Passive 1
A Form
lo make the passive we use to be and a past participle:
Active Passive
Intel produces millions of chips every year. Millions of chips are produced every year.
Our supplier is shipping the goods next week. The goods are being shipped next week,
The government raised interest rates by 1%. Interest rates were raised by 1%.
He was asking me some difficult questions. I was being asked some difficult question:;.
They have chosen the new design. The new design has been chosen.
Rosa will give a press briefing tomorrow. A press briefing will be given tomorrow.
We can arrange a loan within six days. A loan can be arranged within six days.
We may give you some new safes targets. You may be given some new sales targets.
.'- The object in the active sentence {millions of chips/interest rates) moves to the front in the passive sentence and becomes the subject.
We form negatives and questions in the same way as in active sentences:
I he new design^ hasn't been chosen.        Has the new design been chosen?
□ Uses: focus on important information
In the active sentences above the person or organisation who does the action {Intel/The government I Rosa) is important.
■ ,!■ .In.the passive sentences above the person or organisation who does the action is not mentioned. It might be:
- unimportant
- clear from the situation
- unknown
Instead, the important information is either the actions (raised/chosen) or the things affected by the action {Millions of chips/The goods/A press briefing).
■"  Study these examples;
A very large proportion of world oil production is generated in the Middle East. (Gulf Busifftfts Magazine website.)
Hero the writer wants to emphasise the amount of oil. Who did the action {generate) is clear or not important.
The North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) was established in 1993 to link die United States, Canada and Mexico in a free trade agreement. (Latin Trade wdisiLe)
Here the writer wants to say when and why the action happened. Who did the action {establish) is not important.
Deutsche Post AG will offer investors share price discounts and bonus shares as part of its planned initial public offering. These incentives will be offered to retail investors in EV countries who make an early subscription. (Wall Street Journal Europe website)
Here the writer wants to give information about the incentives. Who will do the action {offer) is not important or not known.
C Uses: systems and processes
1 We often use the passive to talk about systems, processes and procedures:
The barky used to make malt whisky takes about seven months to grow in the field, In August the barky is harvested and then left to rest for a couple of months. The next step is 'matting', an ancient chemistry full oj tradition. It gives a rich, warm flavour to the whisky ami causes the grain to produce starches, which are converted to sugars at a later stage of the process. The matted barley is rested for about three weeks then ground into four and placed into huge vessels where it is mixed with hot water to make a 'wort'. The wort is cooled, then run into another vessel. Here, yeast is added, and the starch is turned into sugars, producing a dear liquid called 'the wash'. It is distillation that turns this imsh into whisky. In distilling, the liquid is heated until the spirit turns to vapour, then condensed back into liquid. By law, Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three years. (Adapted from Dewar's Scotch "Whisky website)
%■ To show a sequence in a process we use words like: Firstly/First of all Then, The next step, Next, After that, Finally:
First of all the finished products are checked for quality, then they are packed and sent out
from our warehouse. After dispatch we allow customers to follow the progress of their order on our Intranet. Finally, we get a digital image of the signature of the person who receives the goods, so that this can be checked later, if necessary.
D Saying who does the action
In all the passive examples above the person or organisation that does the action is not
mentioned. If we want to say who does the action then we use by.
The goods are being shipped next week by our supplier in China.
A pfess briefing will be given tomorrow by our Information Officer, Rosa Mendoza.
The factory is staffed by the local people who worked there before, hut on a completely different
basis. (Business News Americas website)
E Transitive and intransitive verbs
1  Verbs which usually take objects are called transitive verbs (eg; help). Verbs which do not usually take objects are cafled intransitive verbs (eg: look). A: Can I help you? E: No, J'm just looking.
Dictionaries show this information with T or I. Some verbs can be both transitive and
intransitive. Only transitive verbs can be made passive.
Raise (T)       Interest rates were raised last month. possible
Increase (TII) Interest rates were increased last month. possible
Go up (I)       Interest rates wore gone up last month. not possible
9 Practice
Exercise 1 A
Complete each sentence with a passive verb. You may need a negative form.
1 Somebody damaged the goods in transit.
The goods.............W&T£...dfMw^edcL...........in transit.
