ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE
42. Passive 1 (is done/was done)
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A
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Study this example:
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This house was built in 1961.
Was built is passive.
Compare active and passive:
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When we use an active verb, we say what
the subject does:
·
My grandfather was a builder. He built this house in 1961.
·
It's a big company. It employs two hundred people.
When we use a passive verb, we say what
happens to the subject:
·
'How old is this house?' 'It was built in 1961.'
·
Two hundred people are employed by the company.
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B
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When we use the passive, who or what
causes the action is often unknown or unimportant:
·
A lot of money was
stolen in the robbery. (somebody stole it, but we don't know who)
·
Is this room cleaned every day? (does
somebody clean it?- it's not important who)
If we want to say who does or what causes
the action, we use by:
·
This house was built by my grandfather.
·
Two hundred people are employed by the company.
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C
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The passive is be (is/was etc.)+ past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.):
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(be)
done (be) cleaned (be) damaged (be) built (be) seen etc.
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For irregular past participles (done/seen/known etc.), see
Appendix 1.
Study the active and passive forms of the
present simple and past simple:
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Present simple
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Past simple
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Active clean(s) I see(s) etc.
Passive am/is/are + cleaned/seen etc.
·
Many accidents are caused by careless driving.
·
I'm not
invited to parties very often.
·
How is
this word pronounced?
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Active cleaned/saw etc.
Passive was/were+ cleaned/seen etc.
·
We were
woken up by a loud noise during the night.
·
'Did you go to the party?' 'No, I wasn't invited.'
·
How much money was stolen in the robbery?
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EXERCISES
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42.1
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Complete the sentences using one of
these verbs in the correct form, present or past:
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cause damage hold invite make
overtake show surround translate write
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1
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Many accidents _____are caused ______ by dangerous
driving.
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2
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Cheese ___________ from milk.
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3
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The roof of the building __________
in a storm a few days ago.
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4
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You ____________ to the
wedding. Why didn't you go?
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5
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A cinema is a place where
films _______________.
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6
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In the United States, elections
for president _________ every four years.
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7
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Originally the book __________
in Spanish, and a few years ago it ______ into English.
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8
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Although we were driving fast, we _____________ by a
lot of other cars.
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9
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You can't see the house from the
road. It ______________by trees.
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42.2
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Write questions using the
passive. Some are present and some are past.
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1
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Ask about glass. (how /make?)
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____
How is glass made ________
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2
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Ask about television. (when /invent?)
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___________________________
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3
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Ask about mountains. (how /form?)
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___________________________
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4
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Ask about antibiotics. (when /discover?)
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___________________________
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5
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Ask about silver. (what /use
for?)
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___________________________
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42.3
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Put the verb into the correct
form, present simple or past simple, active or passive.
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1
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It's a big factory. Five hundred
people ____ are employed _____ (employ)
there.
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2
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_____ Did somebody clean _____(somebody /clean) this room yesterday?
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3
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Water _______ (cover) most of the
earth's surface.
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4
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How much of the earth's surface
__________ (cover) by water?
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5
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The park gates _______________(lock)
at 6.30 p.m. every evening.
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6
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The letter _____ (send) a week
ago and it (arrive) ___________ yesterday.
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7
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The boat hit a rock and ________
(sink) quickly. Fortunately everybody_______ (rescue).
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8
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Robert's parents ________ (die)
when he was very young. He and his sister ______ (bring up) by their
grandparents.
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9
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I was born in London, but I ______(grow
up) in Canada.
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10
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While I was on holiday, my camera
_________ (steal) from my hotel room.
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11
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While I was on holiday, my camera
____________ (disappear) from my hotel room.
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12
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Why _________ (Sue /resign)
from her job? Didn't she enjoy it?
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13
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Why_________(Ben /fire)
from his job? Did he do something wrong?
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14
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The company is not
independent. It _____________(own) by a much larger company.
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15
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I saw an accident last night. Somebody
______ (call) an ambulance but nobody ______ (injure), so the ambulance ________(not
/need).
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16
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Where ______ (these pictures /take)?
In London?________ (you /take) them, or somebody else?
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17
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Sometimes it's quite noisy
living here, but it's not a problem for me - I _____ (not /bother) by
it.
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42.3
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Rewrite these sentences. Instead
of using somebody, they, people etc. write a passive sentence.
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1
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Somebody cleans the room every
day.
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______The room is cleaned every day ___________
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2
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They cancelled all flights
because of fog.
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All __________________________
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3
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People don 1t use this road much.
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________________________________
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4
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Somebody accused me of stealing
money
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I
_______________________________________
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5
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How do people learn languages?
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How
____________________________________
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6
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People warned us not to go out
alone.
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__________________________________________
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ANSWER
KEY
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