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                                              Passive


Form:

We form passive verbs with the different tenses of verb to be + past participle.


Present simple:

Active: clean(s) / see(s) etc.

Passive: am/is/are  + cleaned/seen etc.


Somebody cleans this room every day.                       This room is cleaned every day.

She locks the house every evening.                The house is locked every evening.


Past simple:

Active: cleaned/saw etc.

Passive: was/were + cleaned/seen etc.


Somebody cleaned this room yesterday.                     This room was cleaned yesterday.

Somebody stole a lot of money last night.                    A lot of money was stolen last night.


Present perfect:

Active: have/has done etc.

Passive: have/has been done etc.


The room looked nice. Somebody has cleaned it.        The room looked nice. It has been cleaned.



Use:

1)  We often use the passive when we do not know who or what does/did something.

My car was stolen last night. (I don’t know who stole the car.)


2) We also use the passive when we are not interested in who or what does/did something.

The factory was painted during the war.

Sarah wasn‘t invited to the party.


In these sentences we are interested in the factory and Sarah, not who painted the factory, or who
invited Sarah.


3) We also use the passive when we do not want  to say who or what does/did something.

Active: I made a mistake.

Passive: A mistake was made.


4) By + agent

We sometimes use the subject of an active sentence as agent in a passive sentence. When this
happens, we use by to introduce the agent in the passive. We only use by+agent when it is important
to say who or what is responsible for something.

The telephone was invented by Alexander Bell in 1876.

My brother was bitten by a dog last week.


With + intrument/material

We use with to talk about an instrument which is used by the agent to do something. Compare:

I was hit with an umbrella.        I was hit by an old lady.


We also use with to talk about materials or ingredients.

The room was filled with smoke.

Irish coffee is made with whiskey.



Exercises:

1. Choose the correct form: active or passive:

1. A valuable painting stole / was stolen from the Central Art Gallery last night.

2. The thieves entered / were entered the gallery through a small window.

3. Walt Dishey created / was created the cartoon character Mickey Mouse.

4. Theis problem discussed /was discussed at the last meeting.

5. In 1964 martin Luther King won / was won the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1968 he assassinated / was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

6. The president arrived / was arrived in Prague yesterday afternoon.

7. Glass makes/ is made from sand.

8. This room doesn’t use / isn’t used very often.



2. Complete the sentences using the passive:

1. Football ______________________ (play) all over the world.

2. Millions of cars ______________________ (export) from Japan every month.

3. The Tower of London ______________________ (build) at the beginning of the eleventh century.

4. How many languages ______________________(speak) in Switzerland?

5. The washing machine was broken but it’s OK now. It ______________________ (repair).

6. The washing machine ______________________ (repair) yesterday afternoon.

7. A factory is a place where things ______________________ (make).

8. The bridge is closed at the moment. It ______________________ (damage) last week and it
______________________ (not repair) yet.

9. All flights ______________________ (cancel) because of fog.

10. Somebody called an ambulance but nobody ______________________ (injure) in the accident.

11. Where did you get this picture?  ______________________ (it/give) to you?

12. My car ______________________ (steal) last week but the next day it ______________________
(find) by the police.


3. Complete the sentences using the past simple passive of the verbs and by.


   paint         compose and sing      invent      discover      direct


Example:

The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway.


1. Radium _______________________________ Pierrre and Marie Curie.

2. The Goldrush ______________________________ Charlie Chaplin.

3. Imagine ______________________________ John Lennon.

4. The safety razor ______________________________ King Camp Gillette.

5. The Chair ______________________________ Vincent van Gogh.



4. Complete the sentences with by or with.


1. These photos were taken _______ a very cheap camera.

2. These photos were taken _______ my sister.

3. The cake was made _______ dried fruit.

4. The cake was made _______ my aunt.

5. The garage was painted _______ a new kind of paint.

6. The garage was painted _______ a friend of mine.