The verb to be
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Present Simple
Present Continuous
Present Perfect
Past Simple
Past Continuous
Past Perfect
Future (will)
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am-is-are
am-is-are being
have-has been
was-were
was-were being
had been
will be
The Passive
• The Parthenon was
built in the 5th century
BC. It is visited by
thousands of tourists
every year.
The Passive
to be + past participle
•affirmative: He was given a book
•interrogative: Was he given a book?
•negative:
He wasn’t given a book.
He wants to be told the truth.
He expects to be given a promotion.
The passive of infinitives
to be + past participle
The letters must be sent tomorrow.
The reports should be typed immediately.
The passive of modal verbs
modal verb + be + past participle
Look at the prompts and make sentences
using the present simple passive, as in
the example.
Volkswagen cars are made in Germany.
1. a lot of rice/eat/India
2. snails/eat/France
3. Coca Cola/produce/the USA
4. coffee/grow/Brazil
5. beer/produce/Germany
Do we know who built the Parthenon?
• We use the passive
when we don’t
know who did the
action of the verb.
Match columns to make correct sentences
using the past simple passive.
Oliver Twist was written by Charles
Dickens.
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The ‘Mona Lisa’ (paint)
The Eiffel Tower (build)
‘Jurassic Park’ (direct)
‘Carmen’ (compose)
America (discover)
The telephone (invent)
Alexandria (found)
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Leonardo da Vinci
Steven Spielberg
Alexander the Great
Georges Bizet
Gustave Eiffel
Christopher Columbus
Alexander Graham Bell
Use
The missing climber was found yesterday.
• Do we know who
found the missing
climber?
• Is it important to
know who found
him?
• What is important?
Mrs Edison is a businesswoman. She was away
on a business trip but now she is back. She wants
to know what has been done while she was away.
Ask and answer as in the example.
- Have they delivered my new desk?
- No, it hasn’t been delivered yet.
- Have you posted the invitations?
- Yes, they have already been posted.
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they/repair/the photocopier? (Yes)
you/type/last month's reports? (No)
you/place/advertisement in the newspaper?(No)
you/pay/the bills? (Yes)
Use
We use the passive when the
action of the verb is more
important than the person
who carries out the action.
The ‘Mona Lisa’ was painted by
Leonardo da Vinci.
The boys were rescued by an old
woman.
‘by Leonardo da Vinci’ and ‘by an old woman’ are
the agents.
- Do we know who painted the ‘Mona Lisa’?
- Do we know who rescued the boys?
The agent is mentioned only when the
identity of the agent is important or needs to
be stated.
Jim’s car was stolen last night.
• Do we know who
stole Jim’s car?
Champagne is made in France.
• Is it important to know
who makes
champagne?
The bank robbers are being
chased.
Is it obvious who
is chasing the
bank robbers?
We do not mention the agent
when it is unknown,
unimportant or obvious from
the context.
Turning the active into the passive
S V
O
• Mary sent the invitations.
S
V
agent
• The invitations were sent by Mary.
1.What happens to the subjects in the active
sentence?
2.What happens to the verb?
3.What happens to the object in the active
sentence?
He is working hard.
• Is there an object of a sentence?
Only the verbs which take an
object of the active sentence
(transitive verbs) can be turned
into the passive.
Someone informed the police.
The police were informed.
• When the subject of the active
sentence is one of the words:
people, one, someone,
somebody, they, he, etc. the
agent is often omitted in the
passive sentence.
He sent this postcard to me.
I was sent this postcard.
• Object pronouns become subject
pronouns in the passive.
A nurse looks after the baby.
The baby is looked after by a nurse.
• When the verb of the active sentence is
followed by a preposition, the
preposition is kept in the passive
sentence as well.
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active
She types the letters.
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She is typing the letters. •
She typed the letters.
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She was typing the
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letters.
She has typed the letters. •
She had typed the letters. •
She will type the letters. •
She may type the letters. •
passive
The letters are typed.
The letters are being typed.
The letters were typed.
The letters were being
typed.
The letters have been typed
The letters had been typed.
The letters will be typed.
The letters may be typed.