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General Grammar Exercises/Passive Voice Structures

English Academic Structures often wrongly used: Passive voice.

Academic writing- use of verbs in the (active and) passive voice.

A) Use:

Sometimes the object (grammatically speaking) is the more important noun element in a sentence, so we move it to the beginning position.

> This five arched bridge was built by the Romans.

Here we are talking primarily about the bridge. The rest of the sentence gives information about the bridge. If we are more interested in the subject, that will stay at the beginning.

> The Romans built many things while they were settled in Britain.

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B) Structure:

Most sentences, including those above, can be written in either the active or passive voice, but students need to know how to handle both. A conversion from active to passive shows the structures involved:

The students will have handed in all projects before the 17th June.

1) Make the OBJECT into the SUBJECT.

All projects…..

2) Find the TENSE of the MAIN VERB (“to hand in”)
(future perfect)

3) Put the verb “TO BE” in the SAME TENSE.

All projects will have been…..

4) Add the PAST PARTICIPLE of the main verb.

All projects will have been handed in…..

5) Add “BY” + the PERSON or PEOPLE who performed the action (where necessary)

All projects will have been handed in by the students…..

6) Add any EXTRA INFORMATION which remains.

All projects will have been handed in by the students before the 17th June.

Make the following sentence passive:

> The government had already made provisions for pensioners in last year’s budget.
Please write your answer here:

For suggested answers, scroll down............

Suggested answer:

Provisions for pensioners had already been made by the government in last year’s budget.

Or

Provisions for pensioners had already been made in last year's budget by the government.

Now try the exercise below:

The following are real examples from student essays. Most (but not all!) of them have some errors related to active/passive constructions. Decide which ones you think are correct. Then change any that you think are not correct.

1) Afterwards, it followed by many other conferences.

2) The idea is emerged from a series of conferences.

3) The company was formed by three brothers.

4) The headquarters located in Dunggung city.

5) The company named C.F.B.C.

6) The new museum set up in Taiwan.

7) Numerous tests have been done on the drug.

8) Its collections have selected since the Sung dynasty.

9) My interest in drawing and painting revealed in my early years.

10) The exhibits organised more conveniently online. (U.S. spelling: "organized")

When you've made your corrections to the sentences that need correcting, compare them to the suggestions further down the page........

Suggested answers:

1) Afterwards, it followed by many other conferences.

Afterwards, it was followed by many other conferences.

("it" didn't "do" anything, so can't be active voice.)

2) The idea is emerged from a series of conferences.

The idea emerged from a series of conferences.

(normal past simple tense - "the idea" emerged {"came out"} on its own, so is in the active voice.)

3) The company was formed by three brothers.

Correct.

(The company didn't form anything. The brothers did. So the verb should be in the passive.)

4) The headquarters located in Dunggung city.

The headquarters is located in Dunggung city.

("the headquarters" is located by people. They performed the action so the verb is passive voice.)

5) The company named C.F.B.C.

The company is named C.F.B.C.

("The company" is named by people, so passive voice.)

6) The new museum set up in Taiwan.

The new museum has been set up in Taiwan. (or “was set up”)

("The new museum" has been set up by people, so passive.)

7) Numerous tests have been done on the drug.

Correct

(The "numerous tests" didn't "do" anything. They were done by scientists, so passive voice is used, and the present perfect tense is correct for past action where the time is unknown.)

8) Its collections have selected since the Sung dynasty.

Its collections have been selected since the Sung dynasty.

("Its collections" have been selected by people, so passive voice.)

9) My interest in drawing and painting revealed in my early years.

My interest in drawing and painting was revealed in my early years.

(His "interest" in drawing and painting didn't reveal anything. His interest was revealed. Probably by his drawings and paintings themselves! So passive voice.)

10) The exhibits organised more conveniently online.

The exhibits were organised more conveniently online. (With present meaning, “could be organised” is the most likely structure.)

("The exhibits" were organised by people, so..... ?)

Photo Album

When you buy fish and chips the vendor (seller) will usually ask you two questions about how you want them. Which two basic choices do you think he or she might give you?

Answer:

1) "Salt and vinegar?" (Some people like either salt on their chips, or vinegar. Or both. Or neither.)
and
2) "Open or wrapped?" (To eat now or take away. Wrapped means "covered with paper".)
(Photo: Winter beach, Brighton, on the south coast of England.)

Do you get it?

You go for your lunch in the park and take a seat on a bench by the lake when suddenly - only a few feet away from you, you see a banker and a lawyer drowning in the water. What do you do first? Eat your sandwich or read the newspaper?

.
Vocabulary note:
In everyday speaking English and American people usually use "inches, feet, yards and miles" rather than "centimetres. metres and kilometres".
Approximate equivalents:
1 inch = 2.5 centimetres.
12 inches (1 foot) = 30.5 centimetres.
36 inches (1 yard) = 91.4 centimetres.
1 mile = 1.6 kilometres.

(Alternative spellings: metre and meter)

Advice

Common Mistakes