PASSIVE VOICE - Carmen García's ESL Site
PASSIVE VOICE
REFRESH YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Choose the appropriate verb form to fill in the table (some spaces in the table will stay blank for those tenses where passive is not common).
were made
will have made
have made
will make
will have been made
had made
will have been making
are being made
have been making
make
to be made
will be made
are going to be made
will be making
had been making
were making
are going to make
are making
had been made
have been made
made
to make
are made
were being made
|Present Simple |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Present Continuous |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Past Simple |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Past Continuous |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Present Perfect Simple |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Present Perfect Continuous |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Past Perfect Simple |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Past Perfect Continuous |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Future Simple |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Future Continuous |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Future Perfect Simple |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Future Perfect Continuous |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|«going to» future |Active |Slavonian women | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes | |in Slavonia. |
|Infinitive |Active |Slavonian women are | |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes are | |in Slavonia. |
I. Circle the correct answer.
1. Her idea took / was taken for granted.
2. The wind has broken / has been broken their glass door.
3. Italian speaks / is spoken in Switzerland.
4. His book is reading / is being read at the moment in the high society circles.
5. Da Vinci had painted / had been painted Mona Lisa before some of his other famous paintings.
6. Anna Karenina was writing / was written by Tolstoy.
7. The prize will give / will be given to her by the president.
8. We are going to leave / be left alone by our teachers if we change our attitude.
9. Why can’t you tell / be told me the truth?
10. Their brother has employed / has been employed for six years.
11. He gave / was given a present to her.
12. She gave / was given this present for her wedding anniversary.
13. My bike runs / is run very fast.
14. He knocked down / was knocked down by a bike yesterday.
15. Her house ruined / was ruined in the fire.
16. I don't know anything about building. I will have built my house / will have my house built.
17. Although she is a professional cook, she has all her cakes made / makes all the cakes.
18. She is a hair-dresser, so she has had her new hair-style done / has done her new hair-style.
19. I didn't go to the post office. I had all the letters sent by my secretary / had sent all the letters.
20. Our son had his bike repaired / repaired his bike. We are so proud of him.
II. Transformations
A. Make these sentences passive.
1. The garage mechanic is repairing the car now.
_________________________________________________________________
2. A famous director has donated one million dollars for the victims of tsunami.
_________________________________________________________________
3. They were still building the hotel when there was an earthquake.
_________________________________________________________________
4. They had planned the itinerary long before they went on their trip.
_________________________________________________________________
5. They will deliver the newspapers early in the morning.
_________________________________________________________________
6. The fire destroyed all the files.
_________________________________________________________________
7. What have you done to make them feel better?
_________________________________________________________________
8. They will have completed most of the work by the time the president arrives.
_________________________________________________________________
9. People believed for a long time that the Earth was the centre of the Universe.
_________________________________________________________________
10. They made him pay back all the money.
_________________________________________________________________
B. Make the following sentences active.
1. Were you told to show your luggage?
_________________________________________________________________
2. Our conversation is being recorded by the police.
_________________________________________________________________
3. The cake will have been taken out of the oven by lunch time.
_________________________________________________________________
4. We are going to be given the handouts by the lecturer.
_________________________________________________________________
5. The word “Croatian” should be written with a capital letter.
_________________________________________________________________
6. Our flight has just been announced.
_________________________________________________________________
7. Opals are mined for in Australia.
_________________________________________________________________
8. The drinks were being served by a handsome bartender.
_________________________________________________________________
9. Several students had been punished by that teacher before the parents were warned about the problem by the authorities.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
