GRAMMAR: PASSIVE

1. Correct any verb forms which are impossible or inappropriate.

a) A lot of homes in the area have been being broken into by burglars.
have been broken into

b) As I drove south, I could see that the old road was rebuilding.

c) I suppose the letter will have been delivered by now.

d) There is nothing more annoying than been interrupted when you are speaking.

e) Jim was been given the sack from his new job.

f) Somehow without my noticing my wallet had been disappeared.

g) The new shopping centre was opened by the Mayor.

h) A lot of meetings have been held, but nothing has being decided yet.

2. Both sentences in each pair have the same meaning. Complete the second
sentence.

a) The crowd was slowly filling the huege stadium.

The huge stadium was slowly being filled by the crowd.

b) The inventor of the computer simplified the work of the accountants.

Since the computer……… the work of accountants……….simplified.

c) Someone has suggested that the shop should close.

It………. that the shop should close.

d) 'I'd take out some travel insurance if I were you, Mr Smith.'

Mr Smith………. take out some travel insurance.

e) The waitress will bring your drinks in a moment.

Your drinks……… in a moment.

f) Someone used a knife to open the window.

This window……… a knife.

g) You will hear from us when we have finished dealing with your complaint.
After your complaint, ………. you will hear from us.
h) An announcement of their engagement appeared in the local paper.
Their engagement………. in the local paper.

i) Nobody ever heard anything of David again.

Nothing………… David again.

j) They paid Sheila £1,000 as a special bonus.

£1,000………. Sheila as a special bonus.

3. Rewrite each sentence in the passive, omitting the words underlined.

a) Someone left the phone off the hook all night.

b) The government has announced that petrol prices will rise tomorrow.

c) A burglar broke into our house last week.

d) People asked me the way three times.

e) The fruit-pickers pick the apples early in the morning.

f) It's time the authorities did something about this problem.

g) Lots of people had parked their cars on the pavement.

h) The government agreed with the report and so they changed the law.

i) You have to fill in an application form.

j) They don't know what happened to the ship.

4. Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate passive verb form.

a) The boxes have not been packed (not/pack) yet.

b) Your food (still/prepare).

c) The new ship (launch) next week.

d) Luckily by the time we got there the painting (not/sell).

e) We had to go on holiday because our house (decorate).

f) I'm afraid that next week's meeting (cancel).

g) If we don't hurry, all the tickets (sell) by the time we get there.
h) All main courses (serve) with vegetables or salad. At least that is what is written on
the menu.

i) The second goal (score) by Hughes in the 41st minute.

j) The cathedral (build) in the fourteenth century.

5. Underline any uses of the agent which are unnecessary.

a) My jewellery has been stolen by a thief!

b) It has been decided by the authorities that Wednesday will be a school

holiday.

c) Harry was pushed over by someone standing next to him in the queue.

d) The goods are transported by rail to our warehouse in the Midlands.

e) I was told by someone that you have a vacancy for a computer operator.

f) Sue has been picked by the selectors for the national event.

g) The letter was sent by post on the 21st of last month.

h) The larger portrait was painted by a little-known Flemish artist.

i) It has been agreed by everyone that no smoking should be allowed,

j) As I arrived at the conference a note was handed to me by one of the

delegates.

6. Rewrite each sentence in a more formal style so that it contains a passive

form of the word given in capitals.

a) Sorry, but we've lost your letter. MISLAY

Unfortunately your letter has been mislaid.

b) The police are grilling Harry down at the station. QUESTION

c) They've found the remains of an old Roman villa nearby. DISCOVER

d) You'll get a rise in salary after six months. RAISE

e) They stopped playing the match after half an hour. ABANDON

f) They stopped traffic from using the centre. BAN

g) They took Chris to court for dangerous driving. PROSECUTE

h) You usually eat this kind of fish with a white sauce. SERVE

i) I don't know your name. INTRODUCE

7. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.

a) The treasure is thought to date from the thirteenth century. DATE

It is thought to date from the thirteenth century.

b) Your hair needs cutting. GET

You………………… cut.

c) Jill's parents are making her study hard. MADE

Jill……………….. her parents.

d) Apparently the ship did not sustain any damage. APPEARS

The ship……………….. any damage.

e) It is thought that the two injured men were repairing overhead cables. HAVE
The two injured men……………….. overhead cables.

f) There is a rumour that the escaped prisoner is living in Spain. BE

The escaped prisoner……………….. living in Spain.

g) We have agreed to meet again in a fortnight. WILL

It has……………….. meet again in a fortnight.

h) We decided to try again later. WOULD

It was……………….. try again later.

i) There is confirmation of Mr Jackson's intended resignation. THAT

It is……………….. to resign.

j) Most of the committee thought it was not a viable solution. NOT

It was thought……………….. by most of the committee.

8. Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

a) The tree had been decorated with coloured balls.

b) The answers have been included………. the book.

c) After the rugby match, Jim's shorts were covered………. mud.

d) The victim was struck from behind………. a heavy object.

e) The house was built………. money that David borrowed from the
bank.

f) The cat narrowly escaped being run over………. a car.

g) When the accident happened, Sue was struck………. flying glass.

h) The turkey was stuffed………. chestnuts, and was very tasty.

i) No one knew that Peter had been involved………. the investigation.

j) When I left the casino, my pockets were crammed………. money.

9. Underline the correct word in each sentence.

a) The busy shopping street was thronged by/with people.

b) The emergency exit was concealed by/from a red curtain.

c) The price of excursions is included in/with the cost of the holiday.

d) All through January, the fields were covered by/from snow.

e) The room was crammed by/with furniture of all descriptions.

f) Two of the climbers were injured by/with falling rocks.

g) The island is inhabited by/from people of mainly Chinese origin,

h) The bank was quickly surrounded from/with armed police.

i) The window had been smashed from/with a hammer taken from the shed.

j) The stadium was packed from/with cheering fans.

10. Rewrite the text using the passive where possible. Make sure the words
underlined do not appear.

Nobody knows exactly when someone invented gunpowder. People know for a fact that the
Chinese made rockets and fireworks long before people used gunpowder in Europe, which
occurred at about the beginning of the thirteenth century. We generally believe that gunpowder
brought to an end the 'Age of Chivalry', since anyone with a firearm could bring down a
mounted knight. In fact, people did not develop efficient firearms until the sixteenth century.
They used gunpowder mainly in siege cannon when people first introduced it. Later they used it
in engineering work and in mining, but they found that it was extremely dangerous. Modern
explosives have now replaced gunpowder, but we still use it for making fireworks, just as the
Chinese did.

It is not known exactly……………………………..