f'\

~~---.

t 1311 Listen and repeat. Then act out.

The Passive
. -- - -------_ ..
~- - -
o
You were highly recommended for this job. I You will be paid £1,000 to start
have been given some good reports about you. with and £1,500 after a year.
I'm pleased to say you've got ,the job.

The passive is formed by using the appropriate tense of the verb to be + past participle. I
Active Voice ------, Passive Voice

~
Present Simple They repair cars. ars are repaired.
Present Continuous They are repairing the car. The car is being repaired.
Past Simple They repaired the car. The car was repaired.
Past Continuous They were repairing the car. The car was being repaired.
Future Simple They will repair the car. The car will be repaired.
Present Perfect They have repaired the car. The car has been repaired.
Past Perfect They had repaired the car. The car had been repaired.
Future Perfect They will have repaired the car. The car will have been repaired.
Present Infinitive They will have to repair the car. The car will have to be repaired.
Perfect Infinitive She ought to have repaired the car. IThe car ought to have been repaired.
-ing form He likes people admiring his new car. He likes his new car being admired. I
Perfect -ing form Having repaired the car, ... The car, having been repaired, ...
Modals You must repair this car. This car must be repaired. I
.-J
The passive is used:
• when the agent (the person who does the action) is unknown, unimportant or obvious
from the context. I
My car was stolen yesterday. (unknown agent)
The road repairs were completed last week. (unimportant agent)
The kidnappers have been arrested. (by the police - obvious agent)
• to make statements more polite or formal.
My new suit has been burnt. (It's more polite than saying "You've burnt my new suit. ")
• when the action is more important than the agent - as in news reports, formal notices,
instructions, processes, headlines, advertisements, etc.
Taking pictures is not allowed. (written notice)
The local bank was robbed this morning. (news report)
Bread is baked in an oven for about 45 minutes. (process)
• to put emphasis on the agent.
The Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror.

65
o The Passive

1 Fill in: ;s / are, was / were, have / has been.

Sally told 'me her wedding dress ...•. Wt1r;> • •••• 5 Coffee ................. grown in Brazil.
designed by Vera Wang. 6 Documentaries on marine life .. / .. . ........ ..
2 Before the clothes shop closed, eighty people shown on TV for many years.
· ..•............. employed there. 7 Hamlet and Macbeth .........•.•..... written
3 On the first day of our holiday, we ............• by William Shakespeare.
taken on a wonderful tour of the city by our 8 The injured man ................. taken to
guide. hospital half an hour ago.
4 Jeans ........•........ worn by both men and 9 Jenny is excited because she ................ .
~omen nowadays. offered a new job.

Note: We can use the verb to get instead of the verb to be in everyday speech when we talk
about things that happen by accident or unexpectedly.
Sam got hit by a cyclist as he was crossing the road.
I
2 Complete the sentences using get and the following verbs in the correct form.

damage steal hurt invite hit

Olga .. ~P.t. ?"/{l,Ir6. .. by a bee while she was 4 Mary is very popular. She often
sitting in the garden . .. ...... to parties.
2 As he was walking through the park, Tom .... 5 There was a fire in my apartment block but
· . • . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . .. by a baseball. luckily no one •........ ............. .
3 Please be careful with those boxes. I don't want 6 While travelling , you must always watch your
anything to ...................... . . bags or they might ...................... .

3 Rewrite the newspaper headlines as complete sentences.

,
RARE BIRD FOUND 4
Qyeen WELCOMED TO
\\ IN REMOTE COUNTRYSIDE ,-----AUSTRALIA YESTERDAY J
· A. t;~r~. bird .h~~. beAI1.f.aurd. jo .tb~. ....... . 4 ....... . ........... ......................... .
· .rAmQte: . r;QW1tr.y~i{k•.. . ................. ..
::
2
NEW JERSEY TO BE HIT
5 ~ FIVE PEOPLE INJURED
BY BAD WEATHER TOMORROW ~ CAR ACCIDENT.--/

2 ............................................ . 5 ............................................ .
•

3 6
EXPERIMENTS BEING CARRIED LAST NIGHrS POP CONCERT
OUT ON MOON ROCKS CALLED OFF BECAUSE OF RAIN
'--- -'

3 ............................................ . 6 '" ......................................... .

