7 LANGUAGE BANK

GRAMMAR

THE PASSIVE VOICE 'The construction company in Istanbul employs

The passive voice is used when we want to focus three hundred people.'
attention on the person or thing affected by the However, if you want to focus on the person or thing
action. Normally, the performer of the action, or the affected by the action, you make the person or thing
agent, comes first and is made the subject of the the subject of the sentence and use the passive
verb and then we use the active form of the verb. The voice:
other person or thing is made the object of the verb. 'The assstant was invited to the party by the
Consider these examples: boss.'
'The boss invited her assistant to the party.' 'Three hundred people are employed by the
construction company in Istanbul .'

ACTIVE PASSIVE
present simple She writes books. Books are written.

present continuous She is writing a book. A book is being written.

past simple She wrote many books. Many books were written.

past continuous She was writing a book. A book was being written.

present perfect simple She has written three books. Three books have been written.

past perfect simple She had written two books. Two books had been written.

future simple She will write a book. A book will be written.

future perfect She will have written the book. The book will have been written.

infinitive She has to write the book. the book has to be written.

modals (modal + be + pp) She may write a book. A book may be written.

Q: When should we use the Passive? F. When the subject is very long:
I was surprised by how well the students did in the
A: When we want to change the focus of the test. (More natural than: 'how well the students did
sentence: in the test surprised me')
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.
(We are more interested in the painting than the
artist in this sentence) !! SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT PASSIVE !!
B. When who or what causes the action is unknown
or unimportant or obvious or 'people in general’: The passive voice is more common in formal written
He was arrested (obvious agent, the police). English. It is often used in newspapers, academic
My bike has been stolen (unknown agent).
The road is being repaired (unimportant agent). and scientific writing, and reports, which attempt to
The form can be obtained from the post office be less personal. Most passive sentences do not
(people in general). have an agent, as the focus of the sentence is not
C. In factual or scientific writing: on the doer of the action but on its recipient. As a
The chemical is placed in a test tube and the data rule, the agent is only mentioned in the passive
entered into the computer.
sentence if it is important new information which
D. In formal writing instead of using someone/
people/ they (these can be used in speaking or cannot be omitted:
informal writing): The Lord of the Rings was written by J. R. R.
The brochure will be finished next month.
Tolkien.
E. In order to put the new information at the end of
the sentence to improve style: While Tony was walking home last night, he was
Three books are used regularly in the class. The mugged by a group
books were written by Dr. Bell. ('Dr. Bell wrote the
books' sound clumsy)
41
 7
PRACTICE

A. Change the following sentence from active to B. Complete the following sentences with active
passive or passive form for the verb in parentheses. Be
careful about the tense to be used.
1. People speak Portuguese in Brazil.
1. Where ___________________________ (bread/
_____________________________________________________ bake) ?
2. The Government is planning a new road near my house. 2. I’ve just heard that Bob _________________
_____________________________________________________ (sell) his car, did you know?
3. My grandfather built this house in 1943. 3. The police __________________ (stop) him
because he was driving too fast.
_____________________________________________________
4. ____________________________ (that jacket/
4. Picasso was painting Guernica at that time. wear) recently?
_____________________________________________________ 5. Mary and David _______________ (buy) their
5. The cleaner has cleaned the office. house in 2006.
_____________________________________________________ 6. The company _________________ (create) by
6. He had written three books before 1867. two brothers in the early 80s.
_____________________________________________________ 7. Can I have details of your laptop which
_______________ (advertise) in your latest
7. John will tell you later. catalogue, please?
_____________________________________________________ 8. My mother ____________________ (clean) the
8. By this time tomorrow we will have signed the deal. windows when I arrived.
_____________________________________________________ 9. I ______________________ (repair) the car, you
9. Somebody should do the work. can use it now.
10. He __________________ (delay) because of
_____________________________________________________
the traffic at arrived too late for the meeting.
10. The traffic might have delayed Jimmy.
11. The invoices ____________________ (check),
_____________________________________________________ so you can send them now.
11. Everybody loves Mr Brown. 12. People ___________________ (not/smoke) so
_____________________________________________________ much these days.
12. They are building a new stadium near the station. 13. Who ___________________ (invent) the
telephone?
_____________________________________________________
14. She __________________ (go) to Brussels last
13. The wolf ate the princess. week for a meeting.
_____________________________________________________ 15. A lot of damage ____________________
14. At six o’clock someone was telling a story. (cause) by the storm last month.
_____________________________________________________ 16. Two men ___________________ (arrest) last
15. Somebody has drunk all the milk! night. They are in prison now.
_____________________________________________________ 17. Our products ___________________ (sell) all
over the world.
16. I had cleaned all the windows before the storm.
18. They _______________________ (bake) the
_____________________________________________________ bread every morning.
17. A workman will repair the computer tomorrow. 19. She ______________________ (wear) a
_____________________________________________________ beautiful green dress when I saw her.
18. By next year the students will have studied the passive. 20. Normally the streets ____________________
_____________________________________________________ (clean) every day.
21. Smoking ________________________
19. James might cook dinner.
(prohibited) in all bars in France.
_____________________________________________________
22. The car ____________(repair) at the moment,
20. Somebody must have taken my wallet. but it should be ready tomorrow.
_____________________________________________________

