ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Uses of passive voice:

• We use the passive voice mainly in three ways:
• 1. When we don’t want to take responsibility for something
• Ex: The matter will be dealt with soon [We don’t know or what to say wholl deal with it]
• 2. When we want to focus on a happening, not who or what did it
• Ex: Our roof was damaged in last nights storm / The storm damaged our roof last night [We’re concerned
about the roof]
• The documents are destroyed --- no subject
• 3. When we want to avoid vague subjects like one, someone, they etc.
• Ex: The form has to be signed / One, Someone has to sign the form [NOT someone/one has to sign the
form[
• English spoken [NOT one speaks English]
• Shoes repaired [NOT one repairs shoes]
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Complete the sentences. Use these verbs in the correct form, present or past:
cause / damage / find / hold / injure / invite / make / overtake / own / send / show / surround
• 1 Many accidents are caused by careless driving.
• 2 Cheese is made from milk. [be + p.p]
• 3 The roof of the building was damaged in a storm a few days ago.
• 4 A cinema is a place where films are shown
• 5 You were invited to the party. Why didn’t you go?
• 6 This plant is very rare. It ___ in very few places.
• 7 Although we were driving fast, we were overtaken by a lot of other cars. [overtake – overtook – overtaken]
• 8 In the US, elections for president ___ every four years.
• 9 There was an accident last night, but fortunately nobody ____
• 10 You can’t see the house from the road. It ___ by trees.
• 11 I never received the letter. It ___ to the wrong address.
• 12 The company I work for ___ by a much larger company.
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
• Complete these sentences. Use the following verbs in the passive:
• arrest / carry / cause / delay / do / forget / keep / knock / know / make / repair / send [Sometimes you need have
(might have, would have etc.).
• 1 The situation is serious. Something must be done before it’s too late.
• 2 I haven’t received the letter yet. It might have been sent to the wrong address.
• 3 A decision will not __ until the next meeting.
• 4 These documents are important. They should always __ in a safe place.
• 5 This road is in bad condition. It should ___ a long time ago.
• 6 The injured man couldn’t walk and had to ___
• 7 If you hadn’t shouted at the policeman, you wouldn’t ___
• 8 I’m not sure what time I’ll arrive tomorrow. I may ___
• 9 It’s not certain how the fire started. It might ___ by an electrical fault.
• 10 A new school is being built. The old one is going to ___ down.
• 11 The election is next Sunday. The full results will ___ on Tuesday.
• 12 Last week they weren’t speaking to one another. Now they’re happy again. The problem seems to __
• .
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Make sentences from the words in brackets. Sometimes the verb is active, sometimes passive.
• 1 There’s somebody behind us. (We / follow) We’re being followed.
• 2 This door is a different colour, isn’t it? (you / paint?) Have you painted it?
• 3 My bike has disappeared. (It / steal!) It __
• 4 My umbrella has disappeared. (Somebody / take) Somebody __
• 5 A neighbour of mine disappeared six months ago.
• (He / not / see / since then) He __
• 6 I wonder how Jessica is these days.
• (I / not / see / for ages) I __
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Make sentences from the words in brackets. Sometimes the verb is active, sometimes passive.
• 7 A friend of mine was stung by a bee recently.
• (you / ever / sting / bee?) ___ you ___
• 8 The bridge was damaged recently.
• (It / repair / at the moment) It ___
• 9 Tom’s car was stolen recently.
• (It / not / find / yet) It ___
• 10 I went into the room and saw that the table and chairs were not in the same place.
• (The furniture / move) The ___
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Instead of using ‘somebody’, ‘they’ etc., write a passive sentence.

• 1 Somebody has cleaned the room. The room has been cleaned .
• 2 They are building a new road around the city.
• A __ around the city.
• 3 They have built two new hotels near the airport.
• Two ___ near the airport.
• 4 When I last visited, they were building some new houses here.
• When I last visited, some ___
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Instead of using ‘somebody’, ‘they’ etc., write a passive sentence.

