Bate ey) Present and past tenses un 1 The object in the active sentence corresponds to the subject in the passive sentence: ‘ORECT Allschools teach| maths. [Maths] is taught in all schools. suaiect ‘We make the passive form with auxiliary verb be + past participle. The form of be changes person (Ist, 2nd, 3rd) and tense. The past participle always stays the same: Present simple: _Allletters are typed. Present continuous: The houseis being painted. Past simple: The school was builtin 1978. Past continuous: The grass was being cut. Present perfect: The carhas been repaired. Past perfect: The table had been reserved. We form negatives and questions in the same way as inactive sentences: The game isn’t being televised tonight. The party hasn't been organized. Were the windows being cleaned? Had the decision been made when you arrived? (Fora list of irregular past participles, see p. 129) We can mention the agent (the person/thing that did the action) in a passive sentence with by + noun: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. We can use the passive when the person/thing that did an action is not relevant, or not known: What is paper made from? ~ It's made from wood. A Food production Usually we do not need to mention the agent ina passive sentence. We do not mention it if it is not important for the meaning of the sentence: The house was built by-seme buitdersin 1888. (We do not need to say ‘by some builders'as this does not give any new information.) Grammar in action ‘]_ We can use the passive to talk about processes, for example scientific or historical processes: Originally iron was made using a wood fire, but later stee! was produced in a furnace that burnt coal Nowadays most of our steels imported. ‘We often use the passive in formal writing to sound impersonal. This ‘example is from a newspaper report: The country has been affected by flooding; hundreds of people have been evacuated; many still need to be airlifted to higher ground. er “oo e We use the passive with by if we want to focus on the subject of the passive sentence. This might be so that the sentence connects better with the one before. This, is useful in extended written and spoken descriptions, such as this guided tour: We're now in Endigate Street. This street was designed by famous architects who were empoyed directly by the King. (This street' links to the previous sentence) Or it might be because the sentence would not make sense without mentioning the agent. The theatre was designed by Hawksmoor. (‘The theatre was designed’ would not make sense) Write complete sentences about food production using the verb in the present simple passive. 0 Cheese/ produce /from milk. Cheese is prodvced from milk 1. Grapes /grow//in many countries. About half /eat /as fruit and half/ make into wine. 2 Nowadays, most fruit/ wash /before it/ sell /to the public. 3. Atsea, fish/freeze/as soon as they/catch. 42. | Verb forms and structures4 Some fish/ keep /in fish farms. They /feed / with food that/ produce /in a factory. 5 Oranges/often/pick/when they are green because they /transport/thousands of miles. 6 Flour/make/from cereal grains such as wheat and rye. It/use/to make bread and cakes. Historical events Make questions and answers in the past simple passive using a verb from the first column and a person from the second column. build Usain Bolt, a Jamaican athlete compose Alexander Fleming, a Scottish scientist discover John Logie Baird, a Scottish inventor invent John Lennon, an English popstar paint Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian artist win J.K. Rowling, a British author write the ancient Egyptians the Mona Lisa penicillin the television the Harry Potter books the 100m sprint at the Beijing Olympics. the pyramids ausunso A fire at the school Rewrite the sentences using the passive. 0 They'd already served dinner at the school. Pinner had already been served at the school 1A few minutes later, someone found a fire in the school kitchen. 2. The fire started because someone had left a cooker on. 3. They notified the fire brigade a few minutes ago. Amagine! Who was ‘Imagine’ composed by? It was composed by John Lennon, an English popstar. They've evacuated the school. Someone has counted all the students, They're checking the school to make sure no one is still inside, They're allowing the students to go home early. Verb forms and structures | 43