Grammar: passives

By Jonathan Marks
Level: Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper intermediate, Advanced ype:
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%ome advice and s,!!estions -or practisin! the passive in a conversation class.
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Any ideas a/o,t ho0 to practise the passive (all tenses) in a conversation class1 he
st,dents (&2 ener!etic Italian p,pils a!ed "3) have st,died the passive -orms 0ith their
,s,al En!lish teacher. hey can do 0ritten e4ercises to trans-orm active to passive and
vice versa and can constr,ct passive sentences and 5,estions (at least in theory). 6o0 I,
the conversation teacher, have /een asked to practise the passive orally in my ne4t 32
min,te lesson. Any s,!!estions1

%imone
I don7t kno0 e4actly 0hat yo,7re e4pected to do in a 7conversation7 class, %imone. here
seems to /e a /it o- a contradiction /et0een conversin!, on the one hand, and practisin! a
partic,lar !rammar str,ct,re, on the other.
8ne approach 0o,ld /e to !ive rather open-ended conversation topics, e.!. 7My early
childhood7, 0hich 0o,ld !ive the learners an opport,nity to ,se passives, in this case to
talk a/o,t ho0 they 0ere treated /y their parents and their -irst teachers, -or e4ample. B,t
o- co,rse there7s no !,arantee that they 0o,ld ,se any passives, /eca,se there isn7t
act,ally any need to. Even i- yo, told them they 0ere s,pposed to ,se passives, they
mi!ht completely -or!et a/o,t it once they !ot talkin!. %o the activity mi!ht /e ,se-,l as
!eneral -l,ency practice, /,t it 0o,ldn7t -,l-il the aim yo,7ve !ot in mind.
I o-ten -ind that learners can st,dy ne0 !rammar, and do drills and trans-ormation
e4ercises, and so on, /,t 0hen they speak spontaneo,sly they don7t p,t it into practice,
/,t rather ,se the lan!,a!e they co,ld ,se already9 there seems to /e no connection
/et0een the t0o types o- activity. 8- co,rse makin! that connection takes time, /,t I
think that as teachers 0e can help to speed thin!s ,p.
%o my s,!!estions (ei!ht o- them) are rather di--erent. hey7re m,ch more str,ct,red, and
contrived to -orce a need to ,se passives. I don7t think there7s anythin! 0ron! 0ith this
kind o- contrivance9 in -act I think it7s necessary, in order -or learners to /e!in to add ne0
!rammar to the stock o- lan!,a!e they can ,se actively. At the same time, to varyin!
e4tents, the s,!!ested activities contain opport,nities -or e4tension into stretches o- -reer
conversation.
8- co,rse, i- yo, decide to ,se any o- these, yo,7ll need to adapt them to s,it the learners7
interests and level. Better still, they mi!ht stim,late yo, to invent some activities o- yo,r
o0n:
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8ld photos
" ;o, need some old photos o- the learners7 to0n - or may/e <,st one photo i- it
sho0s plenty o- detail. May/e the learners themselves can provide some1
$ =isplay the photos the class in some 0ay - circ,late them ro,nd the class, pin
them on the 0all, distri/,te photocopies (i- the 5,ality7s !ood eno,!h:), or sho0 them
on an 8>P - and ask learners, 0orkin! in !ro,ps, to note chan!es that have taken
place since the photos 0ere taken.
& Ask them to report the chan!es ,sin! the present per-ect passive and addin! e4tra
in-ormation i- relevant - e.!. he main street7s /een pedestrianised, and no0 there are
-lo0er/eds and -o,ntains in the middle.
* ?inally yo, co,ld ask them 0hat they think has chan!ed -or the /etter, and 0hat
-or the 0orse, and 0hat chan!es they 0o,ld like to see in the -,t,re - e.!.:
It 0o,ld /e !ood i- tra--ic 0as /anned completely -rom the to0n centre.