10. The essays are to be handed in at the end of the week.
_________________________________________________________________
C. Make the active sentences passive and the passive ones active.
1. If the television set had been repaired properly, it wouldn’t have broken down again.
_________________________________________________________________
2. Fish fingers don’t have to be defrosted before they are fried.
_________________________________________________________________
3. The bride’s aunt is going to prepare all the food for the wedding reception.
_________________________________________________________________
4. The towels aren’t washed every day by the hotel staff.
_________________________________________________________________
5. His young assistant was counting the leaflets.
_________________________________________________________________
6. Their apartment is being redecorated by a famous interior designer.
_________________________________________________________________
7. The students have not yet used the new laboratory.
_________________________________________________________________
8. The document must have been erased.
_________________________________________________________________
9. Someone ought to have reported it to the principal.
_________________________________________________________________
10. He was believed to have been killed by the terrorists.
_________________________________________________________________
III. Put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate passive form.
1. The conference was over after the final conclusions __________ (draw).
2. Look at this beautiful lace! Where __________ it __________ (make)?
3. The report __________ (give) next Saturday.
4. What’s going on in your house? __________ it __________ (occupy) by some party goers?
5. The old oak tree __________ (knock) down in the heavy storm yesterday.
6. Jane is not here. She __________ (take) to hospital.
7. I have decided it. I __________ (prepare) well for the final exam next week.
8. It is such an interesting poster! Who __________ it __________ (create) by?
9. They __________ (humiliate) in public for more than two hours before the police finally arrived.
10. I __________ (tell) the whole story. That’s why I can’t judge them.
11. He must __________ (support) by very powerful people during his last campaign.
12. A lot of paintings __________ (steal) last summer, but luckily they have all been found.
13. Who __________The Titanic __________ (direct) by?
14. I have forgotten to do it, but I promise, it __________ (do) in a minute.
15. This coat can’t __________ (wash) in a washing machine.
16. _________________ (injure) in a car accident, she never wanted to drive again.
17. This project has got ______________ (finish) before the end of the month.
18. She loves ___________ (take) to a restaurant.
CAUSATIVE HAVE (GET)
Finish the second sentence using “causative have” or “get”.
1. You can't see so well.
You'd better ______________________________________________ .
2. My mechanic is very skilful, I don't have to do a thing myself.
I always ______________________________________________ .
3. Are you sure that your theory is going to work? Better ask for evaluation.
You should ______________________________________________ .
4. I would like to buy that house. My lawyer will make all the arrangements.
I ______________________________________________ .
5. Sorry, I can't talk to you now. The waiters are serving dinner.
We ______________________________________________ .
6. Did you prepare all the papers before you met him?
Yes, I ______________________________________________ .
7. Why were the painters in her home the whole day yesterday?
She ______________________________________________ .
8. Your nails look so good. Have you visited the beauty parlour?
I ______________________________________________ a week ago.
9. I can't make a suit, so I have decided to find a good tailor.
I ______________________________________________ .
10. Why are you still meddling with this greasy engine?
You could ______________________________________________ .
Put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate active or passive form. Some negatives will be required.
Whales
Whales 1 ________________ (be) an important part of people’s lives for thousands of years. For a long time whales 2 _______________ (hunt) and 3 ____________ (kill) on a large scale. Even in the years to come, thousands of these marine mammals, which 4 _____________ (prove) to have a high intelligence, 5 ____________ (kill).
Commercial whale hunting, which 6 ____________ (start) in 1700s, was a very big business until about 60 years ago. Wales 7 _______________ (hunt) so that people could use the whale fat for oil in lamps and to make candles and soap. The plates from baleen whales 8 _____________ (use) for making women’s clothing, umbrellas and other things.
Whaling 9 ________________ (go on) for centuries, taking tens of thousands of whales a year. Technology 10 ______________ (allow) whalers to hunt faster whales and to carry on their hunts throughout the world’s oceans. New technologies and the high demand for whale products 11 _______________ (decrease) many whale populations. The number of the whales that 12 _____________ (slaughter) was so high that many whale populations were incapable of recovering.
Because females 13 _______________ (breed) until they are mature (over ten years of age), and only one little whale 14 ____________ (bear) in two years, whales could not produce enough young to replace the numbers that 15 _____________ (kill) by whalers.
When some whale populations 16 _____________ (decrease) in such a large number that they 17 ___________ (become) almost extinct, the whalers realized that some sort of resource management 18 ______________ (need). In 1946 the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling 19 ________________ (introduce). The original purpose of the Convention was to set the rules to help increase whale populations so that the whaling industry 20 ____________ (can continue).
Today, commercial whaling 21 ______________ (forbid) almost everywhere in the world. In spite of the international ban, many whale populations 22 ____________ (recover) and 23 _____________ (consider) to be threatened or endangered. There are still some countries in which whales 24 _____________ (hunt), but, hopefully, because of the pressure from concerned people they 25 ___________ (force) to reconsider their actions and stop killing these magnificent creatures.
