: | don’t care about the details. . (But | do want the gist.) 73 > The passive (1) @ Inan active sentence the subject is the ‘doer’ and performs the action of the verb. Ina passive sentence the object of the active verb becomes the subject: ‘have delayed ourflight. /Ourflight hasbeendelayed, © We use the passive: ~ to focus on the action rather than the doer (the agent) of the action: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. — to avoid using a vague subject like they or someone: My watch has been stolen! ~ when the doer of the action is obvious: He was arrested last night. (I's clear who arrested him: the police.) — to avoid saying who was responsible for something: Your parcel has been lost. ~ inwritten reports, signs and notices, and to describe processes: Shoplifters will be prosecuted. The fruit is treated with wax and then stored. ‘© If we want to mention the agent, we use by. We use with to mention the tool or instrument that was used: St Paul’s Cathedral was built by Sir Christopher Wren. He was killed with a knife. © We form the passive with an appropriate form of be + past participle: They feed the animals. > The animals are fed. They are feeding the animals. > The animals are being fed. They fed the animals. > The animals were fed. They should feed the animals. -> The animals should be fed. ad If the verb is followed by a preposition or particle, we don’t omit it in the passive sentence: They closed the cinema down. > The cinema was closed down. © We can use get in place of be in informal English: We often get asked this question. (© We are often asked this question.) 159PRACTICE 73a Re-write the sentences. Use the passive. © They should have finished the project ages ago. 1 No one has cleaned the windows for weeks. 2 His company made him redundant a year ago. 3 The pressures of work were affecting her health. 4 The fire fighters put out the fire before it did much damage. 5 Ifit hadn't rained so much, we would have finished the job on time. 6 The people at the garage are repairing our car. 7 Someone hit him on the head with a heavy instrument. 8 | hope they'll choose me for the basketball team. 73b Complete the article. Use the passive form of the verbs in the box. allow call can/understand define determine fight may/divide rear_weite Thousands of books (0) .../tave been written shout the territorial instinct of animals. Humans are territorial too and when we understand this, some kinds of aggressive behaviour (1) .. more easily. Every country is a territory with boundaries which (2) . ..- usually clearly -Within each country there are smaller territories: counties and cities. Throughout history wars (3) .. by people protecting the territory in which they live. However, there are other kinds of territory as well. One such territory (4). ‘personal space’. For animals, the size of this space depends on the conditions in which the animal (5) .. whether in the wild or in a zoo. For humans, it depends on the density of the population in the place where they grew up. To some extent, the size of an individual's personal space (6) «0. ... by their culture. Personal space (7) .. .. into four zones: the intimate, personal, social and public zones. The intimate zone extends fifteen to forty-five centimetres from the body. Only close friends and relatives (8) to enter the intimate zone. If a stranger enters it, the individual becomes anxious and may feel threatened. eee74 The passive (2) @ When an active verb has two objects, a direct object and an indirect object, it is more common for the indirect object to become the subject of the passive sentence: @ Some verbs (e.g. hear, help, make, see) are followed by the infinitive without to when they are active and by to-infinitive when they are passive: / heard her criticise him. > She was heard to criticise him. They made me stay at home. > | was made to stay at home. @ We can’t use /et + infinitive without to in the passive; we use allow + to-infinitive instead: They didn’t let me go out. > | wasn’t allowed to go out. @ Need doing and need to be done have a passive meaning: The house needs painting. (= The house needs to be painted.) Does this shirt need to be ironed? ee eS 74a Re-write the underlined parts of the sentences. Use the passive. Do not include the agent unless it is necessary. © My new digital camera was faulty so the shop gave me a full refund. My new digital camera was faulty so .. ll refund, 4 The children have to be in bed by ten and their parents don’t let them use the computer after eight. The children have to be in bed by ten and 2 The caris very dirty and we need to was! The car is very dirty and 3 We're travelling by coach and a local guide will show us the sights when we get there. We're travelling by coach and .. 4 | felt so ill that | took a taxi to the hospital but thieviade ‘nis wait far hous to! see a doctor. | felt so ill that | took a taxi to the hospital but 5 She attended the party but they saw her leave shortly after her arrival. She attended the party but ... 6 He's getting a pay rise and the company has also promised him a bonus. He's getting a pay rise and... 7 My grandfather has difficulty walking but a kind passer-by helped him cross the street. My grandfather has difficulty walking but .. This information is important and you must hand it out to all employees. This information is important and ... ©162 74D Re-write the sentences. Use the passive. © Britain's banks lent nearly £12 billion to successful applicants last year. ai Nearly £12 billion fo successful Applicants by Britain's banks last year. 1 Unfortunately, banks let many people borrow more money than they can repay. Unfortunately, many people more money than they can repay. 2 Some banks lent people a sum that was more than their annual income. People .. . that was more than their annual income. 3. They gave other loans to people who had no source of income. Other loans . .. who had no source of income. 4 Consumer groups say that both banks and borrowers need to face the problem. Consumer groups say that the problem .. by both banks and borrowers. 5. They argue that banks should not give loans to people who can’t afford them. They argue that loans... . who can’t afford them. 75 The passive (3) © We can use the passive with verbs such as believe, claim, expect, know, report, say, think, understand, etc. to report an event or to talk about an opinion held by some people/a lot of people/people in general/experts, etc. The following patterns can be used: — it + passive + that clause: It is understood that the Queen approves of the decision. ~ subject + passive + to-infinitive: The Queen is understood to approve of the decision. @ Note the form of the verbs: Itis said that he is one of the richest men in the world. He is said to be one of the richest men in the world. Itis expected that he will hand over the business to his daughter. He is expected to hand over the business to his daughter. Itis reported that he is buying a private istand. He is reported to be buying a private island. It is believed that he has invested much of his money in property. He is believed to have invested much of his money in property. It is thought that he made a billion pounds last year. He is thought to have made a billion pounds last year.PRACTICE 75a Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first, using the 75) co word in bold. Use between two and five words. © They believe that skin cancer will cause more deaths in the coming years. believed It....dS believed that skin cancer wit\ cause more deaths in the coming years. 4 People think that he is living in South America. be He in South America. 2 They expect that the repairs will take three to five weeks. that It the repairs will take three to five weeks. 3 People say that she left the country months ago. have She... the country months ago. 4 They think that the manager will resign. is It the manager will resign. 5 Experts believe that the house was built in 1735. been The house .. . built in 1735. 6 The accidentis reported to have been caused by human error. that Itis reported . by human error. Re-write the sentences in two ways. Put the underlined parts in the passive. © They say that a fire has completely destroyed the Royal Hotel. it iS Said that the Royal Hotel has been completely destroyed by a fire. The Royal Hotel 1 They say that the fire is still burning. 2 They think that the fire started in the kitchen. Ite. The fire .. 3. They believe that ambulances have taken fifteen people to hospital. It Fifteen people .. 4 They report that seven people are in a serious condition. Ra. Seven people 5. They believe that a cigarette started the fire. BE cere The fire . 6 They expect that the police will investigate the cause of the blaze. It The cause of the blaze . 163 |