• 5 The meeting is now on 15 April. They have changed the date.
• The date of ___
• 6 I didn’t know that somebody was recording our conversation.
• I didn’t know that our ___
• 7 Is anyone doing anything about the problem?
• ___ anything ___ the problem?
• 8 The windows were very dirty. Nobody had cleaned them for ages.
• The windows were very dirty. They ______
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• I don’t like being …

• The passive of doing/seeing etc. is being done / being seen etc. Compare:
• active: I don’t like people telling me what to do.
• passive: I don’t like being told what to do.
• I remember being taken to the zoo when I was a child.
• (= I remember somebody taking me to the zoo)
• Steve hates being kept waiting. (= he hates people keeping him waiting)
• We climbed over the wall without being seen. (= without anybody seeing us)
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• I don’t like being …

• I was born …
• We say ‘I was born …’ (not I am born):
• I was born in Chicago.
• Where were you born? (not Where are you born?) – past tense
but
• How many babies are born every day? – present tense
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• I was offered … / we were given … etc.

• Some verbs can have two objects.
• For example, give: My grandfather gave me this watch.
It is possible to make two passive sentences:
• Ex: I was given this watch (by my grandfather). Or This watch was given to me (by my grandfather).
• Other verbs which can have two objects are:
• ask ,offer, pay, show, tell
When we use these verbs in the passive, most often we begin with the person:
• I’ve been off red the job, but I don’t think I want it. (= somebody has offered me the job)
• You will be given plenty of time to decide. (= we will give you plenty of time)
• I didn’t see the original document, but I was shown a copy. (= somebody showed me a copy)
• Tim has an easy job – he’s paid a lot of money to do very little. (= somebody pays him a lot)
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Complete the sentences using being + the following verbs (in the correct form):
• bite / give / invite / keep / knock / down / stick / treat
• 1 Steve hates being kept waiting.
• 2 We went to the wedding without __
• 3 I like giving presents and I also like __ them.
• 4 It’s a busy road and I don’t like crossing it. I’m afraid of __
• 5 How do you avoid __ by mosquitoes?
• 6 I’m an adult. I don’t like __ like a child.
• 7 You can’t do anything about __ in a traffic jam
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Complete the sentences using get or got + the following verbs (in the correct form):
• ask / break / hurt / pay / steal / sting / stop / use
• 1 There was a fight, but nobody got hurt .
• 2 Alex __ by a bee while he was sitting in the garden.
• 3 These tennis courts don’t __ very often. Not many people want to play here.
• 4 I used to have a bike, but it __ a few months ago.
• 5 Rachel works hard, but she doesn’t __ very much.
• 6 Please pack these things very carefully. I don’t want anything to __
• 7 People often want to know what my job is. I __ that question a lot.
• 8 Last night I __ by the police as I was driving home. One of the lights on my car wasn’t working.
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• The future and modal verbs in the passive

• We use be + a passive participle after will, be going to, can, must, have to, should, etc.
• The gates will be closed this evening.// This rubbish should be thrown away. // The machine has
to be repaired. // The news might be announced soon. // Seats may not be reserved. [modal
verb + not + be + p.p] // How can the problem be solved? [modal verb + sub + be + p.p]
• ACTIVE
• Future: We will bake the bread next. / We are going to bake the bread.
• Modal verb: We should bake the bread soon. / We ought to bake the bread.
• PASSIVE
• The bread will be baked next. / The bread is going to be baked.
• The bread should be baked soon. / The bread ought to be baked.
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• The future and modal verbs in the passive

• A press conference is being held. Put in the correct form of the verbs.
• ► Reporter: Can this new drug be prolonged human life?
• Professor: Yes, we believe that human life can be prolonged by the drug.
• 1 Reporter: __ you __ any more tests on the drug?
• Professor: Yes, further tests is going to be done soon.
• 2 Reporter: What __ the drug __ ? [modal verb + subject + be + p.p?]
• Professor: It will be called Bio-Meg.
• 3 Reporter: Can people buy the drug now?
• Professor: No, it ......................................................... by the public yet.
• 4 Reporter: Do you think the company should sell this drug?
• Professor: Yes, I think Bio-Meg .............................................................to anyone who wants it
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• The future and modal verbs in the passive

