MatEnglish APTIS GRAMMAR

Clases Particulares

UNIT 13

THE PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice is highly used in English when we don’t know who does or did the action
or when it is not relevant. Let’s see how to do it:

1. HOW TO FORM A PASSIVE SENTENCE:

The structure is made by using the verb to be in its right form + past participle. In order to
make a passive sentence, we can think about the active sentence first and follow some steps:

Active sentence: My grandfather built the building in 1930

STEPS:
1. We have to identify 3 things in the active sentence: the SUBJECT, the VERB and the
DIRECT or INDIRECT OBJECTS. The rest parts are not important.
2. We take the DIRECT or INDIRECT OBJECT and we use it as the subject of the passive.
3. We put the verb TO BE in the same tense as the active sentence.
4. We put the main verb of the active sentence in its past participle form.
5. We put the subject of the active sentence as the AGENT using BY before it.
6. Finally, we write the rest of the parts we haven’t used yet.
*Parts 5 and 6 can be interchangeable.

FINAL RESULT
Passive sentence:
The building was built by my grandfather in 1930
OR
The building was built in 1930 by my father.

If we have a sentence with two objects, we can make the passive voice in two different ways,
depending on the message we want to transmit or what we want to emphasize:

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Active sentence: My parents will give my sister a big present for her birthday

Passive voice 1: My sister will be given a big present for her birthday by my parents.
Passive voice 2: A big present will be given to my sister by my parents for her birthday.

2. USES:

We don’t know who or what did the action:

o My car has been stolen.
When the action is more important that the author:
o The new school was built five months ago.
When it is obvious who or what did something:
o The fire will be extinguished as soon as possible.

3. THE IMPERSONAL PASSIVE:

We can use this type of passive sentence to express people’s opinions. We can use two
structures with some verbs like say, think, believe, etc.:

It is said that + clause

o It is said that the murderer has been trying to break out of prison.
Noun/pronoun + is/are said to + bare infinitive/perfect infinitive
o She is thought to be one of the greatest actresses.

4. THE CAUSATIVE:
We use it to express that someone wants someone else to do something for them, usually
with services. The structure is:

NOUN/PRONOUN + TO HAVE (in any tense) + SOMETHING + PAST PARTICIPLE +

(BY/WITH + NOUN)

Example: I always have my purchase delivered at home.

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UNIT 14
REPORTED SPEECH

We use the reported speech when we want to tell someone what another person said.
We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of
what was actually said in direct speech.

1. Reported Statements

When do we use reported statements? Sometimes someone says a sentence, for

example "I'm going to the cinema tonight". Later, maybe we want to tell someone else
what the first person said. Here's how it works:

➢ Present statements

We use a reporting verb like 'say' or 'tell'. If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy.
We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.

Reported speech: She says she likes ice cream.

➢ Past statements

On the other hand, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then we usually change
the tenses in the reported speech:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.

Reported speech: She said she liked ice cream.

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DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

Simple present Simple past

"I always drink coffee", she said She said that she always drank coffee.

Present continuous Past continuous

"I am reading a book", he explained. He explained that he was reading a book

Simple past Past perfect

"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said. He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday.

Present perfect Past perfect

"I have been to Spain", he told me. He told me that he had been to Spain.

Past perfect Past perfect

He explained that he had just turned out the

"I had just turned out the light," he explained.
light.

Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

They complained, "We have been waiting for They complained that they had been
hours". waiting for hours.

Past continuous Past perfect continuous

"We were living in Paris", they told me. They told me that they had been living in Paris.

Future Present conditional

"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said. He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday.

Future continuous Conditional continuous

She said that she would be using the car next

She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday".
Friday.

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2. Reported Questions

➢ Yes / No Questions
Direct Question: “Do you like chocolate?”
Reported Question: She asked me if I liked chocolate

➢ Question Words Questions

Direct Question: “Where is the Post Office, please?”
Reported Questions: She asked me where the Post Office was

3. Reported orders
Direct Order: “Go to bed!”
Reported Order: He ordered the child to go to bed

ATTENTION! = When reporting yes/no questions and question words questions:

• We don’t use a question mark at the end. This is because we report them
with the order of a statement and not of a question.

4. Other changes:

DIRECT SPEECH → REPORTED SPEECH

now → then, at that moment

today → that day

tonight → that night

last night → the previous night, the night before

tomorrow → the next day, the following day

yesterday → the previous day, the day before

this week → that week

next week → the following week, the week after

last year → the previous year, the year before

here → there

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GRAMMAR PRACTICE

EXERCISE 1
In five of these sentences there is a mistake. Write the correction.
1. The children wanted to be allow to stay up late and see the fireworks.
to be allowed
2. Our flight was delaying by fog and we missed our connection.

