Topic: Passive Voice

Objectives: Practising Passive Voice.

Level: Intermediate

Link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRfwGj5s-I

exercise 1

1. Watch the video. Answer the questions.

 DISCOVER STONEHENGE 
1. Stonehenge is
a. a square of giant stones
b. a circle of giant stones
2. It is situated in
a. Northern England
b. Southern England
3. It’s the most_____ monument on Earth.
a. enigmatic
b. gigantic
c. prehistoric
4. It was created as
a. a shrine to dead ancestors
b. an astronomical calendar
c. a temple to the son of the moon
d. it is still not known
5. It was built at the same time as the
a. Acropolis in Athens
b. Pyramids of Giza
6. It was built in___ phases.
a. 4
b. 14
c. 40
7. Well over___ stones were used to erect the structure.
a. 10
b. 100
c. 1000
8. Some stones could weight over
a. 40 kilos
b. 400 kilos
c. 40 tones
d. 400 tones
9. The small “blue stones” were found miles away in
 a. South England
b. South Scotland
c. South Wales
10. Most archeologists believe that the stones were
a. dragged along on sledges
b. floated around the Welsh coast
c. dragged by a glacier

What do the underlined parts of the questions have in common?

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exercise 2

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive tense.

The process of making olive oil

First, the fruit of olive tree 1) is collected (collect). Traditionally, olive trees 2)……………………… (beat)
by hand to release the fruit but machines 3)………………………………….. (can/also/use) now to gather
olives from the trees.
Any large branches and leaves 4)…………………………………… (remove) as soon as the olives 5)
………………………. (bring) to the olive mill.
Then, the olives 6)…………………………………… (put) trough a cleaner, which washes away other smaller
twigs and in this way leaves and dirt 7)…………………………………. (can/remove).
After this, the cleaned olives 8)………………………………… (crush) and 9) ………………………….. (turn) into a
paste. Then, hot water 10) ………………………. (slowly/add). Next, the olive paste 11)
………………………… (press) to extract a liquid containing oil and water. The oil 12)…………………………
(separate) from the water and then the olive oil 13)…………………………….. (bottle), ready for use. This
is the virgin olive oil which is the highest quality olive oil and is delicious on salads.

exercise 3

Rewrite these sentences using the passive.

1. Are they repairing the damage at the moment?

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2. Someone had already turned on the lights by the time I got there.
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3. Someone showed the child how to use the telephone.
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4. Why didn't they offer him the job?
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5. Does the zookeeper feed the animals every morning at 6 am?
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6. They must sell everything.
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7. One person alone cannot do this job.
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8. In Italy, they hold national elections every four years.
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9. They introduced a new course at the college last year.
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10. We will send you your exam results to your home address.
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