5 GRAMMAR Passive 1 Basic uses of the passive © Agent and instrument The person who performs an action in a passive sentence is called the ‘agent, introduced by by. The agent may or may not be mentioned. ‘My purse was found by one of the cleaners. A new road has been built ‘An object which causes something to happen is called an instrument, introduced by with, He was hit on the head with a hammer. © Verbs with two objects Verbs which have two objects can be made passive in two ways. Iwas handed a note. A note was handed to me. Other common verbs of this type are bring, give, lend, pass, pay, promise, sell, send, show, tell © Verbs with object and complement Some verbs have a noun or adjective which describes their object. ‘We elected Jim class representative. Everyone considered him a failure. When these are made passive, the complement goes directly after the verb. Jim was elected class representative, He was considered a failure. © Verbs which cannot be passive ‘Most verbs with an object (transitive verbs) can be made passive, eg. drive is transitive because one can drive something (a car). However, a few transitive verbs may not be used in the passive. These include become, {it (be the right size), get, have, lack, let, like, resemble, suit. ‘Verbs with no object (intransitive) cannot be passive, e.g. sleep is intransitive; you cannot ‘sleep something. ‘Therefore it is not possible to say “The baby was slept. Instead the sentence must be active: The baby slept. 3334 Using and not mentioning the agent © Change of focus ‘The passive can change the emphasis of a sentence, Jack won the prize. (focus on Jack) The prize was won by Jack. (focus on the prize) © Unknown agent ‘The agent is not mentioned if unknown, Two windows have been broken. In this case, there is no point in adding an agent: ‘by somebody’ © Generalized agent If the subject is ‘people in general’ or ‘you’ the agent is not mentioned. Bicycles are widely used in the city instead of public transport. © Obvious agent Ifthe agent is obvious or has already been referred to, itis not mentioned. Linda has been arrested! (we assume by the police) The company agreed to our request and a new car park was opened. © Unimportant agent Ifthe agent is not important to the meaning of the sentence itis not mentioned, Iwas advised to obtain a visa in advance. © Impersonality Using the passive is a way of avoiding the naming of a specific person who is responsible for an action. Ithas been decided to reduce all salaries by 10%. In descriptions of processes, there is emphasis on the actious performed rather than ‘on the people who perform thern Then the boxes are packed into crates.GRAMMAR 5 PASSIVE 1 1. Correct any verb forms which are impossible or inappropriate. 1. Alot of homes in the area have been being broken into by burglars. have, beer. broken into 2. AsI drove south, I could see that the old road was rebuilding. 3 [suppose the letter will have been delivered by now... 4. There is nothing more annoying than been interrupted when you are speaking. 5 Jim was been given the sack from his new job. 6 Somehow without my noticing my wallet had been disappeared. 7. The new shopping centre was opened by the local MP. 8 A lot of meetings have been held, but nothing has being decided yet. 2. Complete the second sentence so that it has a si sentence. ilar meaning to the first 1 The crowd was slowly filling the huge stadium. ‘The huge stadium... i .. by the crowd. 2 The inventor of the computer simplified the work of accountants. Since the computer .. . the work of accountants, Simplified. 3. Someone as suggested thatthe shop should close It that the shop should close. 4 ‘Td take out some travel insurance if I were you, Mr Smith? Mr Smith take out some travel insurance. 5 The waitress will bring your drinks in a moment. Your drinks sannnn ina moment 6 Someone used a knife to open the window. ‘This window a knife, 7 You will hear from us when we have finshed dealing with your complaint. After your complaint sou YOU Will hear from us. 8 Anannouncement of their engagement appeared in the local paper. Their engagement in the local paper. 9 Nobody ever heard anything of David again. Nothing David again. 10 They paid Sheila £1,000 as a special bonus. £1,000 . Sheila as a special bonus. 353 Rewrite each sentence in the passive, omitting the words underlined. 1 Someone left the phone off the hook all night. : nig) 2. The government has announced that petrol prices will rise tomorrow. 3° Aburglar broke into our house last week. 4 People asked me the way three times. 5. The fruit-pickers pick the apples early in the morning. 6 Its time the authorities did something about this problem. 7 Lots of people had parked their cars on the pavement. 8 The government agreed with the report and so they changed the law. 9 You have to fill in an application form. 10 ‘They don’t know what happened to the shi 11 Nobody has seen the group’ leader since his arrest last month. 4 Complete each sentence with a passive form of the verb in brackets. 