Passive Voice in English: How to Use the Passive Voice with Different Tenses The passive voice is a grammatical construction. The noun or noun phrase that would be the object of an active sentence (such as Our troops defeated the enemy) appears as the subject of a sentence with passive voice (e.g. The enemy was defeated by our troops). For example: “… that all men are created equal…” “We have been cruelly deceived.” “The captain was struck by a missile.” “I got kicked in the face during the fight.” Passive Voice in English: How to Use the Passive Voice with Different Tenses We can use passive voice with most tenses. To change the tense of a passive sentence, you change the form of the verb ‘be’. The main verb in a passive sentence is always in the past participle form. Using the Passive Voice with Different Tenses Tenses Simple Present Simple Past Present Perfect Future I Present Progressive Past Progressive Past Perfect Future II Conditional I Conditional II Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Subject Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Marry The food Verb serves is served served was served has served has been served will serve Will be served is serving is being served was serving was being served had served had been served will have served will have been served would serve would be served would have served would have been served Object the food by Marry the food by Marry the food By Marry the food by Marry the food by Marry the food by Marry the food by Marry the food by Marry the food by Marry the food by Marry English Prepositions Table [English Grammar] English Prepositions are a class of words that express spatial or temporal relations (in, under, towards) or marking various semantic roles (of, for). An English preposition typically combines with a noun or pronoun, or more generally a noun phrase, this being called its complement, or sometimes object. An English preposition comes before its complement. This is English prepositions Table. In English, some prepositions are short, mostly containing six letters or fewer. There are, however, many multi-word prepositions. English prepositions Table Single Word English Prepositions a abaft abeam aboard about above absent across afore after against along given in including inside into like mid (from “amid”. Usually used poetically.) midst (from “amidst”. Usually used poetically.) minus modulo near next alongside amid amidst among amongst an (see “a” for usage in front of consonants) anenst apropos (“apropos of” is a common derived term) apud around as (also an adverb and a conjunction) aside astride at athwart atop barring before behind below beneath beside besides between notwithstanding (also used postpositionally) of off on onto opposite out outside over pace past per plus pro qua regarding round sans save since than through, thru (informal) throughout, thruout (informal) till (same as “until”, with prosodic restrictions) beyond but by chez circa (sometimes abbreviated as “c.” or “ca.”) concerning despite down during except excluding failing following for forenenst from worth to toward towards under underneath unlike until unto up upon versus, commonly abbreviated as “vs.”, or (principally in law or sports) as “v.” via vice, meaning “in place of” with (sometimes written as “w/”) within (sometimes written as “w/in” or “w/i”) without (sometimes written as “w/o”) Two Words English Prepositions according to ahead of apart from as for as of as per near to next to on to (contracted as onto) opposite of opposite to out from as regards aside from astern of back to because of close to due to except for far from in to (contracted as into) inside of (note that inside out is an adverb, not a preposition) instead of left of out of outside of owing to prior to pursuant to rather than regardless of right of subsequent to such as thanks to that of up to Three words English Prepositions as far as is one example of the many expressions which can be analyzed as as+adjective+as rather than a multiword preposition as long as in the sense of if or since, rather than of the same length as opposed to as soon as as well as Irregular Verbs in English [English Grammar] A regular verb is any verb whose conjugation follows the typical pattern, or one of the typical patterns (“-s”, “-ed”). A verb whose conjugation follows a different pattern is called an irregular verb. For example Verbs such as play, associate are regular, since they form their inflected parts by adding the typical endings -s, and -ed, to give forms such as plays, associated. On the other hand, verbs such as drink, hit and have are irregular, since some of their parts are not made according to the typical pattern – drank and drunk (not “drinked”); hit (as past tense and past participle, not “hitted”) and has and had (not “haves” and “haved”). Please note that many of the most frequent verbs are irregular. Thus it is essential to learn all the English irregular verbs. Irregular verbs in English Base Form (and present) alight