Passive B2

English uses the passive more often than many other languages. When? We don’t know the agent. His house has been burgled several times. We want to be impersonal and avoid mentioning the agent. It is thought the accident was caused by drink driving.

To emphasise the action rather than the agent Borders between countries are being broken down. To use a more formal style. All complaints should be submitted in writing.

Structure The subject of the sentence is not the doer/agent. Use verb be in the appropriate tense + past participle (3rd principle form). To mention the agent use by. To show what the agent uses to do the action use with.

Compare: He was hit by a piece of wood. He was hit with a piece of wood. (by= it fell and hit him) (with= smb hit him using it)

Present simple passive Active : I write letters every day. Passive: Letters are written every am, is are + verb (-ed/III pf.) Letters are not written every day. Are letters written every day? When are letters written? Who are letters written by?

Present continuous passive Active: I am writing letters right now. Passive: Letters are being written right now. am, is, are being + verb (-ed/IIIpf.) Letters are not being written. Are letters being written? Why are letters being written? Who are letters being written by?

Past simple passive Active: I wrote the letters yesterday. Passive: The letters were written yesterday. was,were + verb (-ed/III pf) Letters were not written yesterday. Were the letters written yesterday? When were the letters written? Who were the letters written by?

Past continuous passive Active: I was writing letters when he came. Passive: Letters were being written was, were + being + verb (-ed/III pf) Letters were not being written. Were letters being written? When were letters being written? Who were letters being written by?

Present perfect passive Active: I have written some letters. Passive: Some letters have been written. A letter has been written. have/has + been + verb(-ed/IIIpf) The letters have not been written. Have the letters been written? When have the letters been written? Who have the letters been written by?

Past perfect passive Active: She had written the lettrs before the meeting started. Passive: The letters had been written before the meeting started. had+been+ verb (-ed/IIIpf) The letters had not been written. Had the letters been written? When had the letters been written? Who had the letters been written to?

Future simple passive /modals Active: I will/should write the letters tomorrow. Passive: The letters will/should be written tomorrow. will/modal + be + verb (-ed/III pf) Letters will/can not be written. Will/must letters be written. How will/should letters be written? Where will/might letters be written to?

Future perfect passive Active: By 4pm I will have written all letters. Passive: By 4pm all letters will have been written. will have +been+verb(-ed/IIIpf) All letters will not/won’t have been written. Will all letters have been written? When will all letters have been written?

Causative have/get sth done The subject of the sentence is not the doer. The subject is somebody who uses smb else’s services. The verb have (or get) is used in the appropriate tense form After the appropriate tense form of have comes something The verb is always in the past participle form.

make smb do sth= force smb to do sth Active : The teacher made us write an essay. Passive: We were made to write an essay. Hear, listen to, see, notice, watch, observe, feel Active: I saw him enter the building (whole activity) Passive: He was seen to enter the building.

Change into passive The audience heard her sing the old classics. She was heard to sing the old classics. We watched the children dance at the concert The children were watched to dance ...

Hear, listen to, see, notice, watch, observe, feel I saw him running down the street. He was seen running down the street.

Active or passive? They are decorating my house? Why wasn’t I informed about the changes? Men don’t consider chores a male job. Mother sent the children to the country for the summer. Who was the book written by? He hasn’t been given any answer yet? By the end of the year the project will have been worked on for 3 years. My parents will surely meet me at the airport. Tom had finished his work before they started the discussion. Which vase should I put the flowers into?

Causative have/get sth done The subject of the sentence is not the doer. The subject is somebody who uses smb else’s services. The verb have (or get) is used in the appropriate tense form After the appropriate tense form of have comes something The verb is always in the past participle form.

Present simple causative Their rooms are cleaned by a cleaner. - Passive They usually have/get their rooms cleaned by a cleaner. - Causative have/has sth done

Present continuous causative The editor is proofreading my article. I am having my article proofread by the editor. – am/is/are having sth done

Past simple causative A famous chef prepaired their food. They had their food prepaired by a famous chef. Had sth done

Past continuous causative Their house was being painted. They were having their house painted. was/ were having sth done

Present perfect causative Our coats have always been made by the same tailor. We have always had our coats made by the same tailor. have/has had sth done

Present perfect continuous causative He has been fixing my computer for hours. I have been having my computer fixed for hours. have/has been having sth done

Past perfect causative The dentist had checked her teeth before she took the trip. She had had her teeth checked before ... had had sth done

Future simple causative My