1 The boxes (not/pack) 2. Your food (still/prepare) 3. The new ship (launch)... 4 Luckily by the time we got there the painting (not/sel) 5 Wehad to go on holiday because our house (decorate) 6 7 yet. next week. Tim afraid that next week’s meeting (cancel) If we don’t hurry, all the tickets (sell) . there. 8 All main courses (serve) Jeast that is what is written on the menu. 9 The second goal (score) 10 The cathedral (build) . 11 There’ a lot of noise outside because the road (repair) 12 Iwas promised that the parcel (deliver) still hasn't arrived. 36 by the time we get with vegetables or salad. At by Hughes in the 41st minute, in the fourteenth century. by 10.00, but itGRAMMAR 5 PASSIVE 1 5 Rewrite each sentence in a more formal style so that it contains a passive form of the word given in CAPITALS. 1. Sorry, but we've lost your letter. ‘ISLAY _unfor ng is 2. The police are grilling Harry down at the station. QUESTION 3. They've found the remains of an old Roman villa nearby. DISCOVER 4. You'll geta rise in salary after six months ‘They stopped playing the match after half an hour. ABANDON a 6 They stopped traffic from using the centre. 7 They took Chris to court for dangerous driving. PROSECUTE 8. You usually eat this kind of fish with a white sauce. SERVE 9 don't know your name, INTRODUCE 6 Complete each sentence with a passive form of the verb in brackets. 1. Nothing (see) enn l@S, 066M $#et....... of Pauline since her car (find) abandoned near Newbury last week. 2. As our new furniture (deliver) Tllhave to stay at home to check that it (not/damage) during transit, 3. The new Alhambra hatchback, which in this country (sell) under the name ‘Challenger, (fit). as standard. 4 For the past few days I (work)..... own office (redecorate) 5 It (announce)... ...on Monday morning with electric windows in Jacks office, as my that the proposed new office block (now! not/build) ...... because of the current economic situation. 6 A major new deposit of oil (discover) in the Arctic, It (think) to be nearly twice the size of the largest existing field. 7 Pictures of the surface of the planet Mars (receive) yesterday from the space probe ‘Rover 3’ which (launch) last year .. 8 Alargesum snosene(Faise) for the Fund by a recent charity concert but the target of £250, ,000 (still/ not/reach) .... . 9 No decision (make). about any future appointment until all suitable candidates (interview). 3738 7 Underline any uses of the agent which are unnecessary. ‘My jewellery has been stolen by a thief! Ithas been decided by the authorities that Wednesday will be a school holiday. Harry was pushed over by someone standing next to him in the queue. ‘The goods are transported by ral to our warehouse in the Midlands. was told by someone that you have a vacancy for a computer operator. Sue has been picked by the selectors for the national event. ‘The letter was sent by post on the 21st of last month. The larger portrait was painted by a little-known Flemish artist. Ithas been agreed by everyone that no smoking should be allowed. 10 As I arrived at the conference a note was handed to me by one of the delegates. wevauaene 8 Complete the text with a suitable active or passive form of the verbs in brackets. Dear Mrs Patel, Weare delighted to inform you that you (1). «. (select) for a fre holiday. According to our information, you (2) .. (answer) a telephone survey last ‘month, as a result of which your name ®) 4) ©) This offer (6) promotions day with other lucky fami in your region Who (7) a similar deal. You (8) at the Royal Hotel, Manchester: Ifyou (9) ‘taking up thio offer, please (10) .- (enter) in the holiday draw. Now our computer (choose) your name, 60 you and your family invite) to spend a week ina European destination of your choice, (make) on the condition that you attend a special (offer) (ask) to attend on any Saturday next month --(interest) in attending and (detach) the slip below and return it ‘tous.as soon as possible. tN 9 Complete the texts by writing a passive form of a verb in the box in each space. announce assume all destroy discover print offer take write Text A tt (1). nas beew avnounced that fossil remains of one of the largest ever sea CreatUFeS (2) eesescnnens OF an island in the North Sea. The 150 million year old fossil, a type of pliosaur, (3) over 15 metres long. The remains (4) ‘Museum in Oslo, where, after conservation work, they (5) special section of the museum. ‘Big Boy’ by scientists, as it is to the Natural History inaGRAMMAR 5 PASSIVE Text B 1 nearly 200 years after it (6) .ccnnce « The anti-war poem (7) in a pamphlet first published in 1811 in Oxford when the poet was 20, It ) © (10) until the recent discovery that all copies of the poem , and experts are predicting great interest when the poem ... for sale in a book auction at the end of next month. ‘A bookseller has found a previously unknown poem by the English poet Shelley 10 Rewrite each line with a passive verb form. OOo - o FRO i The Managing Director. TO: All staff 4. We have decided to adopt a flexitime system for a trial period of three months. tehas been decided to adopt a flexitine systene for a trial period of three month 2. The details are here below, and we'll send out a formal document in due course. 