arise awake be (am, is, are) bear beat begin bend bereave Past Simple alighted, alit arose awoke, awaked was (were) bore beat began bent bereaved Past Participle alighted, alit arisen awoken, awaked been borne (born) beaten/beat begun bent bereaved (bereft) beseech bet bid bid bide bind bite bleed blow break breed bring build burn burst buy can cast catch chide choose cleave1 cleave2 cling besought bet/betted bid bade/bid/bidded bided/bode bound bit bled blew broke bred brought built burned/burnt burst/bursted bought could cast caught chode/chided/chid chose clove/clave cleft/cleaved clang/clung besought bet/betted bid bidden/bid/bidded bided/bidden bound (bounden) bitten bled blown broken bred brought built burnt/burned burst/bursted bought – cast caught chidden/chided chosen cloven/claven cleft/cleaved clung clothe come cost creep crow cut deal dig dive do (does[dʌz]) draw dream drink drive dwell eat fall feed feel fight find fit flee fling clothed came cost crept crowed/crew cut dealt dug dived/dove did drew dreamt/dreamed drank/drunk drove dwelt/dwelled ate fell fed felt fought found fit/fitted fled flung clothed (clad) come cost crept crowed/crown[kroʊn] cut dealt dug dived/dove done drawn dreamt/dreamed drunk (drunken) driven dwelt/dwelled eaten fallen fed felt fought found fit/fitted fled flung fly forsake freeze get gird give go grind grow hang have (has) hear hew hide hit hold hurt keep kneel knit know lay lead lean flew forsook froze got girded gave went ground grew hung/hanged had heard hewed hid hit held hurt kept knelt/kneeled knit/knitted knew laid led leaned/leant flown forsaken frozen gotten/got girded (girt) given gone ground grown hung/hanged had heard hewed/hewn hid/hidden hit held hurt kept knelt/kneeled knit/knitted known laid led leaned/leant leap learn leave load lose lend let lie light make may mean [miːn] meet melt mow pay plead prove put quit read [riːd] rend rid ride leaped/leapt learned/learnt left loaded lost lent let lay lit/lighted made might meant [mɛnt] met melted mowed paid pleaded/pled proved put quit read [rɛd] rent rid/ridded rode leaped/leapt learned/learnt left loaded (laden) lost (lorn) lent let lain lit/lighted made – meant [mɛnt] met melted (molten) mowed/mown paid pleaded/pled proved/proven put quit read [rɛd] rent rid/ridden ridden ring rise run saw say (says[sɛz]) see seek seethe sell send set sew shake shall shape shave shear shed shine shit shoe shoot show shrink rang rose ran sawed said [sɛd] saw sought seethed sold sent set sewed shook should shaped shaved shore/sheared shed shined/shone shit/shat shoed/shod shot showed shrank/shrunk rung risen run sawed/sawn said [sɛd] seen sought seethed (sodden) sold sent set sewed/sewn shaken – shaped (shapen) shaved (shaven) shorn/sheared shed shined/shone shit/shat shoed/shod shot shown/showed shrunk (shrunken) shrive shut sing sink sit slay sleep slide sling slink slit smell smite sneak sow speak speed spell spend spill spin spit split spoil shrove shut sang sank/sunk sat slew/slayed slept slid slung/slang slunk/slank slit smelled/smelt smote/smit sneaked/snuck sowed spoke sped/speeded spelled/spelt spent spilled/spilt span/spun spit/spat split spoiled/spoilt shriven shut sung sunk (sunken) sat slain/slayed slept slid/slidden slung slunk slit smelled/smelt smitten sneaked/snuck sowed/sown spoken sped/speeded spelled/spelt spent spilled/spilt spun spit/spat split spoiled/spoilt spread spring stand steal stick sting stink strew stride strike string strive swear sweep swell swim swing take teach tear tell think thrive throw spread sprang/sprung stood stole stuck stang/stung stank/stunk strew/strewed strode/strided struck strung strove/strived swore swept swelled swam swang/swung took taught tore told thought throve/thrived threw spread sprung stood stolen stuck stung stunk strewn/strewed stridden/strided struck (stricken) strung striven/strived sworn swept swelled (swollen) swum swung taken taught torn told thought thrived/thriven thrown thrust tread wake wear weave wed weep wet will win wind[waɪnd] work wring write thrusted/thrust trod woke wore wove wed/wedded wept wet/wetted would won wound [waʊnd] worked wrung wrote thrusted/thrust trodden/trod woken worn woven wed/wedded wept wet/wetted – won wound [waʊnd] worked (wrought) wrung written English Prefixes with Meanings and Examples [Grammar English] English prefixes are affixes (i.e., bound morphemes that provide lexical meaning) that are added before either simple roots or complex bases (or operands) consisting of (a) a root and other affixes, (b) multiple roots, or (c) multiple roots and other affixes. Examples of these follow: Undo (consisting of prefix un- and root do) Untouchable (consisting of prefix un-, root touch, and suffix -able) Non-childproof (consisting of prefix non-, root child, and root proof) Non-childproofable (consisting of prefix non-, root child, root proof, and suffix -able) English words may consist of multiple prefixes: anti-pseudo-classicism (containing both an anti- prefix and a