PART II – GRAMMAR

PASSIVE VOICE
I – TYPES OF VERBS
1. Intransitive Verbs (Nội động từ/ Tự động từ): not used with a direct object  no passive voice
The audience clapped when the speaker finished.
The event took place in the evening.

2. Transitive Verbs (Ngoại động từ/ Tha động từ): require a direct object
The audience enjoyed the jokes.
Everyone applauded the speaker when he finished
The librarian scheduled the event in the morning.

 NOTES: A single verb can have both transitive and intransitive uses
Động từ Ngoại động từ (Transitive ) Nội động từ (Intransitive)

change Marriage hasn’t changed her. The area’s changed greatly in the last decade.

close Close your eyes; I’ve got a surprise for you. Most shops here close at 5.30 p.m.

do Have you done your coursework? Joe’s doing well in his new job.

feel The mother felt the diaper to see if it was wet. The baby feels wet.

know Get to know our doctor. (arrange to meet) The baby is tired. I know.

live Our cat lived till he was 10. He was living a life of luxury abroad.

move Could you move your car please? The trees were moving in the breeze.

open Open the window; it’s too hot in here! The museum opens at 10 a.m.

run Michelle used to run a restaurant. The path ran over the hill.

set Kate set a chair next to the bed. The sun was setting and a red glow filled the sky.

start Taylor was found guilty of starting the fire. The match starts at 3 p.m.

stop Greg tried to stop her from leaving. When the rain stopped, we went for a walk.

wash Have you washed your hands? I washed, dressed, and went out.

write Write your name here. Kevin couldn’t read or write.

weigh The doctor weighed the baby.  The baby weighs ten pounds(5 kg).

3. Ditransitive Verbs: have direct and indirect objects

He brought her a glass of water.

[Tân ngữ gián tiếp] [Tân ngữ trực tiếp]

He brought a glass of water to her.

He sent her a letter.

[Tân ngữ gián tiếp] [Tân ngữ trực tiếp]

He sent a letter to her.

Verbs —recipient is expressed as IO and to (PP)

Award They awarded him a prize. / They awarded a prize to him.

Bring They brought him a pie. / They brought a pie to him.

Deny They denied him a place. / They denied a place to him.

Feed   They fed him a pie. / They fed a pie to him.

Give  They gave him a prize. / They gave a prize to him.

Hand  They handed him a prize. / They handed prize to him.

Kick  They kicked him the ball. / They kicked the ball to him.

Leave¹ My father left me his house. / My father left his house to me.

Lend  They lent him some money. / They lent some money to him.

Offer They offered him a job. / They offered a job to him.

Owe They owed him some money. / They owed some money to him.

Pass  They passed him the ball. / They passed the ball to him.

Post  She posted him a note. / She posted a note to him.

Promise They promised him a job / They promised a job to him.

Read    They read him a paragraph. / They read a paragraph to him.

Roll    He rolled us the ball. / He rolled the ball to us.

Sell    They sold him a car. / They sold a car to him.

Send    They sent him a message. / They sent a message to him.

Serve    They served him a meal. / They served a meal to him.

Show    They showed him a picture. / They showed a picture to him.

Sing    He sand me a song. / He sang a song to me.

Take    They took him his phone. / They took his phone to him.

Teach    They taught him slang. / They taught slang to him.

Tell    They told him a lie. / They told a lie to him.

Throw    They threw him a ball. / They threw a ball to him.

 Write    They wrote him a message. / They wrote a message to him.

II – ACTIVE VOICE TO PASSIVE VOICE

My mother planted some flowers carefully in the garden yesterday.

 Some flowers were planted carefully in the garden by my mother yesterday.

Subject V Object Adv of manner Adv of place Adv of time

Subject be + V3/ed Adv of manner Adv of place by agent Adv of time

Động từ BE: chia theo Tenses của động từ chính trong câu chủ động và hòa hợp với chủ ngữ mới trong câu
bị động.
- The hunter killed the lion.  The lion was killed by the hunter.
- Someone has cleaned the windows.  The window have been cleaned.
- He was looked after by his grandmother.
- John was hit by a branch. (an agent)
- John was hit with a branch. (an instrument)
A thief hit John with a branch on this street last night.
Sub + be + V3/ed + (with + an instrument) + (adverb of place) + (by + an agent) + (adverb of time)

 John was hit with a branch on this street by a thief last night.

III – PASSIVE VOICE WITH TENSES

Active (Câu chủ động) Passive (Câu bị động)

Simple Present Once a week, Tom cleans the house. Once a week, the house is cleaned by
Tom

Present Continuous Right now, Sarah is writing the letter. Right now, the letter is being written by
Sarah

Simple Past Sam repaired the car. The car was repaired by Sam.

Past Continuous The salesman was helping the customer The customer was being helped by the
when the thief came into the store. salesman when the thief came into the
store.

Present Perfect Many tourists have visited that house. That house has been visited by many
tourists.

Present Perfect Recently, John has been doing the work. Recently, the work has been being
Continuous done by John.

Past perfect George had repaired many cars before he Many cars had been repaired by George
received his mechanic’s license before he received his mechanic’s license.
 Past Perfect Chef Jones had been preparing the The restaurant’s dinners had been being
Continuous restaurant’s dinners for two years before prepared by Chef Jones for two years
he moved to Paris. before he moved to Paris.