3 We'll consult all members of staff through their line manager, 4 and welll seek feedback. 5 Welll collect and analyse comments 6 before we make a decision 7. as to whether we'll adopt the system permanently or not. 8 It's also possible that we may extend the trial period for a further month. 9 The new system will require all employees to arrive between the hours of 8.00 and 10,00, and to leave after they have fulfilled their contractual obligations of eight hours. S > SEE ALSO Grammar 6: Passive 2 Consolidation 2: Units 5-8 3940 6 GRAMMAR Passive 2 Have and get something done, need doing © Have/get something done ‘This typically describes a service performed for us by someone else. I've just had/got my car serviced. I have/get it done every winter. It can also describe something unfortunate that happens to someone. We had/got our car broken into last month. Get is more likely to be used than have when: i) there is a feeling that something must be done. Treally must get/have my hair cut. ii) there isa feeling of eventually managing to do something. Teventually got/had the car fixed at the Fast Service garage. in orders and imperatives. Get your hair cut! Note that get should not be used in the present perfect passive, where it would be confused with have got. Te just had my hair cut. (possible) ve just got my hair cut. (not possible) i © The need to have a service done can be described with need doing. Your hair needs cutting. Passive get Get can be used instead of be to form the passive in spoken language. ‘Martin got arrested at a football match. Reporting verbs © Present reference ‘With verbs such as believe, know, say, think, which report people's opinions, a passive construction is often used to avoid a weak subject, and to give a generalized opinion. ‘With present reference, the passive is followed by the present infinitive. The criminal is thought to be in hiding in the London area. Vitamin C is known to be good for treating colds. © Past reference ‘With past reference, the passive is followed by the past infinitive. Smith is believed to have left England last week.GRAMMAR 6 PASSIVE 2 © Past reporting verb If the reporting verb is in the past, the past infinitive tends to follow, though not always ifthe verb be is used. People thought Sue had paid too much. Sue was thought to have paid too much. The police thought that the thief was still inthe house. ‘The thief was thought to still be in the house, © Past reference with two objects In this case there are two ways of making a passive sentence. Everyone knows the portrait was painted by an Italian. The portrait is known to have been painted by an Italian. © Continuous infinitive Past and present continuous infinitives are also used. Mary is thought to be living in Scotland. ‘The driver is thought to have been doing a U-turn. Verbs with preposi © Ending a sentence with a preposition It is possible to end a sentence with a preposition in a sentence where a prepositional verb is made passive. Somebody broke into our house. Our house was broken into. © Byand with With is used after participles such as filled, packed, crowded, crammed, The train was packed with commuters. ‘The difference between by and with may involve the presence of a person: Dave was hit by a branch. (an accident) Dave was hit with a branch. (a person hit him with one) © Make is followed by to when used in the passive. ‘My boss made me work hard. Twas made to work hard by my boss. © Cover and verbs which involve similar ideas, such as surround, decorate, can use with or by. Cover can also be followed by in. The furniture was covered in dust. The living room had been decorated with flowery wallpaper. © Common contexts for the passive ‘The passive is common in technical and scientific writing, and generally in spoken and written contexts where there is less use of personal reference, since the audience ‘may be unknown, or the speaker wants to remain impersonal. a1 Decide whether the sentences in each pair have the same meaning. Rewrite those which are different. 1 I’ve just been to the hairdresser’s. What do you think? ve just cut my hair at the hairdresser’s. What do you think? 2. Someone is painting our house at the moment. ‘We are painting our house at the moment. 3. The dentist is going to take out two of my teeth tomorrow. T'm having two teeth taken out tomorrow. 4. The teacher made us all tidy up. ‘We were made to tidy up by the teacher. 5. The car is thought to have been stolen by joy-riders. Joy-tiders are thought to have stolen the car. 6 Just a minute. I'll ask someone to wrap this for you. Just a minute. I'll have to wrap this up for you. 7 The car hasn't been serviced for a long time. We haven't had the car serviced for a long time. 8 They're coming to put ina new water-heater next week. ‘Were putting in a new water-heater next week. 9 Would you consider having plastic surgery to alter your nose? Would you consider having your nose altered by plastic surgery? 