66
The Passive 0
4 Fill in the passive in the appropriate tense, then justify its use.

• unimportant / obvious agent • polite stateA'leRt • emphasis on the agent

• action more important than the agent • process • news report

2 3

(the animals / shouldn't / (Oliver Twist / write / (just / tell / the bad news)
feed) Charles Dickens)
.... The( JJr,JilMl.~ • •••••••••
.. . . fihQl)lejn.'t .i<f;.f.e(ej, .....
4 5 6

(dinner / serve) (the building / destroy / fire) (cheese / make / from milk)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive fo.rm.

Harry Potter is a popular film series based on the fantasy'

novels that 1) •• •~~r.e.l"'((i;t.~~IJ ... (write) by J.K. Rowling. It's about a
young orphan boy who goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to
learn how to become a proper wizard. At Hogwarts, Potter discovers that when he
was a baby, he 2) ... . .................. (attack) by the dark wizard Lord
Vol~76rt, who had also killed his parents.
)'le main character in the films, Harry Potter, 3) .•••••••••••••••••• (play) by the
actor Daniel Radcliffe. Daniel Radcliffe 4) •..••..••.••.•••••••• (be/born) in 1989.
He 5) ••••••••..••...•••.•.• (choose) to play the leading role when he was just 11 .
Today, Daniel Radcliffe is one of the most recognised faces in the world. The
series has brought him great wealth, too! In 2009, he 6) .................... ..
(rank) the 12th richest young person in the UK.

67
o The Passive

6 Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive tense .

.
A: Are you going to the concert tomorrow? 7 A: The hotel is in terrible condition .
B: No, I'm not. It ... bi3.~ .b.f;~n. Ci3./']c~Jled .... B: Yes. It .................................. ~
(cancel) because of the bad weather. (should/repair) .
2 A: Did you receive my parcel? 8 A: Do you have any plans for this evening?
B: No, it .................. (not/deliver) yet. B: I'm going to an art exhibition wt)iCh ..... .
3 A: Will there be any prizes? ................... (hold) afthe museum .
B: Yes. Medals ...................... (give) 9 A: Should I leave a tip?
, to the winners. B: You don 't have to. The service ........... .
4 A: Can I expect to get to England on time? (include) in the bill.
B: Sorry Madam , but all flights ........... : .. 10 A: Is you r new house ready to move into?
.............. (delay) . B: No. The walls .......................... .
5 A: Is there anything I can do for you , sir? (not/paint) yet.
B: Yes, these faxes ..............•....•..... 11 A: Did you go to Lisa's party?
(should/send) right away. B: No. I ........................ (not/invite).
6 A: Did you hear about the missing girl? 12 A: Have they caught the bank robbers yet?
B: Yes. Luckily, she ................... (find) B: Unfortunately; no arrests ................ .
at the train station. ....•......•.•.. (make) .

Changing from active into passive

• The object of the
active verb becomes
_ _ Subject Verb Object Ag~ nt
the subject in the new active Bell invented the telephone.
sentence. The active
verb changes into a
I
passive The telephone I was invented by Bell.
---'
passive form and the subject of the active verb becomes the agent. The agent (= person
who does the action) is introduced with 'by' or is omitted.
• We use by + agent to say who or what did the action. We use with + instrument, material
or ingredient to say what instrument or material the agent used.
A kite was made by Tim. (Tim did the action.)
Mr Smith was hit by Billy with a ball. (The ball is the instrument the agent used.)
The cake was made with flour, sugar and eggs. (Flour, sugar and eggs are the ingredients the agent used.)
• We put the agent (= person who performs the action) into the passive when it is a specific
or an important person or when it is essential to the meaning of the sentence. When the
agent is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context, it is omitted. Agents such as
someone, people, I, you, etc. are omitted.
Macbeth was written by Shakespeare. (The agent is not omitted ; it is essential to the meaning of the
sentence.)
Somebody took my pen. + My pen was taken (by somebody). (unknown agent; it is omitted.)
• After modal verbs (will, can, may, etc.) we use be + past participle or have been + past
participle.
They may close down the theatre. + The theatre may be closed down.
They may have reported the bank robbery. + The bank robbery may have been reported.
• With verbs that take two objects it is more usual to begin the passive sentence with the
person.
They sent a letter to him. + He was sent a letter. (more usual) / A letter was sent to him. (less usual)

68
The Passive ()
• Make, hear, see, help, are followed by a to infinitive in the passive.
They made me apologise . .. I was made to apologise.
• When we want to find out who or what did something, then the passive question form is as
follows: Who / What ... by? Who was penicillin discovered by? What was the fire caused by?
• The verbs believe, expect, feel, hope, know, report, say, think, etc. can be used in the
following passive patterns:
People say she is rich .
a) It + passive + that-clause (impersonal construction) It is said that she is rich.
b) subject (person) + passive + to infinitive (personal construction) She is said to be rich.