pseudo- prefix). In English, all prefixes are derivational. This contrasts with English suffixes, which may be either derivational or inflectional. English prefixes English prefixes aaantiarchbecocounterdedisdisen-/emexforehindmalmid- Meanings Examples verb > predicative adjective with progressive afloat, atremble aspect not acyclic, asexual, atonal, atheist against, opposite anti-freeze, antivirus, anticlimax, Antichrist supreme, highest, worst arch-rival, archangel equipped with, covered with, beset with bedeviled, becalm, bedazzle, bewitch (pejorative or facetious) joint, with, accompanying co-worker, coordinator, cooperation against, in opposition to counteract, counterpart reverse action, get rid of de-emphasize not, opposite of disloyal, disagree reverse action, get rid of disconnect, disinformation to make into, to put into, to get into enmesh, empower ex-husband, ex-boss, ex-colleague, exformer friend before, in front forearm, forehead, forehand, forerunner after hindsight, hindquarters bad(ly) malnourish, maladjusted middle midstream, midlife midiminimisoutoverpost- medium-sized small wrong, astray better, faster, longer, beyond excessive, above after, behind pre- before proreselfsteptranstwiunun- for, forward, in favor of again, back self family relation by remarriage across, from one place to another two not, against, opposite of reverse action, deprive of, release from below, beneath, lower in grade/dignity, lesser, insufficient greater, higher, or better against, back, away (from) relating to Africa both around, two, both, on both sides not, without up, against underupwithAfroambiamphian-/aana-, an- midi-length minimarket, mini-room, minivan misinformation, misguide, misfortune outreach, outcome overreact, overact, overbearing post-election, post-graduation, post-war prevent, previous, pre-election, pre-enter, pre-select propulsion, propound, pro-life redo, revisit, rerun, reorganize self-sufficient, self-explanatory stepbrother, stepmother transatlantic, transSiberian twibill, twilight unnecessary, unequal, undesirable, unhappy undo, untie, unexpected, unlock underachieve, underground, underpass, underdeveloped, underrated upgrade, uplift, upsurge withstand, withcall Afro-American, Afro-Caribbean ambidextrous, ambitendency amphiaster, amphitheatre, amphibian anemic, asymmetric anacardiaceous, anode Anglo- relating to England anteantiapo-, apastroautobibiocircumcis- before opposite, against away from, detached star self two life, biological around, surrounding on this side of con-/com-/col-/cor-/co- together or with contracryocryptodedemidemodeuterdidiadis-/di-/difdu-/duoeco- opposite ice hidden, secret down half people second two through apart two ecological Anglo-Norman, Anglo-Saxon, AngloAmerican antenatal, antechamber, antecedent antivenom aphelion, apogee, apomorphine astrobiology, astrology, astronomy autobiography, automatic, autonomy, bicycle, biped biology circumnavigate cislunar confederation, commingle, colleague, correlation, cohabit contradict, contraindication cryogenics cryptography depress, descend demigod democracy, demography deuteragonist, deuterogamy dicotyledon, digamy, dioxide dialysis, diameter differ, dissect, divide dual, duet ecosystem electroen-, el-, emepi-, epEuroexextra- electric, electricity in upon, at, close upon, in addition European out of outside Franco- French, France geogyroheterohemihomohydrohyperhypoideoidioinIndoin-, il-, im-, irinfrainterintra- relating to the earth or its surface spinning on an axis different half same relating to water, or using water above, over under or below something, low image, idea individual, personal, unique in, into relating to the Indian subcontinent not, opposite of below, beneath among, between inside, within electro-analysis, electromagnetic ellipsis, emphasis, energetic ephemeron, epicentre, epidermis Eurocentric exit, expel, explode, exploit, explore, export extracurricular Francophile, Franco-British, FrancoGerman geography, geology, geometry gyrocopter, gyroscope, gyrosphere heterosexual hemimorphic, hemisphere homogenous, homologous hydroelectricity, hydrant hyperthermia hypothermia ideograph, ideaology idiolect, idiopathic insert, include Indo-European illicit, impossible, inexact, irregular infrared interact, intercede, international intravenous isomacrmaximega-, megalometamicromono-, monmulti-, multneononomniorthopaleopanparapedperperiphotopodpolypostprepreter- equal long very long, very large great, large after, along with, beyond, among, behind small sole, only many new not all correcting or straightening old all, worldwide beside, beyond foot through, completely, wrongly, exceedingly around, near or adjacent light foot many after before beyond, past, more than isochromatic, isotherm macrobiotic maxi-skirt megastar, megalopolis metabolism, metaphysics microbacillus monogamy, monotone, monosyllabic multicultural, multi-storey, multitude neolithic, neoclassical nonexistent omnipotent, omnipresent, omnivore orthodontics, orthotropic paleolithic