2 Thousands of peopie see this advert every day.
This advert..........,.........................+.,.............. by thousands of people every day.
3 They will not finish the project by the end of the month.
The project ,........................................................by the end of the month.
4 They have closed fifty retail outlets over the last year
Fifty retail outlets.........................................................over the last year.
5 We are reviewing all ol our IT systems.
AIJ of our IT systems............._..........„_.........__.....................
6 We cannot ship your order until we receive payment.
Your order.........................................................untri we roceive payment.
Exorcise* 2 6 D
Decide if it is necessary to say who does the ^ctiort. If it is not necessary, cross it out. if it is necessary, put a tick ryj,
1 I don't think your proposal will be accepted by people.
2 The company was founded by the father of the present chairman. ■/
3 All our machines are serviced by high y trained technicians.
4 This machine isn't working agsinJ It was repaired yesterday by a technician.
5 The conference was opened oy someone from the London Business School,
6 I'll be shown round the ^actoty by someone, and then I'll meet the sales team.
Exercise 3 A B D E
Rewrite these sentences using the passive if it s possible. You may need1 a negative form. If it is not possib'e {because the verb is intransitive) put a cross A.
1 Our R&D department have discovered a promising new drug,
..A..fcr£*"'.?i^4...^^ .................
2 The inflation rate went down by 05% last month.
A.......................................................................................................
3 One of our best young designers created this line.
4 I'm sorry, we can't do that-
5 Something very interesting happened to me last week.
6 We're spending more than a million dollars on advertising this year.
7 The Accounts Department -nay not authorise this payment.
S i worked as a consultant for four years after my MBA
Exercise 4 A B C
A marketing manager is writing a training manual that explains how the company uses questionnaires to do market research. Complete the text by putting the verbs from the list below into the present sinp e passive
dffiffi   send back   distribute   offer   put   outsource analyse
First, we carefully select a sample of people to ask. Then the questions (1) . «v?£...r&£j^£d.....by a small
team within the department. Next, the questions (2)................................into sequence and grouped
together by topic. After that, we print the questionnaire and it (3)................................to everyone in the
sample. Of course, not all the lorms {4}..............-................. to us, but we try to collect as many as possible.
Sometimes a smafl gift (5)................................to people who return the forms, as an incentive. Finally
we enrer all the results onto a spreadsheet, and the information (6) H,.,................by the marketing
department. If we are using a very large sample the distribution and collection (7)................................to an
external company.
ISsierciss   Jk fcJ
Helen is starting her own business. Look at the extract from her planning schedule, then complete her letter to a business advice service. Cihoose either the present perfect passive (has/nat* been done), present continuous passive {a/are being cfcnp) or a modal passive form (eg: should be done).
Contact ban-; to arrange loan. </
Find office space. /
fcquipment needed? Order if necessary, in progress
Print business cards, stationery, etc. In progress
Decorate office, order furniture, etc. Finish end of month
Place advertisements in local press. /
Review staffing needs for Christmas period. November
Dear Sir or Madam
I am writing to arrange an interview with one uf your business advisers 'o discuss my business starl-up. I've analysed the market very carefully and I believe that I have a good business plan. I can give you n few details of my progress so far.
JJvehadseve™l meetings with my bank, and a, loan (1) ^...k^.^fr^^ (arrange) I've found some
office space in a good location, although some work (2)....................................(will/need) there before I can
move in. I've reviewed my equipment needs and in fact some specialised items (3)....................................
(order) aj the moment. My business cards (4)...........,......................(print) and will be ready in a week or
so. This week I'm busy decorating the office, and 1 (5)....................................(should / finish) by the find of
the month-
I know that soon I'll have to advertise in the local press, and perhaps you could advise me on this matEer.
Finally, I'd like some help planning my staffing needs - extra staff (6)....................................(might/ need)
over the Chrisimas period.