Simple Future  Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.

WILL

Simple Future  Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner A beautiful dinner is going to be made by
tonight. Sally tonight.
BE GOING TO

Future Continuous At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be

washing the dishes. being washed by John
WILL

Future Continuous At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going
washing the dishes. to be being washed by John.
BE GOING TO

Future Perfect They will have completed the project The project will have been
before the deadline completed before the deadline.
WILL

Future Perfect They are going to have completed the The project is going to have been
project before the deadline. completed before the deadline.
BE GOING TO

Future Perfect He will have been painting the house for The house will have been being
Continuous over two weeks by the time it is finished. painted for over two weeks by the time it
is finished.
WILL

Future Perfect He is going to have been painting the The house is going to have been being
Continuous house for over two weeks by the time it is painted for over two weeks by the time it
finished is finished.
BE GOING TO

USED TO Jerry used to pay the bills The bills used to be paid by Jerry.

IV – PASSIVE VOICE WITH MODALS

Modal Verb (not) + V0

Modal Verb (not) + BE + V0

Ex: They must finish the project before noon.  The project must be finsihed before noon.

V – SPECIAL CASES
1. VERBS WITH TWO OBJECTS (ditransitive verbs)
- The teacher awarded a prize to him. (The teacher awarded him a prize)
 He was awarded a prize by the teacher.
 A prize was awarded to him by the teacher.

- My father has bought my mother a diamond ring. = My father has bought a diamond ring for my
mother.
 A diamond ring has been bought for my mother by my father.
 My mother has been bought a diamond by my father.

- My brother lent Tom and John a dictionary last week.

 Tom and John were lent a dictionary by my brother last week.
 A dictionary was lent to Tom and John by my brother last week.

2. VERBS OF OPINION (REPORTING VERBS IN PASSIVE)

V (1)

think/ thought

say/ said

suppose/ supposed
Subject 1 that Subject 2 V (2)
believe/ believed

consider/ considered

report/ reported

rumor/ rumored

is/ was + V3/ed (1)

It that Subject 2 V (2)
(reporting verbs)

is/ was + V3/ed (1) TO V0 (2)

Subject (2)
(reporting verbs) TO HAVE V3/ED (2)  đã xảy ra

- People believe that 13 is an unlucky number.

 It is believed that 13 is an unlucky number.
 13 is believed to be an unlucky number.

People say that Peter is studying in NY.

 It is said that Peter is studying in NY.
 Peter is said to be studying NY.  đang xảy ra

- People say that Peter was studying in NY.

 Peter is said to have been studying in NY.
- People said that Peter was studying in NY.
 Peter was said to be studying in NY.

- People said that Peter had been studying in NY.

 Peter was said to have been studying in NY.

- People report that the overdrunk driver caused the accident.

 It is reported that the overdrunk driver caused the accident.
 The overdrunk driver is reported to have caused the accident.

- People reported that the overdrunk driver caused the accident.

 It was reported that the overdrunk driver caused the accident.
 The overdrunk driver was reported to have caused cause the accident.

- People reported that the overdrunk driver had caused the accident.
 The overdrunk driver was reported to have caused the accident.

- They thought that the man had stolen the car.

 It was thought that the man had stolen the car.
 The man was thought to have stolen the car.

3. SENSE VERBS
(listen to, hear, look at, see, watch, notice, observe, feel, taste, smell)

a. Sub + Sense Verb + Obj + V0 (Bare infinitive)  whole action

 Sub (Obj) + be + Sense Verb (V3/ed) + TO V0

Subject Sense Verb Object Bare-infinitive (V0)

Subject be + V3/ed to V0 by agent

(Sense Verb)

- I saw Peter pass my house.  Peter was seen to pass my house.

- Peter watches Mary cross the road.
 Mary is watched to cross the road by Peter.

b. Sub + Sense Verb + Obj + Ving  in the middle of the action

 Sub (Obj) + be + Sense Verb (V3/ed) + Ving

Subject Sense Verb Object Ving

Subject be + V3/ed Ving by agent

(Sense Verb)

- I saw Peter passing my house.  Peter was seen passing my house.

- I heard someone arguing in the next room.
 Someone was heard arguing in the next room.

4. CAUSATIVE VERBS
Sub + HAVE + Somebody + V0 + Something
Sub + GET + Somebody + TO V0 + Something

 Sub + HAVE/ GET + Something + V3/ed + (by + Somebody)

- My father had Tom wash his car. (My father got Tom to wash his car)
 My father had/ got his car washed by Tom.

5. PASSIVE INFINITIVE: TO BE V3/ED

Ex: I want you to listen to me.  I want to be listened to.

6. PASSIVE GERUND: BEING V3/ED

Ex: My parents once took me to the zoo, and I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed being taken to the zoo.

7. WANT/ NEED + to be V3/ed

WANT/ NEED + Ving

Ex: The problem needs to be discussed/ discussing further.

- I need to turn off my computer.
 My computer needs turning/ to be turned off

8. MAKE/ LET
Make sb V0  Sb + be made + to V0
Let sb V0  Sb + be let + V0
Ex:
- The boss makes the employees work overtime.  The employees are made to work overtime by the
boss.
- The security guard let me enter the supermarket.  I was let enter the supermarket by the security
guard.