I think that ,!ly o--ice /lock in @444 %treet sho,ld /e demolished.
he story o- an o/<ect
;o, can model this activity -or the class. 'hoose some h,m/le, ,nass,min! o/<ect yo,7ve
!ot 0ith yo,, e.!. a 0atch, sho0 it to the class and tell its story in the -irst person, /ein!
as inventive as yo, like, and incl,din! lots o- passives:
I 0as prod,ced in a -actory in Japan a/o,t -ive years a!o, packed in a /i! dark container
0ith lots o- other 0atches and sent on a lon! <o,rney across the sea. I -elt 5,ite seasick at
times and I 0as !lad 0hen 0e reached dry land at last. A.....B I once !ot dropped /ehind a
chest o- dra0ers and -or!otten a/o,t -or a co,ple o- years, and 0as rediscovered /y a /i!
0hite cat A.....B
3 ell the learners to choose an o/<ect and !ive them a co,ple o- min,tes to invent
some episodes in its li-e - or, o- co,rse, to recall some real events that have happened
to it.
C hey tell their stories to each other in pairs or small !ro,ps.
D hey circ,late and -ind a ne0 listener or a ne0 !ro,p o- listeners (or yo, mi!ht
need to or!anise this more strictly and tell them 0ho sho,ld talk to 0ho).
E hey can repeat this proced,re -or as lon! as it seems prod,ctive. he val,e o- the
repetition is that the stories 0ill !et improved and ela/orated, and it7s 5,ite likely that
the passives in the stories 0ill !et more acc,rate. In other 0ords it7s an opport,nity
-or development, not mere repetition.
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F,iG
=ivide the class into teams and ask them to /rainstorm ten !eneral kno0led!e 5,estions
(or ho0ever many yo, think is s,ita/le) -or the other team(s) to ans0er. he 5,estions
sho,ld all contain passives. ;o, mi!ht need to !ive some sample 5,estions to !et them
started. hey co,ld incl,de 5,estions like these:
6ame three co,ntries 0here %panish is spoken
>o0 o-ten is the president o- the U%A elected1
Hhere are the ne4t 8lympic Games !oin! to /e held1
Hhen 0as Pompeii destroyed1
I 'irc,late and help them to make all their 5,estions acc,rate - and, i- necessary, to
0eed o,t any ,n-air 5,estions:
"2 he 5,iG then takes place. ;o, co,ld perhaps a0ard points -or -act,ally correct
ans0ers and -or acc,rate ,se o- passives - in cas,al conversation the ans0er to the
5,estion JHhen 0as Pompeii destroyed1J is likely to /e simply JA.=. DIJ, /,t in a
5,iG it7s 5,ite normal to ans0er JPompeii 0as destroyed in A.=. DIJ.
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%poo- ne0s items
In !ro,ps, learners invent a ne0s story a/o,t a 0ell-kno0n character, may/e a pop sin!er
or sports personality, or perhaps a mem/er o- the class. hey sho,ld incl,de plenty o-
passives. E4ample:
(6ame o- their -avo,rite pop sin!er) has /een appointed Pro-essor o- M,sic at (name o-
local ,niversity). he decision 0as anno,nced yesterday, and 0as immediately descri/ed
/y the %ociety -or the Promotion o- Proper M,sic as Jo,tra!eo,sJ, /,t it has /een
0elcomed /y (name o- sin!er)7s many -ans. A.....B
"" hey edit their ne0s items to make them as acc,rate as possi/le, !ive them titles
(may/e ,sin! red,ced passives like J%in!er appointed pro-essorJ) and pin them on
the 0all so that everyone can read all the stories.
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Invent a machine
In !ro,ps, learners invent a machine - e.!. a machine -or 0akin! heavy sleepers in the
mornin!, an e4ercise machine -or laGy people, a machine -or makin! s5,are oran!es - and
rehearse an o--icial-so,ndin! description o- ho0 it 0orks. E4ample:
he /,cket is -illed 0ith 0ater the previo,s evenin!, placed on a shel- a/ove the sleeper7s
head, and connected to the timer. he 0ater is kept at a temperat,re <,st a/ove -reeGin!
point /y a sophisticated coolin! system. A.....B
"$ hey sho,ld also dra0 dia!rams on 8>Ps or lar!e sheets o- paper to sho0 ho0
their machine 0orks.
"& Each !ro,p in t,rn then presents their machine to the rest o- the class, and
responds to any 5,estions or comments.
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F,estionnaire
;o, co,ld ask learners to 0rite a passives 5,estionnaire, or !ive them a ready-made one.
