THE PASSIVE

UNIT THE PASSIVE

■ CHECK wHAT yOU KNOw
Choose the correct sentence.
1 2
I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe
that your homework stole!
I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe
that your homework was stolen!
Notes
To change a sentence from active to passive, we put the verb be in the same tense as the active verb and add the past pa
They sell bread in the supermarket.Bread is sold in the supermarket.Bread isn’t sold at the chemist’s.
We use an active verb to say what the subject does. We use a passive verb to say what happens to the subject. The objec
object
They fixed our motorbike last week. subject
3
Our motorbike was fixed last week.
Summer temperatures are said to be getting
He hashigher
bitten.every year. To form questions in the passive, we change the word order of the subject and the auxiliary verb.
Summer temperatures say to be gettingHehigher
has been
every
bitten.
year. A photo is taken every year. ➞ Is a photo taken every year?
The photo has been taken. ➞ Has the photo been taken?
We often use the passive when the person who does the action is obvious, not known or not important. The thief has been a
My passport was taken from my bag. (I don’t know who took it.)
The work had been done quickly. (We are interested in how quickly the work was done, not who did it.)
If we want to say who or what causes the action, we use by + person / thing (the agent).
This song will be sung by Adele.Their journey was made difficult by the icy roads.
In the passive, the verbs believe, consider, expect, know, say, suppose and think are followed by the infinitive.

4 5 6

The man is chasing. Is this trophy made of silver? The plants don’t water very often. Fred is expected to win the race. In ancient Greece, Zeus was believed to cause lightning.
The man is being chased. Is this trophy made by silver? The plants aren’t watered very often.
7 For a list of irregular verbs, see page 189.

SEE GRAMMAR APPENDIX, PAGE 174

■ CHECK yOUR gRAMMAR RULEs

Read some facts about drones. Look at the verbs in bold and write P (Passive) or A (Active) next to each sentence.

❏P1 The original drones were shaped like planes and were programmed
Active Passive to fly until they ran out of fuel.
Present Simple He washes the car. ➞ The car is washed.
❏P2 Drones were first used by armies.
Present Continuous He is washing the car. ➞ The car is being washed.
❏A3 These days, people in many different jobs, like farmers, photographers
Past Simple He washed the car. ➞ The car was washed. and even lifeguards, use drones.

Past Continuous He was washing the car. ➞ The car was being washed.

Present Perfect Simple

He has washed the car. ➞ The car has been washed. ❏P4 In the past, pictures from high up had to be taken from helicopters or planes.

Past Perfect Simple

He had washed the car. ➞ The car had been washed. ❏A5 Today, ordinary people take pictures using smaller, cheaper drones.

Future Simple
He will wash the car.
He is going to wash the car.
➞ The car will be washed. ❏A6 Many people enjoy flying drones as a hobby.
be going to ❏P7 Now drones are controlled with an app on your tablet or phone.

Modals
➞ The car is going to be washed.
❏P
He should wash the car. ➞ The car should be washed. 8 In the future, all sorts of things may be delivered by drones – even pizza!
Semi-modals He has to wash the car. ➞ The car has to be washed.

Modal Perfect He must have washed the car. ➞ The car must have been washed.
CONTINUED ➜

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 THE PASSIVE

gRAMMAR PRACTICE
5 Complete the text. Use the words below.
was
1 Circle the correct answer. been | by | going | will | being | be
|
1 A beach party organized / is organized every summer.
2 Luckily, nobody hurt / was hurt in the accident
One of the world’s most amazing swimming pools is on top of the Marina Bay Sands
3 The director / is expected his new film to be a success.
Hotel in Singapore. The pool 1 was opened in 2010 and has 2
4 Our school has invited / has been invited to enter a competition.
designed so that the edges of the pool cannot 3
seen. People who
5 When we arrived in the city centre, a parade was taking / was being taken place.
swim right up to the edge have wonderful views of the city 200 metres below. The
6 Dinner is going to serve / is going to be served at eight o’clock.
pool can only be used 4 hotel guests, so it never gets too crowded.
7 This door should have locked / should have been locked.
Another amazing swimming pool is 5
built in the city of
8 The tourists are being shown / are showing around the palace at the moment.
London, 35 metres above the ground between two tall buildings. The pool is
2 Read the sentences. Which sentences need by + agent? Write ✓ or ✗. made of a transparent material, so swimmers 6
be able to see down
✗ 1 The school will be decorated by painters next summer. to the ground. It is 7
to be opened quite soon so that swimmers
✓
2 The new plants in my garden had been eaten by my neighbour’s rabbit!
✓
3 The Starry Night was painted by Van Gogh in 1889.
6 QUESTIONSChange the questions from active to passive. Then give a logical answer. Use passive, where possible.
✗ 4 A lot of money was stolen from the bank by robbers. 1 How do people usually celebrate their name days?
Accept all logical answers.
✓
5 Our house is cleaned once a week by a woman called Josie. How are name days usually celebrated ?

