ROOM:

807

PHASE:

003

NAME:

PORTAL ARCOS CHRISTIAN FERNANDO

CYCLE:

A05F (Advanced Grammar 2)

HOUR:

6:45 8:15

DATE:

October 21th

2011

PASSIVE VOICE

PASSIVE VOICE
PASSIVE, FORM
The passive voice in English is composed of two elements: the appropriate
form of the verb 'to be' + the past participle of the verb in question:
Present Simple

Fords are made in Cologne.

The house is cleaned every day.

Present Continuous

Dinner is being cooked by Susan

The house is being cleaned at the moment.

Present Perfect

Over 20 models have been produced in the past two

years.
The house has been cleaned since you left.

Present conditional The house would be cleaned if they had visitors.

Past Simple

"Dubliners" was written by James Joyces.

The house was cleaned yesterday.

Past Continuous

The house was being painted when I arrived.

The house was being cleaned last week.

Past perfect

The house had been cleaned before their arrival.

Past conditional

The house would have been cleaned if it had been

dirty.

Future Intention

A new factory is going to be built in Portland.

with Going to

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PASSIVE VOICE

Future Simple

It will be finished tomorrow.

The house will be cleaned next week.

Future continuous

The house will be being cleaned tomorrow.

NOTE: 'to be born' is a passive form and is most commonly used in the
past tense:
I was born in 1976. When were you born?
BUT: Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
INFINITIVE FORM:
Infinitive of 'to be' + past participle: (to) be cleaned
This form is used after modal verbs and other verbs normally followed by
an infinitive, e.g.
You have to be tested on your English grammar
John might be promoted next year.
She wants to be invited to the party.

GERUND OR -ING FORM: being + past participle: being cleaned

This form is used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a
gerund
Examples:
a. Most film stars hate being interviewed.
b. I remember being taught to drive.
c. The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
NOTE: Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get instead of
the verb to be:
a. He got arrested for dangerous driving.
b. They're getting married later this year.
c. I'm not sure how the window got broken.
THE PASSIVE VOICE PASSIVE, FUNCTION
The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that
experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the
action, e.g.
- The passive is used ...:
We are interested in the passive, not who uses it.
1. The house was built in 1654:
We are interested in the house, not the builder.

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PASSIVE VOICE

2. The road is being repaired:

We are interested in the road, not the people repairing it.
- In other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject
of the sentence.Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know
or cannot express who or what performed the action:
1. I noticed that a window had been left open
2. Every year people are killed on our roads.
- If we want to say who or what performs the action, we use the
preposition by:
1. "A Hard Day's Night" was written by the Beatles
2. ET was directed by Spielberg
- The passive voice is often used in formal or scientific texts:
1. A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few well-chosen words.
2. Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases.
3. Waste materials are disposed of in a variety of ways.
THE PASSIVE VOICE: WITH MODALS

The day had been hot and sunny. The garden should have been
watered at twilight.
These shoes should not have been mended. They are too old.
Should the candles have been lit in the evening?
That statue should have been shown in the art gallery.
Johny was fired. I think he should have been given another
opportunity.
Diana's death could have been prevented.
The infection he had suffered might have been caused by the
contaminated catheters.
Could the party have been organized somewhere else?.
THE PASSIVE VOICE: GET / HAVE SOMETHING DONE

This construction is passive in meaning. It may describe situations where

we want someone else to do something for us.
Examples:
a. I must get / have my hair cut.
b. When are you going to get that window mended?
c. We're having the house painted.
If the verb refers to something negative or unwanted, it has the same
meaning as a passive sentence:
d. Jim had his car stolen last night. (= Jim's car was stolen)
e. They had their roof blown off in the storm. (= Their roof was blown
off in the storm)

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PASSIVE VOICE

The construction can refer to the completion of an activity, especially

if a time expression is used:
f. We'll get the work done as soon as possible.
g. I'll get those letters typed before lunchtime.
In all these sentences, we are more interested in the result of the
activity than in the person or object that performs the activity.
'X' NEEDS DOING
In the same way, this construction has a passive meaning. The important
thing in our minds is the person or thing that will experience the
action, e.g.
a. The ceiling needs painting (= the ceiling needs to be painted)
b. My hair needs cutting (= my hair needs to be cut)

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PASSIVE VOICE

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NEW WORDS

1.

The NGO "Angel Face" was created in order to help people in

necessity.

2.

We had the treatment checked by experts.

3.

HIV can be transmitted in many ways, such as: blood transfusion,

contaminated hypodermic needles, etc.

4.

She could have been fed through breastfeeding which is considered as

the best way to feed a baby.

5.

HIV is spread by different ways from human to human.

6.

She got the list of pandemic diseases analyzed by scientists.

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PASSIVE VOICE

7. Criminal charges were not presented against the prisoner.

8. Medical malpractice can be caused by many factors.
9. Stigma is suffered by many people who have VIH / SIDA.
10. A diagnosis was received by the mom of the little girl with whom I
talked.
11. The Antiretrovirals could have saved many lives 20 years ago.

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