Yours faithfully
HeteA CWwicfc
Passive 2
A Uses: linking to previous information
The choice of active or passive often depends on how we want to continue from the previous sentence: ______
(hj'^o I'toUuvs))*-, ont< of Germany's best known businessmen.[He] founded SAP in 1372 after working for IBM. (active)
(5AP)is a world leader in business software^ltjwas founded by Hasso Plattner in 1972 after he left IBM. (passive)
h Uses: being formal/impersonal
The passive is often used in business correspondence where The writer wants to be impersonal Compare:
active more personal
We ord&red twenty filter units from you on the 16th March and the courier delivered thom yesterday. Unfortunately, when we opened the package someone had damaged two of the units. Our production department needs these items urgently.
passive moro impersonal
Twenty filter units were ordered from you on the 1 &th March and they were delivered yesterday. Unfortunately, when the package was opened two of the units had been damaged. These items are needed urgently by our production department.
Passives are frequent in formal writing generally, eg: reports and legal documents. Other language in the text will also be formal; (/.outran of I ■nipioyment
(i) Offer, of employment. The offer may he expressed directly or it may be implied by conduit, ft must he communicated to the employee. The after can he withdrawn at any time before acceptance, (i) Written Condition?. After the nmrmct is made, every employee must be.given a written statement of terms and conditions of empipyiunM. (liminiiss Link website)
Passives are used in phrases with it to report what people said in a formal way; ft was said f agreed that ... .
Try to find a balance between active and passive forms. Too many passive forms can make a letter or report difficult to understand.
Passive + infinitive
The verbs believe, expert, know, report, say, think, suppose, understand are often used in the present simple passive followed by an infinitive (to do}.. This use is common in news reports: 'VUe HluisJnn'iiU C.(\\Hi«H}' is expected to expand 6% ofer li\e next heo years n_s rii-iilg demand across Jinropc boosts demand for locally produced cars and refrigerators. Oottsnmer prices are predicted to rise by an animal average of 7% next year,  (cebti website)
To refer to the past we use believe, expect, etc with to have done.
Many investment hanks, are believed to have suffered losses in the high yield, or 'junh', bond market in recent months.  (FT.com website)
$J  To refer to an activity in progress at the moment we use believe, expect, etc with to be doing. Ericsson is known to be looking at the possibility of outsourcing its low price, entry-level phones in Taiwan. (Economist website)
D Verbs with two objects
0 Some verbs have two objects. We can:
give I lend/offer/promise/sell/send I take something to somebody book I buy/keep I wake/prepare/save something for somebody
'In active sentences we can use these verbs in two ways; ABB gave a large order to us last year, (with to) ABB gave us a large order last year,    (without to)
The form without to/for is more usual.
Each way can be made passive. One of the objects becomes the subject of the passive sentence, the other stays as an object.
A large order was given to us by ABB last year, (with to) We were given a large order by ABB last year (without to)
Again, the form without to/for is more usual.
E Have something done
! When a professional person, eg, a technician or accountant, does some work for us, we can use have something done: We have our accounts audited by KPMG. We had our offices redecorated last year. We're going to have a new air conditioning system installed. You must have your computers checked for viruses.
'  We can use get in place of have in most cases. This is more informal. We got the contract checked by our lawyers.
¥ To be born
Si To be born is a passive form but does not have an obvious passive meaning. / was born in Uruguay.
■i
10 Practice
Exercise 1 A
Head each statement 1-5 tr-en choose which sentence a) or b) shoufd follow. Pu- a tick (/) by the correct
Exercise 4 B
16   Complete the report by putting the verbs in brackets into the present perfect active (has done) cr pjiafisye been don?)
Chevron and Texaco are going to merge via a SJ6 billion offer by Chevron.
a) Senior executives first discussed it a year ago.
b) It was First discussed by senior executives a year ago. The process of economic union in Europe is progressing quickly, a) A commissioner from Spain called Pedro Solbes is directing it. b} It is being directed by Pedro Solbes, a commissioner from Spain. Pedro Solbes is Europe's commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, a) He is directing the difficult process of economic union, b} The difficult process of economic union is being directed by him. Novartis shares rose by 32 Swiss francs in Zurich yesterday, a) They are going to lajnch a new drug called Slarlix later this yea"
1
□
□
□
□
n
b) A new drug called Sta/lix is going to be launched by tnem later this year. LD 5 Stariix is a powerful new drug for treating diabetes.
a) Novgrtis are going to launch it later this year. □
b) It is going to be launched by Novanis later this year.