pan-African, pandemic, panorama parallel, paranormal pedal, pedestrian permeate, permute perihelion, periphrase photoelectric, photography podiatrist polygon, polyhedron postfix, postpone, postscript predict, prepare, preview preternatural proproprosprotopseudopyroquasiretrosemisociosub-, supsupersuprasursyn-, sy-, syl-, symteletranstriultraunivice- for, substitute, deputy before toward first, original false, imitation fire partly, almost, appearing to be but not really backwards half society, social, sociological below, under above, over above, over above, over together, with at a distance over, through, across three beyond one, consisting of only one deputy proconsul procambium prosthesis protoplasm, prototype pseudonym pyrokinetic, pyrotechnic quasi-religious retrograde semicircle sociopath submarine, subterranean, suburban, support supervisor, superintendent suprarenal surreal, surrender syllable, symbol, synthesis, system telegraph, telephone, telescope, television transverse tricycle, tripartite ultramagnetic, ultrasonic, ultraviolet unicycle, universal vice-president, vice-principal, vice-admiral Parts of Speech in English [English Grammar Lessons] A part of speech is a category of words which have similar grammatical properties. Words that are assigned to the same part of speech generally display similarly—they play similar roles within the grammatical structure of sentences. Commonly listed English parts of speech are noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, interjection (08 parts of speech). Many English words can belong to more than one part of speech. Words like neigh, break, outlaw, laser, microwave, and telephone might all be either verbs or nouns. This is a summary of the eight parts of speech. Parts of Speech Table Parts of speech Functions Example words Example sentences Noun a word or lexical item denoting any abstract or concrete entity a person (police officer, Michael), place (coastline, London), The cat sat on the mat. thing (necktie, television), idea (happiness), or quality (bravery) Verb a word denoting an action (walk), occurrence (happen), or state of being (be) an action (walk), occurrence (happen), or state of being (be) That idea is interesting Tell me something interesting. Adjective a modifier of a noun or pronoun big, brave That’s an interesting idea a modifier of an adjective, very, quite verb, or other adverb a substitute for a noun or them, he noun phrase a word that relates a noun to another word or phrase in in, of the sentence and aids in syntactic context Frankly, I don’t believe you Conjunction a syntactic connector; links and, but words, phrases, or clauses He is not only handsome, but also brilliant. Interjection an emotional greeting or exclamation Well, that’s great Adverb Pronoun Preposition Hurrah, Alas, well That reminds me of something. The cat is in the box Grammar English Mistake: Most Common Grammatical Mistakes of English Learners The English Language is a difficult beast to tie down. Even those rules which we consider mandatory may actually change very quickly, especially with words moving into ever more fleeting media. However, there are a few mistakes which – for now at least – can make you look very silly… Most Common Grammatical Mistakes of English Learners Grammar English Mistake 1. Adapt vs. Adopt ‘Adapt’ and ‘adopt’ share similar spellings and similar meanings, but they are not one and the same. To ‘adapt’ is to become or make something suitable to an environment or condition. For Example: “It took me a long time after college to adapt to life in the office.” “An inability to adapt will prove an obstacle on the road to success.” To ‘adopt’ is to take something and use it as or make it your own. For Example: “I adopted his policy of neutrality and stayed out of trouble.” “We are planning to adopt a child.” Grammar English Mistake 2. Lose vs. Loose “Lose” is a verb, to come to be without something; to suffer the loss of something. For Example: “I do not wish to lose more weight.” “I was about to lose my ear ring.” “She cannot stand the thought of losing him.” “Loose” is an adjective, free or released from attachment; not bound together; not strict. For Example: “My belt is very loose around my waist.” “She likes to wear her hair loose and free.” “That is a loose interpretation of our document.” Grammar English Mistake 3. Will vs. Going to ‘Will’ and ‘going to’ are the two forms of simple future used in English. They are used more or less interchangeably, but there are certain subtle differences between them that even many experienced English speakers are not aware of. The main rule to keep in mind is that: if the decision to act was made before the time of speaking, ‘going to’ must be used; if not, ‘will’ must be used. Will There are two primary distinct uses for‘will’: To express voluntary action. Voluntary action refers to the following: Any action that the speaker offers to perform. “I will take you up on that offer.” “I will get you your breakfast in bed.” Any action that the speaker