7 Write the sentences in the passive.

An expert is restoring the antique car. .T.hf; .~t1tjqJJ.t< f;.J1r. J;:;. bejt1g. ref?.tor.f;d. b},. ~J1 t<Xp~rt •..........
2 Steven Spielberg has directed a lot of successful films . . ....................•........................
3 They saw two men running out of the bank . ...................................................... .
4 A number of reporters will meet the professor at the airport. . ...........................•.............
5 A famous designer is going to redecorate the President's house. . ................................•...
6 The Romans founded Bath in the first century AD . ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
7 A loud noise woke Mary up . ..................................................................... .
8 He made her work overtime. . ....................................•...............................
9 Van Gogh painted Sunflowers . ................................................................... .
10 Astronauts are exploring space . ................................................................. .

8 Write the sentences in the passive. Omit the agent where it can be omitted.

1 People chop down a lot of trees every year. A Jot. of. tr.eefj. ~re. chapped down e.ve.r;y. },e.ar.. .,or.rJit.t.t:d)
2 Homer wrote the Iliad . .......................................................................... .
3 The government will introduce new measures against crime. . ..................................... .

4 Someone has burgled Ann 's house. . ............................................................ .

5 She offered me a cup of tea. . .••....•......•..... r ••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••
6 They check passports at Passport Control. .•...........•............................•...•.........
7 A million people visit the cathedral every year . ....................•.................•....... ~..... .

8 ~;~~~~~ .~~~ '~t;I~~~i~~',~ '~i~';~I~: . : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :: : : : : : : :

9 The mayor will op~n the exhibition . . ............................................................. .
o Somebody saw Roger leave . ....•.......................•...........•............................

9 Fill in by or with.

This salad is made . wittJ. tomatoes and onions. 5 The picture was painted Jackson
2 That novel was written ......... D. H. Lawrence. Pollock.
3 The garden was dug ........... a spade. 6 The house was built .............. stone and
The pudding was made ........... chocolate. bricks.

69
G The Passive

10 Turn the following sentences into the passive.

Scientists might soon discover a cure for cancer. .A c.ur~ for. c.mc~r .m.itJht< £iQOt1. be. dj~c{),v~r~d •....
2 Someone should help the old woman across the street. ........... . ..•.........•...................
3 The police might have arrested the escaped prisoner. . ...••.......................................
4 They should have provided more food at the reception . .......... " ................................ .
5 They should build more bike lanes. . .......•...................... ~.•........................
6 She could have written the answers more clearly . ................................................ . .

Rewrite the following passage in the passive.

Our apartment block is starting a new scheme. vv. e will

collect all the old newspapers and tin cans. We Will put
them in two special containers. When they are full , the
council will collect them. They will take them to a fact~ry.
The factory will recycle the newspapers and cans Into
something new .
• • . /) .r1<1~ €?c.~<1IJ1<1 .i€? p~itJg, €?t;E]t;i{y~. PY. 9.Lit: .•..•.•...
. lrJartmp.nt
a block......................... ············
, ••••• • y •• ••••••
...... .... ....... ........ ......... .......... ........ .
...... ........ ...... , ............................... .
...... ......... ........ ............................. .
........ ...... .......... .......... ....... ........... .
.. , .......... , ...................................... .
. , , ................................................. .
....... " ........................................... .
. .......... ...... ......... ................. ... .... .. .

