Present simple passive

Grammar focus

Look at the example and discuss the questions with your partner.

A. Chicken tikka masala is eaten every week (by people) in the UK.

B. English people eat chicken tikka masala every week in the UK.

1. What is the difference between the meaning of each sentence?

2. Can you indicate the subject, verb and object in each sentence?

3. Why is the phrase ‘by people’, in brackets in sentence A?

4. What is the difference in the verb tenses in each sentence?

5. What period of time do the sentences refer to?

6. When and why do we usually use active and passive sentences in the present simple?

Now look at these active sentences and write them in the passive form.

1. People in the UK drink a lot of tea.

2. The majority of people in the UK only speak one language.

3. Most tabloid newspapers in the UK contain only gossip.