declines to perform. “I will not (won’t) be able to come for your party.” “I will not do your work for you.” Any action that the speaker requests the listener to perform. “Will you come home on Friday night?” “Will you take me to the amusement park?” To express a promise. “I will come back to work as soon as I make a full recovery.” “I will call you later tonight.” Going to There is one primary distinction for use of ‘going to’: it is used to express plans, i.e. the intention of the speaker to do something in the future. This can take two forms: To state such an intention: “I am going for the match on Thursday” “I am going to ensure that we have fun on this trip.” To ask about such an intention: “Are you going to watch the match on Thursday?” “Are you going to the Zoo with the others?” Will/Going to Both ‘will’ and ‘going to’ can be used when making predictions about the future. “It looks like it will rain today”. = “It looks like it is going to rain today.” “I don’t think he will do it” = “I don’t think he’s going to do it.” Grammar English Mistake 4. Write vs. Right. “Write” is a verb, to express in writing. For Example: “I want to learn how to write well.” “Did you write this? Write a letter to Mom” “Right” is an adjective, correct, justified, suitable, opposite of left. For Example: “The little boy knew right versus wrong.” “It’s the right way to do things.” Grammar English Mistake 5. Beside vs. Besides It is easy to confuse ‘beside’ and ‘besides’, but they are not one and the same thing. ‘Beside’ is a preposition, whereas ‘besides’ works as both a preposition and an adverb, and although ‘ besides’ is sometimes used in place of ‘beside’, they have distinct meaning. ‘Beside’ means ‘by or at the side of’. For example: “He stood beside his new car proudly.” As a preposition, ‘besides’ means ‘in addition to’ or ‘apart from’. For example: “What are you working on besides the research project?” As an adverb, it means ‘furthermore’. For example: “He was not selected because he did not have a good grasp of his concepts. Besides, he did not seem very keen.” Grammar English Mistake 6. Here vs. Hear “Here” is an adverb, in this place; in this spot. For Example: “I am here and planning to stay.” “I wish you were here.” “Hear” is a verb, to be within earshot; to perceive by ear. For Example: “I hear you.” “We do not want to hear the policies one more time.” Grammar English Mistake 7. Can vs. May Many English speakers are confused about the usage of the words ‘can’ and ‘may’. For example, ‘Can I drink water?’ is incorrect. ‘May I drink water?’ is the correct phrase to use in this case. The key difference between ‘can’ and ‘may’ is that ‘can’ talks about ability and ‘may’ talks about permission. Can Can is used in two cases: To talk about ability. “I can finish my homework by 5 pm.” “Can you finish your homework tonight?” To ask or give permission informally (normally between friends) “Can I use your pen?” “You can use my pen?” May May is generally used to ask or give permission formally. Let us take a situation between a student and a teacher. “May I drink water? Teacher: Yes, you may.” Let us take a situation between two strangers. “May I borrow your pen? Yes, you may” Grammar English Mistake 8. Compliment vs. Complement Both words sound the same when pronounced, but their meanings are very different. “Compliment” means to give praise, express admiration or giving congratulations. “Complement”, on the other hand, means completing something or to make something perfect. A good way to always remember the difference is to remember that the word with the “e” means complete. In fact, the word complete is almost entirely spelled within complement. Complement Complement is used when what you are trying to convey that something is essentially made complete with something else. For example, if you were describing colors that look good together or a relationship involving two people who seem well matched, complement is the correct choice. Complement functions as both a noun and a verb. Incorrect: “The striped throw pillows complimented the sofa colors quite nicely.” (This implies that the pillows gave praise to the sofa, which is impossible). Correct: “The colors in the pillows complemented the stripes in the sofa very well.” (Complement is a verb in this sentence). Compliment Compliment is used when you are aiming to offer praise. For example, you might compliment someone on a new hairdo or on an outfit that is particularly flattering. In its plural form it can mean you are offering multiple expressions of praise, or it can mean best wishes. Compliment functions as both a noun and a verb. Incorrect: “She paid her boss a complement about how well her hair highlights complement her complexion”. (The first complement is incorrect because “her boss” does not complete anything, which is implied by spelling the word with an “e.” Correct: “She paid her boss a nice compliment on how well her new hairdo complemented her complexion.” (Compliment is a noun in this sentence).