42
 7
PRACTICE

Present ability with can and am/is/are able to To express the level of success an
7.2 Can or am/is/are able to are used to talk about an ability in the ability, we can use the following
present. vocabulary:
Example: Strong winds can cause a lot of damage. GREAT LEVEL OF SUCCESS:
She is able to drive a bus without any problems. - gifted at + skill
Present Past - talented + job
- [to have] a lot of ability as a + job
+ I can cook. I could run fast. - [to be] a/the most skillful +job
- I can’t drive. He couldn’t do maths. - [to have] an aptitude for + skill
Could you cook when you NO LEVEL OF SUCCESS:
? Can you speak Spanish?
were younger? - hopeless at + skill
- useless at + skill
Past ability with could and was/were able to
Could and was/were able to are used to talk about an ability in !! NOTE !!
the past. Be careful, they have a slight difference. Although the words above have
Example: I could swim to the shore. (There was a possibility but similar meanings, they differ in the
I don’t specify if I did or not) vs I was able to swim to the shore. proficiency level, skill or job.
(There was a possibility and I did it.)
Present Past Future !! NOTE !!
+ She’s able to Aged three, I was Next year, I’ll be able to
For future, only will
write well. able to read. walk again. be able to can be
- He’s not able to Aged two, he wasn’t I won’t be able to help used!
drive . you, sorry. Incorrect: Next year,
able to walk.
I can walk again.
? Is he able to Were you able to get Will you be able to Correct: …I will be
speak French? a job? come to the party? able to walk…

7.2 A Read and complete the text with the words in the box.
B. Rewrite the second sentence so that it
means the same as the first. Use the
Can isn’t can’t managed words in capitals.
could to couldn’t able 1. We don’t know how to play cards.
(HOPELESS)
When four-year-old Derek Paravacini heard the sound
of the piano, he ran towards it. Although he was blind, he We ___________________ at playing cards.
_____________ to reach the instrument. He pushed the piano 2. She is a great singer. (GIFTED)
player- a small girl-off her stool, and started to play. Adam She’s ________________________________
ockleford, a piano teacher, said, ‘It was …. Extraordinary. He 3. Can you bring some drinks to the
was hitting the notes with his hands, his feet, his nose, even party? (BE ABLE TO)
his elbows.’ Paravicini was ____________ to play the tune he ____________________ bring drinks?
had just heard and at that moment Ockleford realized the boy
4. We didn’t have time to visit Las Vegas.
was a genius.
(NOT MANAGE TO)
Paravacini was born blind and autistic and had great We ____________________ visit Las Vegas.
learning difficulties. As a child, he______________ do many
things that ordinary children do. Even today, as an adult, he 5. I failed the math test. (USELESS)
___________ count to ten, and he, ________________ able to I ____________________ at math.
dress or feed himself. But Paravacini has one incredible gift: 6. I can usually clean the house in about
music. like Mozart, he ______________ remember every piece two hours. (SKILLFUL)
of music he hears. I _________________________ cleaner.
It started when his parents gave him a plastic organ 7. What languages were you able to speak
when he was eighteen months old. He couldn’t see the notes, when you were a child? (COULD)
but he managed ________________ play tunes on it. By the What languages _____________________
time he was four, he _________ play many pieces on the piano. when you were a child?
With Ockleford’s help, Paravacini developed his technique and 8. They succeeded in breaking the world
played his first major concert at the barbican Hall in London, record in skating. (APTITUDE)
aged nine. He has performed all over Europe and the US and
They _____________________ for skating.
in 2006 recorded his first CD. 43