b)She cleans the kitchen.The kitchen is cleaned (by her).
c)People speak Spanish in Mexico.Spanish is spoken in Mexico.
1Turn the sentences into the passive. Keep the tense.
Object becomes subject. be in the tense of the active verb + past participle. Simple present: is cleaned. Simple past: was built. Present perfect: has been arrested. will: will be opened.
a)Someone cleans the classroom every day.
b)They built this bridge in 1932.
c)The police have arrested two men.
d)Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
e)They will open the new library next year.
f)People speak English all over the world.
2Active or passive? Write A or P and name the tense.
Passive = form of be + past participle.
a)The letter was sent yesterday.
b)She has written three novels.
c)The winners will be announced on Friday.
d)Rice is grown in Asia.
e)They are repairing the road.
3With or without by? Rewrite in the passive and decide whether the agent is needed.
Use by + agent only if the agent is important or new information. Leave out somebody, people, they.
a)A famous architect designed the building.
b)Somebody stole my bike last night.
c)The teacher corrected the tests.
d)People produce a lot of plastic waste every year.
4Describe how a product is made. Six sentences in the passive.
First, the cocoa beans are harvested. Then they are …
a)Chocolate: harvest cocoa beans – dry and roast them – grind them into a paste – add sugar and milk – pour into moulds – pack the bars
1Turn the sentences into the passive. Keep the tense.
Object becomes subject. be in the tense of the active verb + past participle. Simple present: is cleaned. Simple past: was built. Present perfect: has been arrested. will: will be opened.
a)Someone cleans the classroom every day.The classroom is cleaned every day.
b)They built this bridge in 1932.This bridge was built in 1932.
c)The police have arrested two men.Two men have been arrested (by the police).
d)Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.
e)They will open the new library next year.The new library will be opened next year.
f)People speak English all over the world.English is spoken all over the world.
2Active or passive? Write A or P and name the tense.
Passive = form of be + past participle.
a)The letter was sent yesterday.P — simple past
b)She has written three novels.A — present perfect
c)The winners will be announced on Friday.P — will-future
d)Rice is grown in Asia.P — simple present
e)They are repairing the road.A — present progressive
3With or without by? Rewrite in the passive and decide whether the agent is needed.
Use by + agent only if the agent is important or new information. Leave out somebody, people, they.
a)A famous architect designed the building.The building was designed by a famous architect. (agent important)
b)Somebody stole my bike last night.My bike was stolen last night. (no agent — unknown)
c)The teacher corrected the tests.The tests were corrected (by the teacher). (obvious, can be left out)
d)People produce a lot of plastic waste every year.A lot of plastic waste is produced every year. (no agent — people)
4Describe how a product is made. Six sentences in the passive.
First, the cocoa beans are harvested. Then they are …
a)Chocolate: harvest cocoa beans – dry and roast them – grind them into a paste – add sugar and milk – pour into moulds – pack the bars(notes)
1Correct the mistakes.
Passive always needs be + past participle. Check the tense of be and the third form of the verb.
a)The book was wrote by a young author.
b)The car is repair at the moment.
c)English speaks all over the world.
d)The letters have been send.
e)The room cleaned yesterday.
f)The house will built next year.
2Turn into the passive. Keep the tense. Decide whether by + agent is needed.
Progressive: is being built. Past perfect: had been told. Modal: should be banned. Two objects: I was given … or This watch was given to me.
a)They are building a new school in our street.
b)Someone had already told her the news.
c)The government should ban plastic bags.
d)Nobody has ever climbed this mountain.
e)My grandmother gave me this watch.
3Why is the passive used here? Explain in a few words.
Reasons: agent unknown, agent unimportant or obvious, the speaker wants to hide the agent, focus on the result.
a)The suspect was arrested last night.
b)Mistakes were made.
c)Our products are made in Germany.
4Rewrite the paragraph in the passive where it sounds more natural (four sentences). Then explain in one sentence why a newspaper would prefer the passive here.
Not every sentence must be passive — decide.
a)Text: Last night somebody broke into the town museum. The thieves took two paintings. Somebody had switched off the alarm system. The police are questioning the security guard.
1Correct the mistakes.
Passive always needs be + past participle. Check the tense of be and the third form of the verb.
a)The book was wrote by a young author.The book was written by a young author.
b)The car is repair at the moment.The car is being repaired at the moment.
c)English speaks all over the world.English is spoken all over the world.
d)The letters have been send.The letters have been sent.
e)The room cleaned yesterday.The room was cleaned yesterday.
f)The house will built next year.The house will be built next year.
2Turn into the passive. Keep the tense. Decide whether by + agent is needed.
Progressive: is being built. Past perfect: had been told. Modal: should be banned. Two objects: I was given … or This watch was given to me.
a)They are building a new school in our street.A new school is being built in our street.
b)Someone had already told her the news.She had already been told the news.
c)The government should ban plastic bags.Plastic bags should be banned (by the government).
d)Nobody has ever climbed this mountain.This mountain has never been climbed.
e)My grandmother gave me this watch.I was given this watch by my grandmother. / This watch was given to me by my grandmother.
3Why is the passive used here? Explain in a few words.
Reasons: agent unknown, agent unimportant or obvious, the speaker wants to hide the agent, focus on the result.
a)The suspect was arrested last night.The result matters, and the police as agent is obvious.
b)Mistakes were made.The speaker hides who made the mistakes.
c)Our products are made in Germany.Focus on the product and the place; the workers are unimportant.
4Rewrite the paragraph in the passive where it sounds more natural (four sentences). Then explain in one sentence why a newspaper would prefer the passive here.
Not every sentence must be passive — decide.
a)Text: Last night somebody broke into the town museum. The thieves took two paintings. Somebody had switched off the alarm system. The police are questioning the security guard.(text)
Form
The object of the active sentence becomes the subject. Then: be in the tense of the active verb + past participle. Simple present: is cleaned. Simple past: was built. Present perfect: has been sold. will: will be opened. Modal: must be returned. Progressive: is being repaired.
They built the bridge in 1932. → The bridge was built in 1932.
by or not?
Add by + agent only if the agent is important or new information. Leave out somebody, people, they, and agents that are obvious.
Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. (important)My bike was stolen. (unknown)
Why use it?
When the action or result matters more than who did it; when the agent is unknown; in formal texts, news and descriptions of processes.
First the beans are roasted, then they are ground.