SAINT JOHN’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Name:
Jl. Kencana Loka Raya No. 8, Sektor XII BSD City
Primary Division
Class: 6
Day and Date:
st
1 Semester Academic Year 2020 - 2021
Unit 4 Time Passing
ENGLISH Handout 1, Term 2
Active & Passive
We use passive voice when we want to focus on THE OBJECT of the sentence and
not on THE SUBJECT, because it’s not important or it is unknown. On the contrary, the active
voice focuses in THE SUBJECT and not THE OBJECT. In the active voice you know exactly who
performs the action of the verb.
Example:
 ACTIVE VOICE:
The laborers
Subject
take
Main
verb
the milk
Object
to the factory.
The rest of the sentence
o Who takes the milk to the factory? THE LABORERS
o What they take? THE MILK
object

subject
PASSIVE VOICE:
The Milk
Subject
(receiving
the action)
is taken
to the factory
Verb to
be
The rest of the
sentence
by the laborers
doer of the action
Participle of
the main verb
The passive voice in the present is formed with the present tense of the VERB
TO BE and THE PAST PARTICIPLE of the main verb.
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STEPS FOR PASSING AN ACTIVE VOICE SENTENCE TO A PASSIVE VOICE SENTENCE:
1. Find the object of the sentence by
IN SUMMARY:
asking what +verb of the sentence.
2. Place the object as a subject in the
sentence.
ACTIVE VOICE TO PASSIVE VOICE
The chef
washes
the potatoes
3. Find the verb to be and places it after the
object (it depends if the object is plural or
singular (am- is-are)) and when it is in past
the potatoes
(was (singular)- were (plural))
are washed
by the chef
4. After the verb write the participle of the
main verb.
5. Finally,
add
the
complement
of
the
sentence.
Let’s review the verb to be
• The Present Simple Tense – AM, IS, ARE
• The Present Continuous Tense – AM/ IS/ ARE BEING
• The Present Perfect Tense – HAVE BEEN, HAS BEEN
• The Past Simple Tense – WAS, WERE
• The Past Continuous Tense – WAS/ WERE BEING
• The Past Perfect Tense – HAD BEEN
* The Future Tense – WILL BE
• With modals – CAN BE, WOULD BE, SHOULD BE, MAY BE, MUST BE…
Exercise 1
Match the forms of the Active verbs with their corresponding Passive forms.
1. I forget (singular, S. Past)
a) were forgotten
2. discover (Plural, S. Past)
b) were left
3. make (singular, S. Present)
c) was forgotten
4. build (Plural, S. Present)
d) was left
5. forget (Plural, S. Past)
e) are built
6. leave (Plural, S. Past)
f) is sent
7. produce (Plural, S. Present)
g) were discovered
8. leave (singular, S. Past)
h) was built
9. build (singular, S. Past)
i) is made
10. send (singular, S. Present)
j) are produced
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Exercise 2
Make sentences in the passive in the given tense!
Example: BMW’s – make – in Germany (PRESENT SIMPLE)
BMW’s are made in Germany.
1. English – speak – in this shop (PRESENT SIMPLE)
________________________________________________.
2. The oldest house – build – in 1575 (PAST SIMPLE)
________________________________________________.
3. The bridge – repair – at the moment (PRESENT CONTINUOUS)
________________________________________________.
4. The trees – cut down – last winter (PAST SIMPLE)
________________________________________________.
5. The picture – paint – tomorrow (FUTURE SIMPLE)
________________________________________________.
6. When I came in – the TV – fix (PAST CONTINUOUS)
________________________________________________.
7. The cupboard – repair – recently (PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE)
_________________________________________________.
8. The robber – not find – by the police – yet (PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE)
_________________________________________________.
9. Breakfast – serve – between 7 and 9 (PRESENT SIMPLE)
_________________________________________________.
10. The search – stop – this evening (FUTURE SIMPLE)
_________________________________________________.
Exercise 3
Read the following piece of news and circle the correct verb forms.
Doctor George Tiller, 67, was at the morning services this Sunday when (1) he was shot/
shot, police said. (2) The gunman was fired/ fired one shot at Tiller and was threatened/
threatened two other people who tried to stop him. (3) The suspect was taken/ took into custody
in a Kansas City suburb 3 hours after the shooting. (4) Outside Tiller’s clinic, flowers were placed/
placed along a fence, (5) and Kansas Coalition for Life was left/ left a sign saying members were
prayed/ prayed for his change of heart "not his murder. (6) A man yelled that Tiller’s hands were
covered/ covered with blood.
Exercise 4
Write an active sentence and a passive sentence from these prompts.
1. The little boy / the wallet/ yesterday/ find.
3. Somebody/ the students’ bikes/ steal.
a) ______________________________________
a) _______________________________
b)_______________________________________
b) _______________________________
2. Teachers/ students/ good manners/ teach/ must.
a) ______________________________________
b)_______________________________________
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