5th year: October 29th

Grammar: Passive voice (Present, Past and Future Simple).

Present Simple: 

Active: 

My mum          buys          a book                   every day 

Subject                verb                  direct object

Passive voice: 

A book           is bought        by my mum       every day 

Direct object           + verb                      + agent 

Past Simple:

Active:

My friend              wrote           two books 

Subject               + verb         + direct object

Passive voice:

Two books              were written            by my friend

Direct object         + verb                       + agent 

Future Simple: 

Active:

They              will build       a new bridge next month  

Subject         + verb         + direct object

Passive voice:

A new bridge          will be built          by them next month

Direct object         + verb                  + agent 
 An active sentence has the subject first (the person or thing that does the verb),
followed by the verb, and finally the direct object (the person or thing that the action
happens to).

A passive sentence has the direct object first (two cups of coffee), followed by the verb
(to be+ verb in past participle), and finally the agent (we can add 'by me' if we want, but
it isn't necessary).
 

When should we use the Passive?

When we want to change the focus of the sentence:

● The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. (We are more interested in the
painting than the artist in this sentence)

When who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant or obvious or

'people in general':

● He was arrested (obvious agent, the police).

● My bike has been stolen (unknown agent).
● The road is being repaired (unimportant agent).

In factual or scientific writing:

● The chemical is placed in a test tube and the data entered into the computer.

Let´s practise!

1. Read the sentences and choose the correct options.

1) The puppies were fed/ are fed at the same time every day.
2) My birthday cake will make / will be made next Sunday.
3) Their organization was founded / were founded last year.
4) Meetings are held / are hold at weekends.
5) Some phones was produced / were produced in Europe.

2. Read the sentences and complete them with the passive voice of the verbs in
brackets. Use the present, past and future simple passive.

1- These cars will be produce in Japan in the year 2030.

2- English and Portuguese are teaching at this school.
3- German is speaking in Austria.
4- Lots of houses were destroying by the earthquake.
5- The telephone was invented by Graham Bell.
6- The office is clean every day.
7- These emails were sent yesterday.
8- The grass is cutting every day.
9- The keys were found by Paul.
10- The computer will be fix next weekend.

3. Rewrite the following sentences into Passive Voice.

1) My sister makes amazing cookies.

Amazing cookies my sister makes.

2) He will buy a new car.

A new car will buy he.

3) People in Montenegro eat a lot of ham.

A lot of ham eat the people of Montenegro.

4) Old women usually sing traditional songs.

Traditional songs are usually sing by old women.

5) They finished the exams last Monday.

The exams they finished last monday.

6) His dog broke the vase yesterday.

The vase was broken by his dog yesterday.

7) The Orthodox celebrate Christmas on 7th January.

Christmas is celebrated on January 7 by the Orthodox.

8) The employers will receive a bonus for their hard work.

Employers will receive a bonus for their hard work.