12 Turn the following into the passive in two ways.

They gave him a watch when he retired . I 5 Someone gave her a book.
He .. ,W,;:/P, e.i'{~r. ,;:/. wtltr;b. wh~o . b~. r:~tir~cj.. .. She ....................................... .
A watch . wtl~.giyen .t.a him.'I.Y'ht<t1 .h~ .rt..t;ired .. A book .................................... .
2 They have offered him the job. 6 They give the students extra lessons.
He ........................................ . The students ........•......................
The job ................................... . Extra lessons .......................•.......
3 She will send you a fax. 7 They have shown her the plans for the house.
You ....................................... . She .........................•..............
A fax ...................................... . The plans for the house ................... ..
4 He is going to show me a new technique. 8 They should have given you a receipt.
I .......................................... . You ....................................... .
A new technique ........................... . A receipt .................................. .

70
The Passive 0
13 Turn the following into the passive as in the example:

People expect him to win the race.

He jf;!,t,x.:pec.te:d.tQ. ~jr,l . tbe. r:~ce_ . ............................................................... .
It. . jf;! . c:x.:pec.te:d. tb~t he: will. w,i(1. tbe. r{.'lc.e: ........................................................ .
2 Journalists have reported that the President is away in France.
The President. ...................•..........................................................•....
It ..•.........••........................•..........•...........•....................•.....•......
3 Everyone knows that the statement was untrue.
The statement .................................................•.......•........................
It ....................•..•....•.•.........................•.•........•....•.•.•.......•..•.....•.
4 Many people believe that the climate is changing .
The climate ..................................................................................... .
It ...•..•............................•.........•.......•......................•........••......••
5 Everyone knows that he has been in a serious car accident.
He ...••..........................•.............•........•..•...............•....................
It ....••..........•....•.•...............•.......................•.....•.............•......•....
6 Many people say that the new prices are too high.
The new prices ..........................................................•.......................
It .....•...............•......•...•..•.....•.........••..........•....••....................•....
7 They claim that this diamond is the largest in the world.
This diamond ..........................................•................................•••......
It •.........•.••..........•.........•..............•..........•.•....•..••.•...•..•..•.....•.....

14 Turn the following into the passive.

I don't like people shouting at me . . .1. dan't. like. bejr,lg. ;5hQuted at.................................. .
2 I remember my parents taking me to the circus. . ..............•....................•..........•...
3 I like people giving me presents. . ............................................................... .
4 I love people inviting me to parties. . ..........................•...................................

15 Choose the correct answer.

The star athlete ...... to win the competition. 6 The boy ...... to hospital by an ambulance.
A is being expected ®
was expected A took B was taken C is takiAg
C has expected 7 I don 't like ...... what to do.
2 Jam ...... fro~ ruit. A to tell B telling C being told
A makes B made C is made 8 A new shopping centre ....•• outside the city
3 A young girl ...... b a firefighter yesterday. centre.
A had rescued B was rescued A is being built B to be built
C rescued C built
4 This email should ...... right away. 9 The new library ....•• by the ~ayor next week.
A to send B send C be sent A is going to be opened B is opening
5 Life ...... on other planets yet. C is opened
A hasn't been found B isn't found 10 The animals at the zoo ...... twice a day.
C wasn 't found A being fed B are fed C fed

71
o The Passive

16 Complete the questions using the passive tenses. Then choose the answers.

1 Where .... tJrt;, .... Volkswagen cars .. .JYlj1r;l"Jf~c.t.lJr.t;d. .. ? (manufacture)

®Germany B China C Japan
2 When ......•..... the first mobile phone ..•...•............. ? (make)
A 1956 B 1960 C 1973
3 When ............ Iron Man 3 .................... in cinemas? (release)
A 2011 B 2012 C 2013 ~
4 How many MP3 players ........................... so far? (sell)
A , over 100,000 B over 2 million Cover 100 million
5 Who ............ aspirin .................... by? (invent)
A Alexander Fleming B Felix Hoffmann C Friedrich Bayer
6 What ........................... to make tyres? (use)
A rubber B plastic C polyester

17 Look at the information and write sentences as in the example:

Located: Paris, France

Designed by: Gustave Eiffel
Completed in: 1889
Made of: iron
Used for: radio and television transmission
(since beginning of twentieth century)
Nwnber of visitors:

. Tb~. f.iffd TOWt;r. j~. lcK~t~.cJ ,ir. fNif?" Fmr]Y~. it ............ .