Read the text below and complete each gap with one suitable word.
As a motivating example behind the discussion of probability, a theory has O been developed which allows the Let's Make a Deal Paradox to 1________ investigated 2 ________ students. This paradox 3 ________ related to a popular television show in the 1970's. In the show, a contestant was 4 ________ a choice of three doors one of which contained a prize. The other two doors contained gag gifts like a chicken or a donkey. After an initial door had 5 ________ chosen by the contestant, the host of the show then revealed an empty door among the two unchosen doors, and asked the contestant if he or she would like to switch to the other unchosen door. The question is - should the chosen door 6 ________ switched. Are the odds of winning increased through switching?
The intuition of most students tells them that each of the doors, the ones that 7 ________ not chosen and the ones that were 8 ________, are equally likely to contain the prize so that there is a 50-50 chance of winning with either selection. This, however, is not the case. The probability of winning by using the switching technique is 2/3 while the odds of winning by not switching is 1/3. This was 9 ________ explained to students as follows. The probability of picking the wrong door in the initial stage of the game is 2/3. If the contestant picks the wrong door initially, the remaining empty door must 10 ________ revealed by the host in the second stage of the game. Thus, if the contestant switches after picking the wrong door initially, the prize 11 ________ be won. The probability of winning by switching is 12 ________ to the probability of picking the wrong door in the initial stage which is clearly 2/3.
Despite this paradox 13 ________ clearly explained, the problem is rarely 14 ________ by most students. Thus the strong intuition, which most students have in this case, cannot 15 ________ conquered so easily. The experiments in this field have 16 ________ used by scientists to investigate a random phenomena.
IV. Some of the following sentences are correct and some have mistakes in them. Tick the correct ones and correct the ones with mistakes.
1. You don’t have to leave a tip because the service includes in the bill.
1. All our crops are being ruined with the heavy rains.
2. Too much attention has already being devoted to this problem.
1. The old pine tree that stood at the end of our garden was fallen during the last storm.
3. She kept turning because she had a feeling that they were been followed.
1. They were driving very slowly because the fog was thickened.
7. The secretary entered the room silently and handed the note to the chairman.
8. A crate of medical supplies were still being loaded into the truck when the driver turned the engine on.
9. The hotel was reported to have been completely destroyed by the fire.
10. She went outside to collect the clothes that had been dried on the line.
11. She was running for her life and didn’t notice that her nice blouse got caught in the bramble and ripped.
12. Sorry, this stain can’t be removed so easily. I wish you had had your suit cleaned after the party.
13. She remembered having being taken to the circus by her aunt, who was always glad to spend some time with the kids.
14. He had been made tell them everything about the conspiracy before the plotters had any chance to continue with their plans.
15. He can’t talk at the meeting today because he is having fixed his teeth.
KEY:
REFRESH YOUR KNOWLEDGE
|Present Simple |Active |Slavonian women make |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes are made |in Slavonia. |
|Present Continuous |Active |Slavonian women are making |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes are being made |in Slavonia. |
|Past Simple |Active |Slavonian women made |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes were made |in Slavonia. |
|Past Continuous |Active |Slavonian women were making |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes were being made |in Slavonia. |
|Present Perfect Simple |Active |Slavonian women have made |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes have been made |in Slavonia. |
|Present Perfect Continuous |Active |Slavonian women have been making |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes xxxxx |in Slavonia. |
|Past Perfect Simple |Active |Slavonian women had made |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes had been made |in Slavonia. |
|Past Perfect Continuous |Active |Slavonian women had been making |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes xxxxx |in Slavonia. |
|Future Simple |Active |Slavonian women will make |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes will be made |in Slavonia. |
|Future Continuous |Active |Slavonian women will be making |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes xxxxx |in Slavonia. |
|Future Perfect Simple |Active |Slavonian women will have made |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes will have been made |in Slavonia. |
|Future Perfect Continuous |Active |Slavonian women will have been making |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes xxxxx |in Slavonia. |
|«going to» future |Active |Slavonian women are going to make |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes are going to be made |in Slavonia. |
|Infinitive |Active |Slavonian women are to make |the best cakes. |
| |Passive |The best cakes are to be made |in Slavonia. |
I.