3. Lauren was sulking because she hadn’t been invited to Ralph’s party.

4. By the time we arrived at the market, the best fruit had be sold.

5. While the meal was being prepare we had a drink on the terrace.

6. The new library will be opened by the Mayor next Saturday.

7. I can’t see any coffee in this cupboard. Was it all been finished?

EXERCISE 2
Change the sentences so they use the structure “have/get something done” –
causative.
1. I washed my car  I had my car washed.
2. I cut my hair  I …………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. I typed the documents  I ………………………………………………………………………………….
4. A local firm will redecorate our kitchen  We …………………………………………………….
5. A man cleans my windows every week  I …………………………………………………………
6. The builders are going to put a new roof in my house.  I …………………………………..

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EXERCISE 3 (EXAM PRACTICE – WRITING INFORMAL LETTER)

You are a member of the photography club. You received this e-mail from the club.

Dear Member,
We are writing to tell you that the famous photographer Mr. Chris Jenkins will
unfortunately not be able to give a talk about new photography techniques at our next
club meeting.
Although Mr. Jenkins will not be there to give a talk, you will be given access to an online
tutorial made by Mr. Jenkins himself.
I you would still like to hear Mr. Jenkins explain his techniques in a club meeting, please
contact the club secretary so that we can organize a talk later in the year.
Write an e-mail to your friend. Write about your feelings and what you are planning
to do.

Write about 50 words. It should take you 10 minutes.

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GRAMMAR PRACTICE
EXERCISE 1
Choose the correct answer.
1. Report this sentence: ‘I can swim really fast.’
a) He said that he could swim really fast
b) He told that he could swim really fast
c) He said me that he could swim really fast
2. Report this sentence: ‘There was an accident outside the supermarket.’
a) He said there had been an accident outside the supermarket
b) He said there were an accident outside the supermarket
c) He said there has been an accident outside the supermarket
3. Report this sentence: Tom said: ‘I’m going to London tomorrow.’
a) Tom said he was going to London tomorrow.
b) Tom said he is going to London the following day.
c) Tom said he was going to London the following day.
4. Which sentence is NOT correct?
a) Karen said she was going to be late
b) James said he will help me
c) Lisa said she didn’t have a map
5. Complete the sentence: Maria apologised for not coming. She said she had been busy
_______
a) Previous day
b) The following day
c) That day
6. Report this sentence: ‘Have you ever been to Paris?’
a) She asked if she has been to Paris
b) She asked whether she had ever been to Paris
c) She asked whether she went to Paris
7. Report this sentence: ‘What is your favourite film?’
a) He asked what was his favourite film
b) He asked what his favourite film was
c) He asked what is his favourite film
8. Report this sentence: ‘Don’t be late or we’ll miss the bus’
a) Mum told us not be late or we would miss the bus
b) Mum told us not to be late or we would miss the bus
c) Mum told us do not be late or we would miss the bus
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9. Report this sentence: Lisa says: ‘I like music’

a) Lisa says that she likes music
b) Lisa says that she liked music
c) Lisa likes music
10. Report this sentence: ‘Marina is getting married next month’
a) Her mum said that Marina is getting married the following month
b) Her mum told us that Marina was getting married the previous month
c) Her mum told us that Marina was getting married the following month

EXERCISE 2 (EXAM PRACTICE – LISTENING PART 1)

1. You hear an expert giving advice about meeting people for the first time. What has
the most impact?
a) How you sound
b) How you look
c) What you say
2. You hear a man and a woman talking about successful relationships. The man thinks
the most important factor in successful relationship is:
a) Similar personalities
b) The same friends
c) Similar interests
3. You hear a psychologist in the UK talking about intelligence. What does she say?
a) The human brain is changing
b) Scores in intelligence tests are rising
c) Exams are getting harder
4. You overhear a boy calling a friend on his mobile phone. Why is he calling his friend?
a) To complain about her behaviour
b) To explain a problem
c) To change an arrangement
5. You overhear a man talking about things which frighten people. What frightens him?
a) Using a escalator
b) Taking a flight
c) Using a lift
6. You hear a girl talking to a boy about a dream. She has read that the dream means:
a) she’s worried about lack of success
b) her life is in danger
c) she has to escape from something

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7. You overhear two students talking about a classmate. Why are they discussing her?
a) To organise something for her
b) To see if they can help her
c) To point out her faults
8. You hear a boy and a girl talking about the boy’s free-time activities. What do they
agree about his personality?
a) He’s friendly and sociable
b) He prefers his own company
c) He’s creative and adventurous