THE PASSIVE VOICE

THE PASSIVE VOICE

Compare the two sentences:

                        Your little boy broke my kitchen window this morning.

                        That window was broken by your little boy.

            The first kind of sentence is called "active". The second kind of sentence is called "passive".

            Passive structures are used when we want to talk about an action, but we are not interested in saying who or what did it.

                        Those pyramids were built around 400 A.D.

                        Too many books have been written about the second world war.

            Passives are very common in scientific writing, and other kinds of expression where we are most interested in events and processes: in things that happen.

           

           

            PASSIVE VERB-FORMS

                        Passive verb-forms are made with:

                                   TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE

Present simple:                       English is spoken here.

Present continuous:                The house is being painted.

Past simple:                            I wasn't invited, but I've come anyway.

Past continuous:                     I felt as if I was being watched.

Present perfect:                      Has Mary been told?

Past perfect:                           I knew why I had been chosen.

Future:                                               You'll be told in advance.

Future perfect:                       Everything will have been done by the 26th

Going to:                                            Who's going to be invited?

Modal structures:                   The house should be cleaned.  

                                               You might have been hurt.

                                                          

            PASSIVE: by + agent.

In sentences like:

            The trouble was caused by your mother

            the part of the sentence introduced by by is called the agent.

The agent is only expressed when it is important to say who or what something is done by. In most passive sentences, there is no agent.

            A new supermarket's just been opened.

            I'm always being asked for money.

            With is used when we talk about an instrument (tool, etc.) which helps the agent to do an action.

            He was shot (by a policeman) with a revolver.

            PASSIVE: verbs with two objects.

            Many verbs, such as give, send, show, lend, explain, invite,                                                            ask, tell, teach, pay, promise, offer.

can be followed by two objects, which usually refer to a person and a thing.

                        She gave her sister a book.

            When these verbs are used in the passive, there are two possibilities.

                        Her sister was given a book.

                        A book was given to her sister.

            Most often in such cases the person becomes the subject of the passive verb.

                        I've been sent a lot of information.

                        You were lent  ten thousand pounds last year.

                        We were shown all the different ways of making whisky.

Passive Voice. 1BAC

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/passive-verbs-two-objects-exercise-1.html

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/passive-exercise-5.html

http://teachingenglishpalmira.blogspot.com/2012/05/change-into-passive-voice.html

http://teachingenglishpalmira.blogspot.com/search/label/Passive%20voice

Video chat 1 bach: New forms of activism during Corona times

Hopefully we will be having a video conference tomorrow with Katie. This is the article we will be reading and practising with the passive voice
You can also have a look at the first two posts here ABOUT THE PASSIVE VOICE

THE GUARDIAN: NEW FORMS OF ACTIVISM DURING THE PANDEMIA

THAT IS PASSIVE VOICE:

                                 "CLASSES SHOULD BE ELIMINATED  FOREVER"

Photo taken by P. Calvar 25th February 2020
Highgate Cemetery, London

PERSONAL and IMPERSONAL CONSTRUCTIONS (PASSIVE)

If you want to start doing the exercises about impersonal passive and passive infinitive, click on the image and have a look at the video with the explanation. 

Passive form: Impersonal and infinitive forms. 2 BACH

You have studied the passive forms before and you have a great grammar workshop on pages 93 and 94. You can also check other posts in this blog. The impersonal form is maybe new for some of you, so I have chosen a video for you to watch and listen carefully.

Passive Voice. Have/get something done

Today I will be explaining the structure "Have/Get something done" among other things. Have a look at this video if it is not clear or you wish to revise it at any other time

http://www.simpleenglishvideos.com/have-something-done/

Change from active to passive

1. Students are doing a lot of the work.

2. Anyone with the smallest intelligence could understand these instructions.

3. We will not admit children under sixteen.

4. The bill includes service.

5. People don't use this road very often.

6. Nobody told me that George was ill.

7. Somebody accused me of stealing the money.

8. They don't pay Jim very much.

9. They have changed the date of the meeting.
10.The local boys have broken all the windows in the new library.

11. They will ask you a lot of questions at the interview.

12. His colleagues gave him a present when he retired.

PASSIVE. HAVING SOMETHING DONE

I think we may have had enough practice but for those who still have doubts about when that passive structure is used, have a look at the video you will find in the link below.
http://www.simpleenglishvideos.com/have-something-done/

Passive voice. SPEAKING FILM: 300 BACH

YOU ARE GOING TO WATCH A VIDEO SEGMENT FROM THE FILM 300

http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.com.es/search?q=300

BUT FIRST:

A. TALK TO A PARTNER ABOUT THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. IN A FEW CULTURES, COUPLES MUST HAVE ONLY ONE CHILD. DO YOU THINK IT’S FAIR? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER.

 2. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY ONE CHILD, WOULD YOU STILL HAVE THE BABY KNOWING HE/SHE WOULD BE SICK FOREVER? EXPLAIN. 

3. IS IT POSSIBLE TO TRAIN SOMEONE TO BE A KING OR A HERO? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER. 

4. IN ANCIENT GREECE, SPARTANS USED TO REJECT AND KILL ALL THE HANDICAPPED CHILDREN. THE WHOLE POPULATION CONSISTED OF HEALTHY, STRONG PEOPLE. WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT IT?