1. was taken
2. has broken
3. is spoken
4. is being read
5. had painted
6. was written
7. will be given
8. be left
9. tell
10. has been employed
11. gave
12. was given
13. runs
14. was knocked down
15. was ruined
16. will have my house built
17. has all her cakes made
18. has done her new hair-style
19. had all the letters sent by my secretary
20. repaired his bike
II. Suggested answers
A.
1. The car is being repaired by the garage mechanic now.
2. One million dollars has been donated for the victims of tsunami by a famous director.
3. The hotel was still being built when there was an earthquake.
4. The itinerary had been planned long before they went on their trip.
5. The newspapers will be delivered early in the morning.
6. All the files were destroyed by the fire.
7. What has been done to make them feel better?
8. Most of the work will have been completed by the time the president arrives.
9. It was believed for a long time that the Earth was the centre of the Universe.
10. He was made to pay back all the money.
B
1. Did they tell you to show your luggage?
2. The police is recording our conversation.
3. Someone will have taken the cake out of the oven by lunch time.
4. The lecturer is going to give us the handouts.
5. You should write the word “Croatian” with a capital letter.
6. They have just announced our flight.
7. They mine for opals in Australia.
8. A handsome bartender was serving the drinks.
9. That teacher had punished several students before the authorities warned the parents about the problem.
10. We are to hand in the essays at the end of the week.
C
1. If they had repaired the television set properly, it wouldn’t have broken down again.
2. You don’t have to defrost fish fingers before you fry them.
3. All the food for the wedding reception is going to be prepared by the bride’s aunt.
4. The hotel staff don’t wash the towels every day.
5. The leaflets were being counted by his young assistant.
6. A famous interior designer is redecorating their apartment.
7. The new laboratory has not yet been used by the students.
8. Someone must have erased the document.
9. It ought to have been reported to the principal.
10. People believed that he had been killed by the terrorists.
III.
1. had been drawn
2. is it made / was it made
3. will be given
4. Is it being occupied / Is it occupied
5. was knocked
6. has been taken
7. am going to be prepared
8. Who was it created by?
9. were being humiliated
10. haven't been told
11. have been supported
12. were stolen
13. Who was The Titanic directed by?
14. will be done
15. be washed
16. having been injured
17. to be finished
18. to be taken
IV. Suggested answers
1. have / get your eyes tested
2. have / get my car repaired
3. have it evaluated
4. will have all the arrangements made by my lawyer
5. are having dinner served
6. had had them prepared
7. was having her room painted
8. had my nails done
9. am going to have a suit made
10. have it washed / cleaned
V.
1. have been
2. have been hunted
3. killed
4. have been proven
5. will be killed
6. started
7. were hunted
8. were used
9. was going on / went on
10. allowed
11. decreased
12. were slaughtered
13. do not breed
14. is born
15. were being killed
16. had been decreased
17. became
18. was needed
19. was introduced
20. could continue
21. is forbidden
22. have not recovered
23. are considered
24. are hunted
25. will be forced
VI.
1. be
2. by
3. is
4. given
5. been
6. be
7. were
8. chosen
9. being
10. be
11. will
12. reduced
13. being
14. understood
15. be
16. been
VII.
1. X You don’t have to leave a tip because the service is included in the bill.
2. X All our crops are being ruined by the heavy rains.
3. X Too much attention has already been devoted to this problem.
4. X The old pine tree that stood at the end of our garden fell during the last storm.
5. X She kept turning because she had a feeling that they were being followed.
6. X They were driving very slowly because the fog was thickening.
7. √
8. X A crate of medical supplies was still being loaded into the truck when the driver
turned the engine on.
9. √
10. X She went outside to collect the clothes that had been drying on the line.
11. √
12. √
13. X She remembered having been taken to the circus by her aunt, who was always
glad to spend some time with the kids.
14. X He had been made to tell them everything about the conspiracy before the plotters
had any chance to continue with their plans.
15. X He can’t talk at the meeting today because he is having his teeth fixed.
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