3 Read the text. Circle the correct answer. Answer: .

2 What do people usually wear at weddings?
What ?
The London Eye was 1
built / build as part of the celebrations for the millennium Answer: .
year, 2000. It was / has opened on 31st December 1999. One thousand seven
2
3 Who should you call if there is a forest fire?
hundred
tonnes of steel were 3 use / used to build it. At first, the plan was that the wheel would Who ?
be 4 take / taken down after five years, but now it seems it will 5 stay / stayed in Answer: .
London for many years to come.
4 What are they planning at your school at the moment?
Many London landmarks, such as Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and Big Ben, ?
What
can be / being seen from the Eye. It is said to be / being the most popular tourist
6 7
Answer: .
attraction in Britain, and it is 8 visiting / visited by more than three and a half million
5 Where did they hold the last Olympics?
visitors a year.
Where ?
Answer: .
6 What could they do to improve your town?
What ?

4 Some changes are needed at the park. Complete the sentences. Use the modal and the correct form of the verbs given. Answer: .

1 There is litter all over. can / put 7 Complete the sentences. Use the correct passive form of the verbs given.
All the litter can be put in bins. 1 know / kick This animal has strong legs and is known to kick its enemies.
2 People have written graffiti everywhere. have to / paint 2 say / reach When it is in a hurry, it speeds of 70 kph.

The walls . 3 expect / stay This animal is not in danger of extinction, and the population
the same as it is now.
3 The snacks are very expensive. shouldn’t / sell 4 suppose / taste The meat of this animal like the meat of a deer.
Expensive snacks . 5 believe / have This animal two heads by early explorers!
6 consider / be This animal the national animal of Australia.
4 The gate has been broken for a long time. ought to have / repair
SNACKS �5
The gate by now. What kind of animal is being described?
5 There are not enough trees for shade. could have / plant It’s a LiON
kangaroo . pOLAr BeAr kANgArOO
More trees for shade. SeA LiON HOrSe
 THE PASSIVE

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Special Swimming Pools

been
be

by

being

will
going
can have an amazing – and possibly frightening – experience!
 THE PASSIVE

8 Complete the sentences about pizza. Use the correct 10 Complete the text. Use the correct passive form of the verbs given.
form of the verbs given, active or passive.

1 All over the world more than five billion pizzas

are sold (sell) each year.

2 It is estimated that over three billion pizzas

(eat) next year in the USA alone. The Namib Desert in Africa 1 is covered (cover) with

3 Kids aged 3-11 (prefer) pizza to all other foods. mysterious circles which 2 (know) as fairy circles.

4 Though pizza only became a popular food in the USA after World War II, A fairy circle is a small area of dry, red soil with grass around the edge. According to
it (bring) to America by Italian immigrants 50 years earlier.
mythology, fairy circles 3
(create) by ancient gods as they
5 Of all the toppings available, pepperoni (a kind of salami) (choose) more
walked on Earth.
often by Americans than any other.
Fairy circles usually last between 30 and 60 years before they are completely covered by grass and
6 Europeans have been eating pizza since the late 18th century but it (exist)
long before that. disappear. New ones may appear in nearby locations. Nobody knows how they form but over the years,

7 Pizza (prepare) by people of Pompeii when the volcano erupted and buried different explanations 4
(suggest) by scientists. For example, it
the city in 79 AD. 5
(think) that some kind of insect might be responsible for making the fairy circles.
8 Pizza Margherita (give) its name by a chef who worked for an Italian queen. Another scientist studied some photos which 6
(take) from the air and he offered
She ate her pizza with tomatoes and cheese.
another explanation – that the plants grew in this pattern because they couldn’t find enough water. A

different theory is that the circles 7

(may / cause) by gases under the earth.
9 Circle the correct answer.
8
(the mystery / solve) some day or will the fairy circles remain a puzzle?
1 We can’t keep this secret from Tom any more. 6 I can’t find my purse. I hope it !
He must . a isn’t stolen
a be told
b isn’t being stolen
b have told
c hasn’t been stolen
11 Complete the text. Use the correct passive form of the verbs below.
c have been told cover | hold | name | can take | call |visit | allow | destroy | think | make
7 A new bridge across the river this year.
2 The Internet when my parents were growing up. a is built

