Passive Voice

Passive Voice Riddle 1: Who am I ?   When I am closed, I look like a stick.     When I am opened, I look like a dome.    When I am not being used, I am kept in a tight cover.    

Passive Voice Riddle 2: Who am I ?       The more I am used, the shorter I become.      I am loved by teachers.      I shouldn’t be eaten.      I am easily broken. I leave a powdery streak.

In this lesson, we look at the of the passive: form / meaning / use  How do we form the passive? What does it mean? When should we use the passive ?

Passive Voice in Rhyme Solomon Grundy Born on a Monday Christened on Tuesday Married on Wednesday Took ill on Thursday Worse on Friday Died on Saturday Buried on Sunday This is the end Of Solomon Grundy

Put ‘was’ in the ( ) if needed. Exercise 1 Put ‘was’ in the ( ) if needed. Solomon Grundy (      ) born on a Monday.  He (      ) christened on Tuesday.  He (       ) married on Wednesday.  He (       ) took ill on Thursday.  He (      ) worse on Friday  He (      ) died on Saturday  He (      ) buried on Sunday  This is the end of Solomon Grundy.  was was was was

Passive Voice be + past participle

To make the past participle: Regular verbs: Add –ed. Irregular verbs: See Appendix 6 (p. A-10 and A-11) in the textbook.

How is the passive formed? Be + past participle sell - sold - sold / build – built - built Original paintings sell for lots of money. Those pyramids built around 400 AD. are sold for lots of were built

If you want to name who performed the action (the agent), use a by-phrase. I was given a recipe by a kind neighbor.

The form of be shows the tense. The portrait was drawn by a street artist. The portrait is being drawn by a street artist. The portrait will be drawn by a street artist.

The form of be shows the tense. The portrait was drawn by a street artist. The portrait is being drawn by a street artist. The portrait will be drawn by a street artist. simple past present progressive simple future

Do Exercise 2, p. 49 1. …had been forgotten

Exercise 2, p. 49 was established is manufactured is obtained will be required will be discovered is being made had been left 9. was built 10. is produced 11. will have been sent 12. had been noticed 13. will be needed 14. have been forgotten 15. are being studied

A performer of the action Active sentences focus on performing an action. Passive sentences focus on receiving an action. My daughter made this painting. A performer of the action This painting was made by my daughter. This painting was made by my daughter. A receiver of the action

This photo was taken by him. He took this photo.

This photo was taken by him. focus on performing the action. focus on receiving the action. He took this photo. This photo was taken by him.

Only transitive verbs have passive forms The passive can only be made from a verb that has an object (a transitive verb—v.t. in the dictionary). On p. 56, there is a list of some words that never have passive forms.

The civilization was disappeared. was disappeared.

Exercise 2 Read each sentence and state if it’s possible to make the sentence passive. My mother painted this room. She painted from morning till night. The room looks bigger and bright.

Exercise 2 Read each sentence and state if it’s possible to make the sentence passive. My mother painted this room. She painted from morning till night. The room looks bigger and bright. This room was painted by my mother. No. No.

Exercise 3, p. 50 are spoken have been mined are considered is eaten is consumed were worshipped has been developed were both invented

Exercise 7, p 52, No. 1 Active Pilots discovered the Nazca Lines. Passive The Nazca Lines were discovered by pilots.

Exercise 7, p 52, no. 2 Active The ancient Romans could not explain Stonehenge. Passive Stonehenge could not be explained by the ancient Romans.

Exercise 7, p 52, no. 3 Active Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated John F. Kennedy. Passive John F. Kennedy was assassinated by ‘Lee Harvey Oswald.

Exercise 7, p 52, no. 4 Active Beings from outer space visited the Earth. Passive The Earth was visited by beings from outer space.

Exercise 7, p 52, no. 5 Active Parents teach their children good manners. Passive Children are taught good manners by their parents.

Exercise 7, p 52, no. 6 Active Society discriminates against social minorities. Passive Social minorities are discriminated against by society.

Why do we use the passive? The person or thing performing the action is unknown. The window was broken. - A by-phrase is not used.

The person or thing performing the action is not important. Too many books have been written about the Second World War.

It’s clear to everyone who or what performed the action. “I made a tasty dish the other night. This chicken was baked in the oven with carrots, potatoes, and lots of onions.” -Who did the baking?

We want to avoid saying who or what performed the action. “Why is this milk warm?” “Because it was left out for a while.” I did it, but I don’t want to admit I’m the one who forgot to put it away.

We want to highlight someone’s work. (often artistic or creative work) “This concerto was written by Beethoven.”

Exercise 4 Read each statement and explain why the passive voice is used. Our mail is delivered at the same time every day. Here are my books. They are written for English language learners. - It’s clear to everyone who delivered the mail. - It’s clear from the context. I wrote them.

- To avoid accusing the other person. Wife to husband, “Honey, the trash bags weren’t put in the trash cans. It looks kind of messy, don’t you think?” These jeans were made in Hong Kong. - To avoid accusing the other person. - We don’t know exactly who made these jeans.

Compare with text, p. 57 When do we use the passive? If the agent if unknown If the agent is not the focus If the agent is obvious from the context To focus on the receiver To make general explanations In scientific and technical writing

CAUTION Be careful: When describing how some- thing is done (rather than how to do it yourself), passive may be necessary in English when it is not present in the Chinese.

Example from the homework 過濾之後的豆渣亦可煎炸入菜，或餵給豬吃。 WRONG: The pulp that remains after filtering can fry and add to other dishes, or they can feed pigs. Who is feeding the pigs?

Example from the homework 過濾之後的豆渣亦可煎炸入菜，或餵給豬吃。 CORRECTED: The pulp that remains after filtering can be fried and added to other dishes, or they can be fed to pigs. As long as we’re being fed, we don’t care who’s feeding us!