• Choose the correct verb forms in this news report about a storm.
• Millions of pounds' worth of damage (►has caused/ has been caused) by a storm which ( 1 )
[swept/was swept] across the north of England last night. The River Ribble ( 2 ) [burst/was burst]
its banks after heavy rain. Many people (3) [rescued/were rescued] from the floods by fire-
fighters, who (4) [received/were received] hundreds of calls for help. Wind speeds (5)
[reached/were reached] ninety miles an hour in some places. Roads (6) [blocked/were blocked]
by fallen trees, and electricity lines (7) brought/were brought down, leaving thousands of homes
without electricity. 'Everything possible (8) [is doing/is being] done to get things back to normal,'
a spokesman (9) [said/was said]
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Empty subjects (they, people, etc)

• Compare these two sentences.
• ACTIVE: They clean the streets every day.
• PASSIVE: The streets are cleaned every day.
• The new and important information is how often the streets are cleaned. We are not interested
in saying who cleans them. In the active sentence we can use the 'empty subject' they. We
sometimes use a sentence with an empty subject instead of the passive, especially in
conversation.
• We can also use the empty subjects people, you, one and someone.
• ACTIVE: People use this footpath all the time. // You/One should check the details. // Someone
took my purse.
• PASSIVE: This footpath is used all the time. // The details should be checked. //My purse was
taken
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Active or passive sentence? Write a paragraph from the notes about the first motor car. Some
sentences are active and some are passive.
• Use a phrase with by only if it adds information.
• ► a Belgian called Etienne Lenoir / make / the first motor car - The first motor car was made by
a Belgian called Etienne Lenoir
• 1. but / Lenoir / not produce / many cars / for sale But Lenoir - But Lenoir
• 2. a German called Karl Benz / start / Commercial commercial production - Commercial
• 3 people / now / see / Benz / as the father / of the motor car - Benz
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Instead of using somebody, they, people etc., write a passive sentence.

• 1 Somebody cleans the room every day. The room is cleaned every day .
• 2 They cancelled all flights because of fog. All…..
• 3 Somebody accused me of stealing money. ……money.
• 4 How do you use this word? How ….. used?
• 5 The price includes all taxes. All …… in the price.
• 6 People warned us not to go out alone. We…..
• 7 We don’t use this office any more. This…..
• 8 They invited five hundred people to the wedding. Five hundred …..
 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

• Put in the correct forms, active or passive, of the verbs in brackets

• HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES
• Lord Manners was a rich and famous banker. When he [die] died recently, he [give] a
magnificent funeral which [attend] by hundreds of famous people. The funeral was going to
[hold] in Westminster Abbey. Many ordinary people [line] the streets to watch the procession.
The wonderful black and gold carriage [draw] by six black horses. The mourners [follow] in
silence. Lord Manners [give] a royal farewell. Two tramps were among the crowd. They [watch]
the procession with amazement. As solemn music [could hear] in the distance, one of them
[turn] to the other and [whisper] in admiration, “Now that’s what I call really living”
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
 VIDEO DISCUSSION

• 1. Why was the mother sitting outside?

• 2. What has Zhangjiajie park been used for?
• 3. Which movie was inspired by this park’s landscape?
• 4. What was the mother told about the mountain?
• 5. What was worn by the local girls?
• 6. What did the mother say about Baofeng lake?
• 7. What were some interesting thing you were told about India or other places?
• I was told that… / I have heard that…
• After eating, let’s do it
• Let’s do it, after eating

• After dropping, you go to other place and come back

• Before doing that, you go to the other place.

• After my exam, I had lunch at home

• Before having lunch, I had my exam.