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PassiveVoice Explained & Exercises
PassiveVoice Explained & Exercises
I
"The office is cleaned every day. (passive)
cleaned done
present simple am/is/are
(not) invented built
past simple was/were
injured taken etc.
was/were born
O I was born in Berlin in 1993. t(Iam born)
o
n
O 'Where were you born?' 'In Cairo.'
passive + by ...
O The telephone was invented by Alexander Bell in 1876. (= Alexander Bell invented it)
O I was bitten by a dog a few days ago.
O Do you like these paintings? They were painted by a friend of mine.
is being done / has been done Unit 22 irregular verbs *♦ Unit 24, Appendix 2 -3 by Unit 111
52 active and passive ^ Appendix 1
Exercises
ja m Write sentences from these words. Some of the sentences are questions.
Sentences 1-7 are present.
1 (the office / clean / every day).............................. ....T h e o jfic e je cleaned e v e ry d a y ,.................
2 (how often / these rooms / clean?)........................How o fte n .are t h e s e .roo m s c\eaned?.
3 (glass / make / from sand) G lass..................................................................................
4 (the windows / clean / every two weeks) .............................................................................................
5 (this room / not / use / very m uch).................. .............................................................................................
6 (we / allow / to park here?)..........................................................................................................................
7 (how / this word / pronounce?)................................................................................................................
IT K l Complete the sentences. Use the passive (present or past) of these verbs:
-dearh damage find give invite make make show steal take
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Unit
is being done has been done (passive 2)
j| is/are being ... (present continuous passive)
■i m m m m m ■■
■i ii Somebody is painting the door . (active)
■I
O M y car is at the garage. It is being repaired. (= somebody is repairing it)
O Some new houses are being built opposite the park. (= somebody is building them)
Compare the present continuous and present simple:
O The office is being cleaned at the moment, (continuous)
The office is cleaned every day. (simple)
O Football matches are often played at the weekend, but no matches are being played next
weekend.
For the present continuous and present simple, see Units 8 and 25.
m
before now
I WET
II I imm
O M y key has been stolen. (= somebody has stolen it)
O M y keys have been stolen. (= somebody has stolen them)
O I'm not going to the party. I haven't been invited. (= nobody has invited me)
O Has this shirt been washed? (= has somebody washed it?)
Compare the present perfect and past simple:
O The room isn't dirty any more. It has been cleaned, (present perfect)
The room was cleaned yesterday, (past simple)
O I can't find my keys. I think they've been stolen, (present perfect)
My keys were stolen last week, (past simple)
For the present perfect and past simple, see Unit 20.
4
f
T i 1
r
V ' V j J *11. , . «
r
v _______ ~
1 The ca r isbei H3 repaired, 3 The windows.
2 A bridge.............................................................................. 4 The grass.........
£| j p Look at the pictures. What is happening or what has happened? Use the present continuous
(is/are b ein g ...) or the present perfect (has/have been ...).
active passive
past O Somebody stole my car last week. Q M y car was stolen last week.
simple O Somebody stole my keys yesterday. O My keys were stolen yesterday.
O They didn't invite me to the party. O I wasn't invited to the party.
O W hen did they build these houses? O When were these houses built?
present G ITiey are building a new airport at Q A new airport is being built at the
continuous the moment. (= it isn't finished) moment.
3 They are building some new houses O Some new houses are being built
near the river. near the river.
past O W hen I was here a few years ago, O When I was here a few years ago, a
continuous they were building a new airport. new airport was being built
(= it wasn't finished at that time)
present O Look! They have painted the door. O Look! The door has been painted.
perfect O These shirts are clean. Somebody O These shirts are clean. They have
has washed them. been washed.
O Somebody has stolen my cat O My car has been stolen.
past Tina said that somebody had stolen O Tina said that her car had been
perfect her car. stolen.
o Somebody will clean the office tomorrow. O TTie office will be cleaned tomorrow.
o Somebody m ust clean the office. o The office must be cleaned.
o I think they'll invite you to the party. o I think you'll be invited to the party.
o They can't repair my watch. o My watch can't be repaired.
o You should wash this sweater by hand. o This sweater should be washed by hand.
o They are going to build a new airport. o A new airport is going to be built.
o Somebody has to wash these clothes. o These clothes have to be washed.
o They had to take the injured man to o The injured man had to be taken to
hospital. hospital.
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