2 Underline the correct word in each sentence. 1 The busy shopping street was thronged by/with people. ‘The emergency exit was concealed by/from a red curtain, ‘The price of excursions is included in/with the cost of the holiday. All through January, the fields were covered by/from snow. ‘The room was crammed by/with furniture of all descriptions. ‘Two of the climbers were injured by/with falling rocks, ‘The island is inhabited by/from people of mainly Chinese origin ‘The bank was quickly surrounded from/with armed police. ‘The window had been smashed from/with a hammer taken from the shed. 10 The stadium was packed from/with cheering fans, eavaunenGRAMMAR 6 PASSIVE 2 3 Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given, Do not change the word given. 1 We think the treasure dates from the thirteenth century, think I {is.theught.ko.date 2. Your hair needs cutting. get .. from the thirteenth century. ‘You ... vse 3. Jills parents are making her study hard. made will 4. Apparently the ship did not sustain any damage. appears ‘The ship .. v “ any damage. 5. Itis thought that the two injured men were repairing overhead cables. cut. her parents. have The two injured MeN nse 6 There is a rumour that the escaped prisoner is living in Spain. be ‘The escaped prisone: 7 We have agreed to meet again in a fortnight. will Ithas.. 8 We decided to try again later. would twas. . overhead cables. living in Spain. _» meet again in a fortnight. : : try again later. 9 There is confirmation of Mr Jackson's intended resignation. that Itis . 10. Most of the committee thought it was not a viable solution. not Tt was thought .. by most of the committee. a4 Rewrite each sentence so that it ends with the word underlined. 1 Another company has taken over our company. 2 Weare dealing with your complaint. 3 Wehave not accounted forall the missing passengers. 4 Someone had tampered with the lock of the front door. 5 We dontt know how they disposed of the body. 6 I must insist that you keep to the rules. 7 Weare looking into this allegation, 8 We will frown upon any attempts to cheat in the exam. 9 The youngest student complained that people were picking on him. 10. You haven't paid for the second pizza. 11 I think they have made up the whole story. 5 Complete each sentence with a st 1 The tree had been decorated ‘The answers have been included .. coloured balls. the book. After the rugby match, Jimts shorts were covered ‘The victim was struck from behind . aheavy object. ‘The house was built . money that David borrowed from the bank. The cat narrowly escaped being run over . ‘When the accident happened, Sue was struck sno flying glass. ‘The turkey was stuffed chestnuts, and was very tasty. No one knew that Peter had been involved - the investigation. 10 When I left the casino, my pockets were crammed .. 11 All the presents were wrapped yellow paper. 12 Ittumed out that the bridge had been damage ..mud. eC eraneon money.GRAMMAR 6 PASSIVE 2 6 Complete the text by writing a verb from the box in each space. wasseenweremadeto was brought ‘was obliged to are believed to have been _ is known-to-haveexperienced —_is not known are thought to be was packed is thought to have been A plane carrying 15 members of the government to a conference in Brussels 1) ab pio i The plane (2) .. a . journey when the fire occurred in the luggage area. It (3) .. #A..... a small-scale fire earlier this morning. about 20 minutes into its how the plane caught fire, but initial eye-witness accounts confirm that a trail of smoke (4) .. carriage. The fire (5) but the pilot (6) . landing, Five people (7) The plane (8) ... - Belgium. All 209 passengers (9) coming from the under- rapidly under control, . make an emergency ... treated for shock. .. with business people flying to stay behind for questioning after landing at a military airport in northern France. Police treating the incident as suspicious. (10) 7 Rewrite the text using the passive where possible. Make sure the words underlined do not appear. Nobody knows exactly when someone invented gunpowder. People know for a fact that the Chinese made rockets and fireworks long before people used gunpowder in Europe, which occurred at about the beginning of the thirteenth century. We generally believe that gunpowder brought to an end the ‘Age of Chivalry; since anyone with a firearm could bring down a mounted knight. In fact, people did not develop efficient firearms until the sixteenth century. They used gunpowder mainly in siege cannon when people first introduced it. Later they used it in engineering work and in mining, but they found that it was extremely dangerous. Modern explosives have now replaced gunpowder, but we still use it for making fireworks, just as the Chinese did. 45