Exercise 2 C E F
Underline the correci words
1 I had my car be repaired/repyired yesterday.
2 Profits are expected grow/to grow rjy 10% n tie next quarter.
3 I was bom/bom in a little town just outside Oijon.
4 Were getting the machines cleaned/to be cleaned tomorrow.
5 The Board is thought to be demanded/have demanded his resignation.
6 We have the components assembling/assembled in Taiwan.
7 Where exactly were you barn/did you bornl
3  She is supposed ta been looking/to be looking for a new job-
Exercise 3 D
Complete the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first sentence.
1 David Gill from Marketing lent me this book.
...„..................I wa* ldiv-t____________..........thrs book hy David Gi.l from Marketing.
2 This sample was given to mc at the Trade Fair.
______....._______...................................................this sample at the Trade Tair.
3 They promised us delivery Within two weeks of our order.
We.....................................................................within two weeks of our order.
4 A textile firm near Milan made this fabric for us. .....................................................................for us by a textile firm near Milan.
5 This order was sent to us through our website.
...............l..................................................T„ this order through our website.
6 My ^eaetaiy booked the flight forme
............________________..............................._.........       far mc by my secretary.
Brazil (I) ^r*r^.ff?r^^.... (Transform) from era economy based an sugar and coffee into a
leading ijidustLinl power,and rlns (2)...............(happen) ovlta relatively ihort rime period.
Over recent yo^m inflation {3).......,..................................[bring) under control, .md foreign direct
investment (4) _______....._____.............,Th.........(micoiiTage).
The Government P)-------...................................(privatise) many state-owned companies, and they
(6) +,.,h..................................... (oho/invest) a lot of money in advanced infrastructure. In m attempt K5
deceit rntlise the economy. Campings was chosen to IV Hrasils IT c.ipit.i!T and car production
(7)........................................,. (move) away from traditional centres to states such an Rio CiiMiide da Stil
in die south, No one pretends that ill the old problems (S) ,..r.......„„.,______________..... f\olvc), but lSniy.il
ib timtiry taking its place on the world stage.
Exercise 5 C
17 Read the article about Manchester United, t'nen complete it with the verbs in the brackets. Put the first verb in the present simple passive (to be done) and the .second verb m a suitable Form of the infinitive (To da, to be doing, or to have done)
Manchester United: just a game of football?
Manchester United is But senior executives ilic eapaciiy erf the stadium limn .^OOO
(I) ^&.j!m&&.favJgg&..... (3).................................................. seats lo 67,400 muih. Bui this
(suppose/hiive) between 10 million and (know/lnok at) other, ways m generate. (6)..........................______.......(think/be} ;i
30 million supporter* llirnughout th;.' world, income Lit the moment. For example, the yood investment as it will generate nearly
In Norway, for example, tine in every 140 club (4)............................................______ £7.5 million in additional turnover annually.
people (2).................................................. [believe/develop) e-comincrcu initiatives The main costs at the club are the sanies of
(say/be) a i Entered supporter. Ticket through a. set ieF; ol alliances. Costs at the i lie players. Last year the team's capuiin
sales and merchandising contribute over club continue; to increase. A few years ago (7)..................................................
half of the club's revenue, with the club (.5).......................................... (understand/negotiate) i four-year uminiei
television contributing a further 20%. (report/spend) £3()m on a plan to expand worth over eijrht figures.
Essarcose 6 IS
The (wo emails below are veiy *>imilaf, hut the nne on the right is more impersonal. Complete it by us;ng verbs (njiti the first email in the correct form of the passive.
Thank you for your order for PCplus software which we received this morning. Our fulfillment team is dealing with your urder, and we expect that we will deliver the package to you within 10 working days. I have included our current price list as an attachment, PJease note wo only guarantee these prices until 31 December. Thank you for choosing soft.com.
Thank you for your order for PCplus software which
(1)........X*&Jff£$&ft........Ihis morning. Your order
(2)........................................by our fulfillment team and we
expect that the package (3)................................, to you
within 10 working days. Our current price list
(4}..................■ ■.................. as an attachment. Please note
that these prices (5)........................................until
31 December. Thank you for choosing soft.com.