In the last unit, we talked about the passive voice. Do you remember what passive voice is? Bingo! Passive voice is formed by making the object of the sentence into the subject of the sentence.Bingo! Passive voice is formed by making the object of the sentence into the subject of the sentence. John broke the window.John broke the window. The window was broken by John.The window was broken by John.

Do you remember the function of the passive voice? Do you remember the function of the passive voice? 1.focusing on the person or the things affected by the action. In the following dialogue: Uncle Bill comes to visit Mum. Mum: Bill, I’m going to show you a beautiful vase. It was given to me by my grandpa. (Mum is looking for it) Susan, have you seen my vase? Susan: Sorry. It was broken by me yesterday. In the above situation, the vase is the focus/ the topic of the dialogue. Therefore, the two underlying sentences are written in passive voice to make the object that being affected by the action be the subject of the sentence.

2. we don’t k now who did the action. My wallet was stolen.My wallet was stolen. Mr. Smith was murdered.Mr. Smith was murdered. The cak e has been eaten.The cak e has been eaten. In the above sentences, the speaker does not know who did the actions. So they use passive voice to avoid mentioning the subject, instead of using “someone” or “somebody” to stand for an unknown person.

Forms of PASSIVE: + Present Tense: is / am / are + killed / hurt Past Tense: was / were + broken / stolen Future Tense: will be + built / done Present Perfect Tense: has / have been given Verbs with modals: can be done/ should be followed verb to be action verb (past participle)

The MTR’s Tseung Kwan O line connects Tseung Kwan O to Po Lam. Tseung Kwan O is connected to Po Lam by the MTR’s Tseung Kwan O line.

The government will build a swimming pool in our neighbourhood. A swimming pool will be built in our neighbourhood by the government.

The government built an air-conditioned market in our neighbourhood last year. An air-conditioned market was built in our neighbourhood by the government last year.

The developer will build a new theme park in this area. A new theme park will be built in this area by the developer.

The developer built a new shopping mall in Kwun Tong last year. A new shopping mall was built by the developer last year.

The government built Hong Kong Central Library in Hong Kong Central Library was built by the government in 2001.

The club house provides laundry services. Laundry services are provided by the club house

The housing estate provides shuttle bus services. Shuttle bus services are provided by the housing estate.

Nancy has booked the badminton court. The badminton court has been booked by Nancy.

Uncle Bill has bought this beautiful villa. This beautiful villa has been bought by Uncle Bill.