RHoDes
a isn’t invented
b is being built
b hasn’t been invented AN iNTroDUcTioN for VisiTors
c would be built
c hadn’t been invented
8 Are esports included in the Olympic Games
3 How long can before it goes off? in future?  It’s hardly surprising that Rhodes 1 is visited by millions of tourists every year. Most of
a be kept milk a going to be
b milk be kept the island’s hills and low mountains 2 with forests, making it one of the most
b will be
c be milk kept c are being beautiful Greek islands. Many Hollywood movies 3 ___________there over the years.
4 These tomatoes in my aunt’s garden. 9 I couldn’t wear my favourite jeans yesterday
a will be grown because they .  One of the seven wonders of the ancient world was in Rhodes. It 4
b be grown a are being washed the Colossus of Rhodes and it 5 to have stood in the harbour.
c were grown b will be washed
It 6 -------------------n by an earthquake in 226 BC.
5 The bill ought to yesterday. c were being washed
a have been paid 10 The band’s new single released next week.  A medieval festival 7 in the old town every year. In 1988, the old town
b be paid a will be of Rhodes 8
one of the most important historic areas in the world.
c had paid b being
c going to be  Lindos is a very special village on the island. No cars 9 in the

village, but tourists 10 up to the Acropolis of Lindos by donkey!

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 !
THE PASSIVE

sPEAK UP 9 Some trees lightning during the storm. 11 The number 13 unlucky.
1
2 3 a were struck a is believed being
b been struck b it is believed it is
The Passive
c struck by c believes to be
d were struck by d is believed to be

The school is holding a prom this evening. say what will be done before or during the prom. 10 The wedding invitations until next 12 “The house we rented was dirty.“
week.
a aren’t sending “Really? It cleaned before you arrived.”
put up signs blow up balloons to decorate the
drive
school
guests
hallto the party by limo
b not going to send a should have
c aren’t going to be sent b ought have been
5 6 d are going not to be sent c should have been
4
d ought to have

2 Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given.
Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.

1 They will deliver the new washing machine next Saturday. GOING
The new washing machine next Saturday.
give guests a drink when they arrive
take photos outside serve food at 9 p.m.
2 Did Margot really write this poem? BY
Was Margot?
Possible answer for number 1
3 By the time we got to the theatre, there were no tickets left. HAD
Signs will be put up.
All the tickets by the time we got to the theatre.

4 You don’t have to give a dog a bath every day. HAVE

A dog given a bath every day.

5 Everyone says that London has some of the best museums in the world. SAID
B2 EXAM PRACTICE
London some of the best museums in the world.

1 Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence. 6 People sometimes call Pythagoras the first mathematician. CALLED
1 We couldn’t go swimming because the pool . 5 The patient’s temperature must every two hours. Pythagoras the first mathematician.
a still was being cleaned a take
b was still being cleaned b have taken 3 Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.
c still being was cleaned c been taken
d was being cleaned still d be taken

Many
2 “The exam starts at 10 o’clock tomorrow, doesn’t it?” 6 Dad my bike for me.
“ the time been changed to 10.30?” a fixing
a Isn’t Every year, the Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, USA is visited 1 by thousands of people. They come t
b is fixing Every night, from April to October, hundreds of thousands of bats 2canbe seen flying out of the caves to look for food. Abo
b Didn’t c is fixed 5areleft in the cave while the adults go out to feed. At least 17 different kinds of bats are known
c Wasn’t d was fixed 6tolive in the park.
d Hasn’t In late October, the bats fly south to Mexico, where they spend the winter. Scientists have tried to find out exactly where
7 Sugar is known bad for your teeth. 8isknown about what the bats do during the winter.
3 “When are we getting our certificates?” a be But every spring, the bats return to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
“They given out next Friday.” b to be
a being c being
b are going be d that it is
c will be
d have been 8 Free ice cream given out in the square yesterday.
a is being
4 “Why doesn’t my new mobile phone work?” b was being
“The battery charged for at least six hours c has been
before you can use it.” d is to be
a has to be
b has been
c will be
d must

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