>ere are some possi/le 5,estions:
Hhat7s the /est thin! yo,7ve ever /een invited to1
=o yo, kno0 anyone 0ho7s /een elected to an important position1
>ave yo, ever /een ro//ed1
Hhen 0as the -irst time yo, 0ere taken some0here on holiday1
>ave yo, ever /een mistaken -or someone else1
Hhere 0ere yo,r shoes made1
=o yo, like /ein! photo!raphed1
>ave yo, ever /een p,nished -or somethin! yo, didn7t do1
Hhen 0as the last time yo, 0ere kept 0aitin!1
>ave any o- yo,r val,ed possessions ever !ot /roken1
Hhat7s the most e4citin! thin! yo,7ve ever /een involved in1
'an yo, think o- a sit,ation 0hen yo, !ot le-t /ehind1
=o yo, mind /ein! corrected 0hen yo, speak En!lish1
>o0 do yo, react 0hen yo, !et asked 5,estions yo, don7t 0ant to ans0er1
;o, co,ld also add:
Hhere 0ere yo, /orn1
=o yo, think yo,7ll ever !et married1
I- yo,7ve !ot a pet, 0hat7s it called, and 0hy1
"* - to sho0 that these are also act,ally passives, altho,!h the learners mi!ht not
have tho,!ht o- them like that /e-ore.
"3 hey can 0ork thro,!h the 5,estionnaires in pairs, or circ,late and ask vario,s
mem/ers o- the class. hey sho,ld -eel -ree to talk at !reater len!th a/o,t any
interestin! points that arise.
"C here co,ld /e a -inal plenary sta!e 0here they report some o- the most
interestin! thin!s they -o,nd o,t.
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'omparin! En!lish 0ith L"
Give learners a list o- passive sentences s,ch as this:
Passen!ers are re5,ested not to leave l,!!a!e ,nattended.
'=s /o,!ht and sold.
he -irst priGe 0as a0arded to .....
hat remains to /e seen.
respassers 0ill /e prosec,ted.
Each entry m,st /e accompanied /y a separate -orm.
he ch,rch 0as /adly dama!ed /y -ire in "3C$.
;o, m,st have /een pleased 0hen yo, !ot promoted.
he !overnment7s action 0as descri/ed /y protesters as a threat to civil li/erty.
I can7t /e /othered.
?a4ed proposals 0ill not /e accepted.
It7s only to /e e4pected.
"D Ask them to 0ork in pairs and, -or each sentence:
a) decide 0hether it7s likely to /e spoken or 0ritten, or 0hether it co,ld /e either.
/) decide 0here K 0hen K in 0hat conte4t it7s likely to /e seen K heard.
c) translate it into their L", in a 0ay that 0o,ld /e appropriate -or the conte4t.
"E >old a plenary disc,ssion a/o,t their translations. In partic,lar:
a) I- their L" has somethin! similar to the En!lish passive, does it appear in the
translations1 Hhat other str,ct,res have they ,sed1
/) I- their L" doesn7t have anythin! like the En!lish passive, 0hat str,ct,res have
they ,sed1
"I %ome time later - perhaps the -ollo0in! 0eek - yo, co,ld hand o,t a list o- L"
versions o- the sentences, or similar sentences, and ask them to translate them into
En!lish.
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'han!in! the classroom
$2 ell the class to have a really care-,l look at the classroom, /eca,se there are
!oin! to /e some chan!es.
$" =ivide the class into t0o. >al- the class - let7s call them !ro,p A - !o o,t o- the
room. Mean0hile, the other hal- - !ro,p B - make chan!es to the room. hey co,ld,
-or e4ample, open or close 0indo0s, move pict,res, /ooks and chairs, s0itch li!hts
on or o-- .....
$$ Gro,p A come /ack in and try to identi-y 0hat chan!es have /een made, and
report them ,sin! the present per-ect passive - e.!. 0o 0indo0s have /een opened,
My chair7s /een moved. I- yo, 0ant to a0ard points, yo, co,ld !ive one point -or a
correctly identi-ied chan!e and one -or an acc,rate sentence.
$& Gro,ps A and B can no0 reverse roles.
?or o/vio,s reasons, this is only really s,ita/le -or small classes, /,t in lar!er classes it
can /e adapted so that s,/-!ro,ps make chan!es to parts o- the classroom 0hile their
classmates t,rn ro,nd and look a0ay.