18 Read the text. Choose the proper grammar form for the capitalised words and fill
in the gaps.

V@!uahl~ PaintiJafll: lfIissin~ ~qm lkt GaJJ~~

Several valuable paintings 1) ..... bj1'{t; . b~t;.r; .f?tlJ./~n ...... from Mercers STEAL
Art Gallery. The theft is believed to be the work of two thieves. Currently, a man
2) •.•••.•..•.....•.•••••......... by police although police do not consider him QUESTION
a suspect. It 3) •.•••...•.......•.•••••.....• that the man bought one of the BELIEVE
stolen pieces of art work from the thieves.
Forensic scientists 4) .•••.•...•.......•.•••••.....•. to help solve the crime. ALREADY / CALL IN
DNA evidence 5) ••••......•..••.•••..•.......•• from the Art Gallery and it COLLECT
6) ..••••••....••......••••....... at the moment. It ANALYSE
7) .••.•...•.•..••.•.•.....•••.... that the police will be able to make an arrest HOPE
very soon.

72
The Passive
o
19 Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive tense.

The Golden Globe Awards 1) . Y'(t(t;~.fir.~1(.QmiWif?vd . (first/organised)

in 1944 in Los Angeles. Since then, they 2) ..•.•.......•.•.•...•.•• (hold)
every year. The awards show is an important Hollywood event. Every year,
millions of viewers around the world tune in to see who
3) ....••...•............. (give) a prize for their talents. Famous directors,
writers and actors arrive on the red carpet and enjoy
4) ...................... (admire) by photographers and fans.
Awards that 5) ...........•.•................. (present) on the night are
for best motion picture, best actor, best director and more. Five nominations
6) ................................... (can/make) for each award from which
one winner 7) ...................................... (choose) . The awards
8) ............................... (sometimes/hand out) to the winners by the
son or daughter of a famous celebrity. Last year, Lorraine Nicholson, daughter
of Jack Nicholson, 9) ............................ (ask) to help out in the
show.
The Golden Globe Awards 10) .......................• (consider) to be
one of the highest honours anyone in the television or film industry can

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive form.

First, logs . "S:. ..... .~re:. c(Jt........... (cut)

into small piec~Apart from trees, old paper
............................... (may/used).
2 Then water and chemicals, ................ .
. . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . .. (put) with the logs.
3 The materials •....••.......••...........•..
(mix) together.
4 Next, the mixture travels down a wire screen so
that the water ............................. .
(can/remove) .
5 After that, the mixture ...................... .
(flatten) by large rollers .
6 Finally, it ............................ (dry).
At last, the paper is ready .................. .
.................. (use)!

73
o The Passive

21 Make sentences from the words in brackets. Use the active or passive.

When I got home, the door was wide open. (the 4 My pencil box isn't in my schoolbag. (I think/I/
house/broke into) leave/school)
The .. h.al.J~~. hiid . f;~~n bmkfiO.into, ... . '..... I •.•..............•..•......•..•...•....... .
2 I wonder where Sammy is. (I/not/see/for a long 5 My father can 't pick us up today. (Our car/repair)
time) Our .............••.........................
I • • b~v~,n't. ~~t<n .him.for: .fJ .long .tim~ ........ . 6 When I left the cinema, I couldn 't find my bike.
3 Don't go into his room. (He/want/leave/alone) (it/steal)
He ...............•......................... It .......................................... .

(reporting news)
Work in pairs. Imagine you and your partner are newsreaders for a television
station. Look at the notes below and make full sentences using the passive.

1 El Salvador / hit / large hurricane / yesterday. It / report / over 120 people / lose
lives / so far. Government / fear / many more victims / find / when rescue workers /
reach areas / most affected / storm.

2 Last night / football match / between Chelsea & Arsenal / win / Chelsea. Arsenal /
defeat / 2-1. Chelsea / continue play / to high standard / expect / win / championship.

3 A new drug, PBOX-15 / can kill leukaemia / discover / UK and Italian scientists.
However, despite discovery, it / believe / it may take another 5 years / before drug
can / use / safely in patients.

4 The fifteenth Eurovision song contest / host / Norway this year / since Alexander
Rybak, the Norwegian singer / vote for / millions of viewers / last May. The popular
event / broadcast / live on television and radio / the country's capital, Oslo.

A: EI Salvador was hit by a large hurricane yesterday, etc.

Look at your notes from the Speaking Activity and complete the

, news bulletin below.

EI Salvador was hit by a large hurricane yesterday. It is reported

! .......................................................................................... .

.......................................................................................... J

74