The passive - ST PDF

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oefening passive...

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English – 1LOG

Grammar: the passive voice 1_Use The passive voice is often used in business communication because:  It makes the situation less personal,  more formal,  and distances the agent from the action. e.g. I will pay the invoice today. (active) The invoice will be paid today. (passive)  It is also used when the action is more important than the agent, such as when reporting the news: e.g. The demand for shirts has dropped by 20 percent.

2_Theory What makes an active sentence ‘active’?  who does the action? If the subject (=onderwerp) does the action, the sentence is active, otherwise, it’s passive. Collins wrote this book. -> Subject = Collins, Collins is the person who wrote -> ACTIVE This book was written by Collins. -> Subject = this book, Collins is the person who wrote -> PASSIVE How do you make an active sentence passive? THREE IMPORTANT STEPS: 1 Direct object becomes the subject 2 Use the verb ‘to be’ in the same tense 3 Add the past participle 4 "by" + the agent is also added if it is necessary e.g. Company accounts are audited by PwC. Active PRESENT SIMPLE I write a book PAST SIMPLE I wrote a book. PAST CONTINUOUS I was writing a book.

Passive PRESENT SIMPLE A book is written PAST SIMPLE A book was written by me PAST CONTINUOUS A book was being written by me.

PRESENT PERFECT I have written a book

PRESENT PERFECT A book has been written by me.

PAST PERFECT I had written a book

PAST PERFECT A book had been written by me.

English – 1LOG The tricky bits: questions?! Active PRESENT SIMPLE Do you write a book? PAST SIMPLE

Passive PRESENT SIMPLE Is a book written by you? PAST SIMPLE

Did you write a book? PAST CONTINUOUS Were you writing a book? PRESENT PERFECT Have you written a book? PAST PERFECT Had you written a book?

Was a book written by you? PAST CONTINUOUS Was a book being written by you? PRESENT PERFECT Has a book been written by you? PAST PERFECT Had a book been written by you?

2_Exercises Exercise 1: complete the sentences using the passive Let op de tijden moeten overeenkomen 1 He has broken the photocopier. The photocopier has been broken by him 2 They took me to the training room. I was taken to the training room. 3 The trainee showed the teacher how to use the audio-visual equipment. The teacher was shown how to use the audio-visual equipment. 4 A technician is fixing the computer. The computer is being fixed 5 He founded the company in 1988. The company was founded in 1988. 6 We speak English here. English is spoken here. 7 They will discuss the matter tomorrow. The matter will be discussed tomorrow. 8 They invited ninety-five people to the office Christmas party. Ninety-five people were invited to the office Christmas party. 9 The secretary is reading the minutes of the previous meeting. The minutes of the previous meeting are being read 10 They offered him a good job.

English – 1LOG He was offered a good job. 11 I tried to find a hotel room. There were no hotel rooms to be found 12 They have promised better working conditions. Better working conditions have been promised 13 He opened the first branch in 1998. The first branch was opened in 1998. 14 The employees were not using the machines efficiently. The machines were not being used efficiently. 15 Management had already made a mistake. A mistake had already been made Exercise 2: correct the errors in these passive voice sentences. 1 3000 employees were laying off. laid 2 A story will made up. be 3 An idea was putted forward for discussion. put 4 Has the book been give back to you yet? given 5 My bank loan will be payed off in five years time. Paid 6 Nothing can be hold against me. held 7 Our allies will be lend support. lent 8 She has never heard of. been 9 She was letted off with a fine. let 10 The candle was blow out by the draught. blown 11 The criminal were locked up. was 12 The flood water was be kept back by barriers. Be moet weg 13 The inconvenience will made up for by this money. Will be 14 The keys must have been being left behind. Have been left 15 The old cinema is being pull down. pulled

English – 1LOG Exercise 3: change these sentences from active to passive. 1 The government is planning a new road near my house. A new road is being planned by the government 2 My grandfather built this house in 1943. This house was built in 1943 by my grandfather 3 Picasso was painting Guernica at that time. Guernica was being painted by Picasso at that time 4 The cleaner has cleaned the office. The office has been cleaned by the cleaner 5 He had written three books before 1867. Three books had been written before 1867 by him 6 John will tell you later. LV onderwerp in passief You will be told later by John 7 By this time tomorrow, we will have signed the deal. by this time tomorrow, the deal will have been signed 8 Somebody should do the work. The work should been done by somebody 9 The traffic might have delayed Jimmy. Jimmy might have been delayed by the traffic 10 People speak Portuguese in Brazil. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil 11 Everybody loves Mr Brown. Mr Brown is loved by everybody

12 They are building a new stadium near the station.

English – 1LOG A new stadium is being built near the station 13 The wolf ate the princess. The princess was eaten by the wolf 14 At six o'clock someone was telling a story. at 6 o’clock a story was been told by someone 15 Somebody has drunk all the milk! All the milk has been drunk by somebody 16 I had cleaned all the windows before the storm. All the windows had been cleaned before the storm 17 A workman will repair the computer tomorrow. The computer will be repaired tomorrow by a workman ___________________________________________________________________________ 18 By next year, the students will have studied the passive. By next year the passive will have been studied by the students 19 James might cook dinner. Dinner might be cooked by James 20 Somebody must have taken my wallet. My wallet must have been taken by somebody Exercise 4: translation exercise 1 Het wordt laat. We worden verondersteld voor middernacht thuis te zijn. It’s getting late. We are supposed to be at home before midnight 2 Onze afdeling herenkleding wordt stilaan afgebouwd. Our men’s clothing wear department is being taken down slowly 3 Wie wordt de nieuwe voorzitter? Who will be the new chairman 4 Het late nieuws wordt verscheidene keren herhaald. The evening news becomes repetet a few times 5 Er wordt beweerd dat hij veel schulden heeft. It’s said that he has a lot of debt 6 Is de voorzitter ook op de receptie uitgenodigd? Is the chairman invited to the reception 7 Er werd ons maar weinig uitleg gegeven. Only a little bit of information has been given to us

English – 1LOG 8 Er werd geen rekening gehouden met verzachtende omstandigheden. Attenuating circumstances had not been taken into account 9 Mijn collega werd overvallen en van zijn portefeuille beroofd. My colleague was robbed and his wallet was taken from him 10 De eerste dag van ons verblijf werd ons al de rekening gepresenteerd. On the first day of our stay, the bill was already presentend to us...