B. Before you view the segment, rewrite the following sentences using passive voice.

1. Spartans inspected the boy when he was born.

2. Spartans would have discarded him if he were too small or misshapen.

3. Spartans baptized him in the fire of combat.

4. They taught him not to retreat or surrender.

5. They taught him that death in the battlefield was the greatest glory.

6. Spartans took him from his mother and plunged him into a world of violence.

7. They called it the agoge.

8. Rod and lash punished the boy.

9. They taught the boy to show no pain or mercy

C. Watch the movie segment and check your answers.

Passive voice

Passive voice. 4th ESO

Passive voice

Passive Voice. 2 BAC

The following text is an extract from the  cnn. about the the events at the Capitol  Full article

The passive voice is very commonly used in written English. Can you identify it in the text?

Let's change gears to something less upsetting. Go over the presentation you also have on the virtual classroom and answer questions on the slides 6 to 8

Passive Voice 4 ESO

As I promised this morning,  a quick video by Bautista Ramos to learn how passive voice works. You can find lots of interesting stuff in https://aulasgalegas.org/

CHANGE INTO THE PASSIVE VOICE

                             EXERCISES  FOR 1º BACH

PUT THE FOLLOWING IN THE PASSIVE VOICE.

1. You should open the wine about three hours before you use it.

2. Somebody has cleaned my shoes and brushed my suit.

3. We heat the room by electricity.

4. In some districts farmers use pigs to find truffles.

5. They are pulling down the old theatre.

6. The local boys have broken all the windows in the new library.

7. Someone will serve refreshments.

8. People must not leave bicycles in the hall.

9. The burglars had cut an enormous hole in the door.

10. No one can do anything unless someone gives us more             information.

11. The organizers will exhibit the paintings till the end of the month.

12. They will say nothing more about the matter if someone returns the stolen gun.

13. The judge gave him two weeks in which to pay the fine.

14. Who wrote it?

15. They showed her the easiest way to do it.

16. Goya couldn't have painted it as people didn't wear that style of dress till after his death.

17. The author has written a special edition for children.

18. Did the idea interest you?

19. The lawyer gave him the details of his uncle's will.

20. Most people opposed this.

21. Students are doing a lot of the work.

22. Anyone with the smallest intelligence could understand these instructions.

23. We will not admit children under sixteen.

24. The bill includes service.

25. People don't use this road very often.

26. They cancelled all flights because of the fog.

27. Somebody accused me of stealing the money.

28. They are building a new ring-road round the city.

29. They have changed the date of the meeting.

30. Brian told me that somebody had attacked and robbed him in the street.

31. They don't pay Jim very much.

32. They will ask you a lot of questions at the interview.

33. Nobody told me that George was ill.

34. His colleagues gave him a present when he retired.

35. We will send you your examination results as soon as they are             ready.

36. They didn't ask me my name.

37. I think they should have offered Tom the job.

38. People should send their complaints to the head office.

39. They had to postpone the meeting because of illness.

40. Somebody might have stolen your car if you had left the keys             in it.

41. They shouldn't have played the football match in such bad weather.

42. They are following us.

43. They don't allow smoking in cinemas.

44. They are demolishing the old school.

45. We can't do anything without the permission of the authorities.

46. We can solve the problem.

47. People should send their complaints to the head office.

48. They had to postpone the meeting because of illness.

49. Somebody might have stolen your car if you had left the keys in it.

50. And electrical fault could have caused the fire.

TIPS TO WRITE ABOUT AN EVENT AND AN EXAMPLE TO ADD TO THE ONES IN YOUR BOOKS 1st Bach

A REPORT OF AN EVENT

OPENING:

Ø  REMEMBER that answering question words such as "where, when, who involved, what" may help you begin your essay.

Ø  You can include briefly your opinion. 

BODY: 

Ø  What happened?. How did it all happened? Recount the events as they occured (timeline) using sequence linkers ( To begin with/firstly, later, next, after or before +-ing, etc).

Ø  Include atmosphere and other details.

Ø  You will use simple past mostly but you can combine it with past continuous, past perfect. Introduce contrast (although + sentence, despite + noun or -ing, however).  

Ø  Use the first person if you are involved or third person if not.

Ø  The use of  adjectives and adverbs will improve your text.

          Compare:

          The room was decorated with flowers and photos of my grandparents.

         The room was beautifully decorated  with colourful flowers,

        enormous gold- coloured balloons and old photos of my grandparents.

CLOSING:

Ø  Sum up the event starting with “all in all, In summary,...) give your opinion.

Ø  Describe how the writer/people involved felt.

Make it more interesting inventing facts if necessary.

Try to introduce the new structures you are studying (relative pronouns at the moment but you may include modals or passive structures if you remember them) and also the new vocabulary. It is the only way you will keep it and use it in the long run.

 Once you have written your draft make sure you have included all the ideas in the clearly-indicated paragraphs. 
Before handing it in, check grammar, spelling, punctuation and word order.

CLICK TO READ AN EXAMPLE ( you can read the ones in your book first, pages 168 and 42)

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/advanced-c1-writing/report-school-trip-abroad